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08 - My Experiences as an Executioner by James Berry · My Experiences as an Executioner

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  Speaker 1: Chapter seven of My Experiences as an Executioner by James Berry.
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  Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain recording by
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  Speaker 1: Ashley Jane, Chapter seven, two terrible experiences. The whole of
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  Speaker 1: the duties of an executioner are unpleasant, but there are
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  Speaker 1: exceptional incidents occurring at times which stand out upon the
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  Speaker 1: tablet of one's memory, and which cannot be recorded without
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  Speaker 1: an involuntary shudder. I have had two of these experiences, and,
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  Speaker 1: as people should always learn by their failures, have turned
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  Speaker 1: them to practical account as lessons for the future. The
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  Speaker 1: first was the attempted execution of John Lee, which resorted
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  Speaker 1: in the Home Office making an investigation into the arrangements
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  Speaker 1: for executions in the different jail, and eventually to their
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  Speaker 1: issuing an official plan for the drop, which has been
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  Speaker 1: used in all prisons where scaffolds have since been erected.
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  Speaker 1: The second of these experiences was that the execution of
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  Speaker 1: Robert Goodale, when the length of the drop caused the
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  Speaker 1: head to be severed from the body. This taught me
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  Speaker 1: that the long drop system then in use and introduced
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  Speaker 1: by mister Marwood, was faulty in some cases, and caused
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  Speaker 1: me to work out my present table of lengths of drop,
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  Speaker 1: as explained in the chapter on my method of execution.
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  Speaker 1: There are so many erroneous ideas afloat about the details
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  Speaker 1: of these two cases that I think a good purpose
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  Speaker 1: may be served by my giving the actual particulars, especially
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  Speaker 1: as no true explanation has ever been published of the
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  Speaker 1: difficulty which occurred in the case of Lee. Lee was
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  Speaker 1: found guilty of the murder of miss Keys in whose
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  Speaker 1: house at Babacoom he was employed as a servant. Eight
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  Speaker 1: o'clock on Monday February twenty third, eighteen eighty five was
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  Speaker 1: the time fixed for his execution. The scaffold and its
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  Speaker 1: arrangements had not been used for a previous execution in
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  Speaker 1: their then position, though the drop had been used once
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  Speaker 1: for the execution of missus Took, but it was then
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  Speaker 1: fixed in another place. On the Saturday, I examined this
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  Speaker 1: drop and reported that it was much too free of
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  Speaker 1: for its purpose. But I worked the lever and found
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  Speaker 1: that the doors dropped all right. On the Monday morning,
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  Speaker 1: at the appointed time, I brought out the prisoner in
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  Speaker 1: the usual way, pinioned him, and adjusted the noose. He
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  Speaker 1: was perfectly calm and indifferent When the noose was adjusted,
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  Speaker 1: I stood back and poured over the lever. The noise
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  Speaker 1: of the bolt sliding could be plainly heard, but the
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  Speaker 1: doors did not fall. I stamped on the drop to
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  Speaker 1: shake it loose, and so did some of the boarders,
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  Speaker 1: but none of our efforts could stir it. Lee stood
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  Speaker 1: like a statue, making no sound or sign. As soon
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  Speaker 1: as we found our efforts useless, we led the condemned
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  Speaker 1: man away. We tried the doors, which fell easily. Then
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  Speaker 1: Lee was placed in position again, and again the doors
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  Speaker 1: refused to fall. Then the prisoner was taken away, and
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  Speaker 1: eventually his sentence was commuted. Perhaps it would be well
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  Speaker 1: to state here that the report to the effect that
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  Speaker 1: Lee has since been executed, and another report to the
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  Speaker 1: effect that he has been liberated are both equally false,
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  Speaker 1: for he is still in prison. Various reasons were given
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  Speaker 1: to the account for the failure of the workings, but
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  Speaker 1: it was most generally believed that it was caused by
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  Speaker 1: the doors being swollen with the rain which fell on
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  Speaker 1: the Sunday night. That this was not the cause is
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  Speaker 1: proved firstly by the fact that the doors fell all
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  Speaker 1: right when the weight of the prisoner was not on them,
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  Speaker 1: and secondly by the fact that they would not fall
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  Speaker 1: with the prisoner on them, even when we had chopped
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  Speaker 1: and planes down the sides where it was supposed that
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  Speaker 1: they stuck. The Governor of the jail and the under
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  Speaker 1: Sheriff who were present, were terribly upset about the failure
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  Speaker 1: of the attempted execution and the prolonged and terrible suspense
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  Speaker 1: in which the prisoner was kept. They were almost frantic
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  Speaker 1: about it, but nothing could be done in the matter.
