Widnes Examiner. — 1893-01-21 (Widnes, Cheshire, England)

SCAFFOLD. At eight on Wednesday morning William M'Keowne who murdered Elizabeth Connor in Wt-st Lodge,' Pollokshields, Glasgow, on October 11, and thereafter cut her body up into bits and buried the remains in the' garden adjoining the house, was executed within Was: gow (Duke-street) Gaol. An angry wind moaned al' the morning. As day dawned a crowd of 6,000 r.mrsons collected outside the prison walls, the experience. of previous executions telling them that if the trafhc with' out was quiet at the hour when the dread sentence WO being carried out, the bang of the gallows iner givmfl way could be distinctly heard. However, fifty policemen kept the thoroughfare clear, while an equal number within the precincts of the gaol guarded the various passes, so that no one would witness the death scene b 0 the two magistrates, Raillies Alexander and Paline, the Catholic priest in attendance upon the condemned man. the joiner, master of works, and the two town officers. The last-named carried their halberds.  I  The reporters were not admitted to witness the ere' cution, but were accommodated in the wa.tehroonv ,within the gate. The policemen who were on guard inside stated that in the dark they could see the roP6. dangling on the scaffold. i‘Plieown was restless all night ; indeed, since Sir James Marwick, Town-clerk,. informed him on Tuesday that the law ,vas ti take ite course, the condemned man was excited. Me ordr . remark he passed was that he had more time to prepare for death than the poor woman whose life he took. At five minutes to eight a turnkey came to a little room at the front gate, aad, having opened it. showea Billing,ton, the executioner, out. He worea small Ye% , vet peaked cap. He was led away to the condemned' cell, where he pinioned M'Keown. The sad processioll' a few minutes after eight o'clock started along the Or; ridor, and at eight minutes past the hour the noise 0, the platform giving way was distinctly beard in the reporters room. At the same instant the black flag Wag hoisted. The crowd outside began to get anxious 010 the sign of the capital punishment having been carried . out was not seen sooner. They thought something vi'as wrong, as it was known that M'Keown's neck was teader through his having when caught attempted to WO' mit suicide. Immediately thereafter the jr 'cession wended its way back to the governor's room, he officer° holding their halberds down. Dr. Sutherland stated that M'Keown walked .calrill/ to his doom, but when the platform gave way the roPe burst his neck; but the head did not come off. There . was no blood, the wound which the culprit had inflicted .• on himself at his capture being readily opened up. 0° did not sleep till three o'clock.in the morning, and the.,ll his rest was only fitful for an hour. He was attend by Fathers Clifford and M'Graw, who administered the last rites of the Church to the condemned man. Whet) pinioned he never spoke a word to the ma,gistrates or the executioner. As he walked to his doom be made the responses in an undertone to the service read by thereverend fathers. M'Keown, who was 11t., received a drop of 71t. The Governor of Glasgow tDuke-st.) Prison states that before M'Keown had the white cap .drawn over his face he kissed the crucifix. He was on his knees prayini when Billington entered his cell. He had severe paroxysms of grief throughout the morning, and wirti he walked to the scaffold his eyes were suffused Wial tears.  I