The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — 1842-02-08 (Liverpool, Merseyside, England)

EXECUTION OF JOHN DELAHUNT  DUBLIN, FEB. s.—This miserable young man, who committed one of the most diabolical murders that ever disgraced any country, was this day executed in front of Kilmainham gaol. The wretched criminal slept well last night, and rose at six o'clock this morning, when he prayed, and also employed his time in meditation. At nine o'clock he ate a hearty breakfast. His animal propensities must have been very strong, for he dined well yesterday, supped well, slept well last night, and breakfasted heartily this morning! His fear of death does not appear to spring from any punishment resulting from his crimes in another world, but from a horrorof the scorn and exultation of the crowd, and the disgrace which his crimes and ignominous death will necessarily entail upon his family. At 12 o'clock the criminal was led from the chapel. He. was so feeble that one of the clergyman by whom he was accompanied, and the hangman, were obliged to support and lead him along by either hand. He was instantly led to the scaffold, and placed upon it. The hangman, whose face was covered with a white cloth, with small holes cut in it to enable him to see, enveloped his head in a covering similar to that worn by himself. During this ceremony the officiating priest read prayers, in which the culprit joined. Towards the close of the meditation he became very faint, and fell upon his knees, in which position he remained till the bolt was withdrawn, and he was launched into eternity. A few muscular contractions were all the indications of suffering observable in his death. Never was terror more depicted in a human countenance than in his—pallid and death-like; and his frame, which was slight and weakly, exhibited the feelings of horror and fear with which he awaited his execution. When he appeared upon the drop a slight murmur ran through the crowd—not of indignation—not of scorn—not of pity—it partook of something of a religious character—it was like a murmur of prayer. There was no shout—no outrage —notrage —no violence: the populace were better behaved on .this occasion than on any within our remembrance. The time required by law (40 minutes) for the body of the culprit to remain suspended having expired, it was cut down forinterment within the precints of the prison. The wretched man has made a written confession, in which he denies positively having had any hand with the murder of the Italian boy, and that what he swore against Cooney and his wife was false, and was alleged in the hopes of ootaining a a reward. With reference to the murder of the boy Maguire, he made the following heart-rending disclosure : " I do now confess that the hope of getting again into the pay of the castle was my strong motive for committing the deed. I thought I could fix it upon some one in the course of time, and if I had succeeded, I don't knok but I might have done a similar deed again had my conscience yielded to a similar temptation. I kept him nearly half an hour in the lane. He twice asked me was I corning home soon, as his mother would be beating him. I said I was waiting for a jaunting-car. He spent part of the time sitting in the come at the stable door, on a heap of dung or litter heaped outside. I was then turning in my mind how I could best cut his throat. He stood up then by my side. I felt his throat, and asked had he lumps in his throat. He made no reply. After some minutes 1 again felt his throat with my left hand, having the knife in my right hsnd ready ; my righi hand was then in my coat pocket, when I asked him a second time had he lumps in his throat, and began again to feel him; he raised up his head to let me feel more easily. His back was tben to me, and at that moment, while he was in that position, with his head drawn back, I cut his throat and threw him from me. Ile fell on his face. He uttered no cry, nor did he make any noise whatever."