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  Speaker 1: The under Sheriff asked me to write out a brief
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  Speaker 1: statement of the facts, together with my opinion of the
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  Speaker 1: cause of the difficulty, and I give a copy of
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  Speaker 1: my letter below. Executioner's Office, one Builton Place, City Road, Bradford, Yorkshire,
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  Speaker 1: fourth March eighteen eighty five. Ari John Lee, Sir. In
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  Speaker 1: accordance with the request contained in your letter of the
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  Speaker 1: thirtieth Instant Mensa, I beg to say that on the
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  Speaker 1: morning of Friday, the twentieth Ultimo mensa, I traveled from
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  Speaker 1: Bradford to Bristol, and on the morning of Saturday, the
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  Speaker 1: twenty first, from Bristol to Exeter, arriving at Exeter at
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  Speaker 1: eleven fifty am, when I walked direct to the County jail,
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  Speaker 1: signed my name in your jail register book. At twelve
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  Speaker 1: o'clock exactly, I was shown to the Governor's office and
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  Speaker 1: arranged with him that I would go and dine and
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  Speaker 1: return to the jail at two pm. I accordingly left
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  Speaker 1: the jail, partook of dinner, and returned at one fifty pm,
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  Speaker 1: when I was shown to the bedroom allotted to me,
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  Speaker 1: which was an officer's room in the new hospital ward
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  Speaker 1: Shortly afterwards, I made an inspection of the place of execution.
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  Speaker 1: The execution was to take place in a coach house
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  Speaker 1: in which the prison van was usually kept. Two warders
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  Speaker 1: accompanied me on the inspection. In the coach house, I
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  Speaker 1: found a beam about four inches thick and about a
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  Speaker 1: foot in depth was placed across the top of the
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  Speaker 1: coach house. Through this beam, an iron bolt was fastened
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  Speaker 1: with an iron nut on the upper side, and to
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  Speaker 1: this bolt a wrought iron rod was fixed about three
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  Speaker 1: quarters of a yard long, with a hole at the
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  Speaker 1: lower end to which the rope was to be attached.
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  Speaker 1: Two trap doors were placed in the floor of the
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  Speaker 1: coach house, which is flagged with stone, and these doors
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  Speaker 1: cover a pit about two yards by one and a
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  Speaker 1: half yards across and about eleven feet deep. On inspecting
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  Speaker 1: these doors, I found they were only about an inch thick,
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  Speaker 1: but to have been constructed properly, should have been three
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  Speaker 1: or four inches thick. The iron work of the doors
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  Speaker 1: was of a frail kind and much too weak for
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  Speaker 1: the purpose. There was a lever to these doors, and
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  Speaker 1: it was placed near the top of them. I pulled
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  Speaker 1: the lever and the doors dropped, the catches acting all right.
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  Speaker 1: I had the doors raised and tried the leather a
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  Speaker 1: second time, when the catch again acted all right. The
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  Speaker 1: governor was watching me through the window of his office
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  Speaker 1: and saw me try the doors. After the examination, I
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  Speaker 1: went to him, explained how I found the doors, and
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  Speaker 1: suggested to him that for future executions, new trap doors
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  Speaker 1: should be made about three times as thick as those
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  Speaker 1: then fixed. I also suggested that a spring should be
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  Speaker 1: fixed in the wall to hold the doors back when
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  Speaker 1: they fell, so that no rebounding occurred, and that the
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  Speaker 1: iron work of the doors should be stronger. The governor
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  Speaker 1: said he would see to these matters in the future.
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  Speaker 1: I spent all the Sunday in the room allotted to me,
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  Speaker 1: and did not go outside the jail. I retired to
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  Speaker 1: bed about nine forty five that night. The execution was
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  Speaker 1: fixed to take place at eight o'clock on the morning
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  Speaker 1: of Monday, the twenty third Ultimo. On the Monday morning,
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  Speaker 1: I arose at six thirty and was conducted from the
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  Speaker 1: bedroom by a warder at seven point thirty to the
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  Speaker 1: place of execution. Everything appeared to be and I had
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  Speaker 1: left it on the Saturday afternoon. I fixed the rope
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  Speaker 1: in my ordinary manner and placed everything in readiness. I
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  Speaker 1: did not try the trap doors, as they appeared to
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  Speaker 1: be just as I had left them. It had rained
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  Speaker 1: heavily during the nights of Saturday and Sunday. About four
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  Speaker 1: minutes to eight o'clock, I was conducted by the Governor
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  Speaker 1: to the conduct sell and introduced to John Lee. I
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  Speaker 1: proceeded at once the opinion him, which was done in
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  Speaker 1: the usual manner, and then gave a signal to the
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  Speaker 1: Governor that tie was ready. The procession was formed, headed
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  Speaker 1: by the Governor, the chief warder, and the chaplain, followed
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  Speaker 1: by Lee. I walked behind Lee, and six or eight
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  Speaker 1: warders came after me. On reaching the place of execution,
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  Speaker 1: I found you were there with the prison surgeon. Lee
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  Speaker 1: was at once placed upon the trap doors. I pinioned
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  Speaker 1: his legs, pulled down the white cap, adjusted the rope,
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  Speaker 1: stepped on one side, and drew the lever, but the
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  Speaker 1: trap door did not fall. I had previously stood upon
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  Speaker 1: the doors and thought they would fall quite easily. I
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  Speaker 1: unloosened the strap from his legs, took the rope from
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  Speaker 1: his neck, removed the white cap, and took Lee away
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  Speaker 1: into an adjoining room until I made an examination of
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  Speaker 1: the doors. I worked the lever after Lee had been
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  Speaker 1: taken off, drew it, and the doors fell easily. With
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  Speaker 1: the assistance of the warders. The doors were poured up
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  Speaker 1: and the lever drawn a second time. When the doors
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  Speaker 1: again fell easily, Lee was then brought from the adjoining room,
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  Speaker 1: placed in position. The cap and rope adjusted, but when
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  Speaker 1: I again pulled the lever, it did not act, and
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  Speaker 1: in trying to force it, the lever was slightly strained.
