The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle. — 1874-08-15 (Stourbridge, West Midlands, England)

EXECUTION AT EXETER.  At eight o'clock on Monday morning Thomas Macdonald, who, a fortnight since, was sentenced to death for the murder of his paramour, Bridget Welsh, at Plymouth, was executed within the Devon County Gaol, at Exeter. Calcraft was the executioner, but he brought an assistant with him. The prisoner has, ever since his sentence, expressed himself prepared for his fate, and has, during the interval conducted himself in a very becoming manner, and expressed himself perfectly satisfied with the justice of his sentence. It is believed that Macdonald is a feigned name, SS no inquiries have been made by any relatives since he has been in gaol. The convict himself stated that he had a father and mother living, and they were in good circumstances, but he would rather die a hundred deaths than they should hear of the end that had overtaken him. On Sunday night he slept well for between six and seven hours, and got up and dressed about half-past five o'clock on Monday morning. An hour afterwards he received the Roman Catholic priest in his cell, and the rev, gentleman remained with him until his death. The prisoner walked with a firm step to the scaffold, which he ascended with the support of Calcraft and his assistant, and stood apparently calm while his legs were being tied and the white cap was drawn over his face. While the rope was being adjusted, however, he trembled and shook very much, and after he had kissed the crucifix and the priest had descended from the scaffold, he had to be supported by the assistant executioner until the bolt was drawn. The drop was a comparatively short one, not more than 2ft., and in less than a minute after the bolt had been drawn the body hung lifeless in the air. There were a few nervous twitches of the legs and hands, but beyond this no ships of a struggle were visible,—An inquest was held at half-past nine,  The condemned man, Macdonald, was 35 years of age, and having been for some months confined in the Military If. spital at Plymouth, he was a short time since discharged from the Marines. He then went to live with Welsh, who was the wife of another man, but separated from her huslia, d. She had some children, and on the eldest, a boy of about 14, going to her lodgings in East Stonehouse on the evening of Monday, the 29th of June, he heard a great disturbanc inside the room, and on trying the door he found that loaieit. lie si once went round to the window, and on jumping in through that found the prisoner, and the deceased on the floor, the man with one hand holding the woman by the throat, whilst with the other he held a poker with which he was threatening her, The boy's appearance stopped the disturbance, but the deceased expressed her belief to another woman who came in, that but for the boy's interference she would have been murdered. Further, it was stated that the quarrel was about the ownership of the furniture. For the remainder of the evening the prisoner sat apparently half asleep, half awake, on the sofa, and when a neighbour left them at eleven o'clock they appeared to be on fairly good terms with one another. No disturbance was heard during the night, and at breakfast time the prisoner went to an adjoining public-house and obtained some brandy, which he drank, At noon some observations that had been made induced the owner of the public-house to break open the door of the prisoner's lodgings, and then both the man and the woman were found stretched out on the floor apparently dead. The woman proved on examination to have been dead for several hours, and by her side was a portion of the bedstead covered with blood. The prisoner afterwards admitted that this was the weapon with which he did the deed, and he had inflicted two such severe blows on her skull that either would have caused death. Curiously he had arranged the body of the woman just as a corpse would have been laid out under ordinary circumstances. At first it was thought that the prisoner was dead, for his throat was cut and bleeding. It turned out, however, that he was but insensible, and having n his attempted suicide missed the vital parts of ilia neck, he was soon restored and cured. On the table of the room there were two letters which he had written—one before and one after the deed. These letters were, as the learned judge described them, a "mixture of ignorance and religion." In the first the prisoner alleged that the woman had been unfaithful to him, and expressed his intention of killing her. In the second he stated that he had killed her, but he hoped that they would meet in heaven, and he trusted that her fate would be warning to other women notto "try a man too far." He requested that his property (between 1;20 and 001 might be divided among the poor of Stonehouse, and he also mentioned a sum to be paid to the Roman Catholic priest for masses for the souls of the woman and himself. At the trial a defence of insanity was set up, but there WllB no 1 evidence to support this, and almost without a