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  Speaker 1: Lee was then taken off a second time and conducted
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  Speaker 1: to the adjoining room. It was suggested to me that
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  Speaker 1: the wood work fitted too tightly in the center of
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  Speaker 1: the doors, and one of the warders fetched an axe
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  Speaker 1: and another a plane. I again tried the lever, but
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  Speaker 1: it did not act. A piece of wood was then
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  Speaker 1: sewn off one of the doors close to where the
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  Speaker 1: iron catches were, and by the aid of an iron crowbar,
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  Speaker 1: the catches were knocked off and the doors fell open.
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  Speaker 1: You then gave orders that the execution should not be
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  Speaker 1: proceeded with until you had communicated with the Home Secretary,
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  Speaker 1: and Lee was taken back to the condemned cell. I
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  Speaker 1: am of opinion that the iron work catches of the
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  Speaker 1: trap doors were not strong enough for the purpose. That
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  Speaker 1: the woodwork of the doors should have been about three
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  Speaker 1: or four times as heavy, and with iron work to correspond,
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  Speaker 1: so that when a man of Lee's weight was placed
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  Speaker 1: upon the doors, the iron catches would not have become locked,
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  Speaker 1: as I feel sure they did on this occasion, but
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  Speaker 1: would respond readily. So far as iron concerned. Everything was
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  Speaker 1: performed in a careful manner, and had that iron and
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  Speaker 1: woodwork been sufficiently strong, the execution would have been satisfactorily accomplished.
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  Speaker 1: I am, sir, your obedient servant, James Berry, Henry M.
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  Speaker 1: James Esquire under Sheriff of Devon the close Exeter the
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  Speaker 1: other miserable experience which Lingers, in my memory, was as
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  Speaker 1: before stated, the execution of Robert Goodale. He was condemned
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  Speaker 1: to death for the murder of his wife, and on
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  Speaker 1: November thirtieth, eighteen eighty five, I was at Norwich Castle
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  Speaker 1: to conduct the execution. At that time I was working
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  Speaker 1: with my original table of lengths of drop, which I
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  Speaker 1: had based upon mister Marwood's system. This table, and some
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  Speaker 1: particulars of Gordo's case, or rather the new calculations which
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  Speaker 1: I made in consequence of the lesson then learned, will
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  Speaker 1: be found in the chapter on my method of execution.
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  Speaker 1: He weighed fifteen stones, and the calculated drop for a
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  Speaker 1: man of that weight, according to the old table, was
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  Speaker 1: seven foot eight inches. As Goodale did not seem very muscular,
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  Speaker 1: I reduced the drop by about two feet. In fact,
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  Speaker 1: as closely as I could measure it to five foot
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  Speaker 1: nine inches. The rope that I used was one made
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  Speaker 1: and supplied by the Government, and I had used it
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  Speaker 1: seven days previously for the execution of John Williams at Hereford.
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  Speaker 1: The drop was built on a plan supplied by the
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  Speaker 1: Government and had been used before. In fact, everything was
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  Speaker 1: in perfect working order. The Governor of the jail had
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  Speaker 1: been specially anxious that everything should be right, and had
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  Speaker 1: taken all possible precautions to avoid a hitch. He had
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  Speaker 1: personally tested the drop on the Thursday morning before, and
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  Speaker 1: on Saturday had again tested it in company with an engineer.
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  Speaker 1: The whole of the arrangements were carried out in the
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  Speaker 1: usual manner, and when I pulled the lever, the drop
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  Speaker 1: fell properly and the prisoner dropped out of sight. We
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  Speaker 1: were horrified, however, to see that the rope jerked upwards,
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  Speaker 1: and for an instant I thought that the news had
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  Speaker 1: slipped from the corporate's head, or that the rope had broken.
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  Speaker 1: But it was worse than that, for the jerk had
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  Speaker 1: severed the head entirely from the body, and both had
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  Speaker 1: fallen together to the bottom of the pit. Of course,
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  Speaker 1: death was instantaneous, so that the poor fellow had not
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  Speaker 1: suffered in any way, but it was terrible to think
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  Speaker 1: that such a revolting thing should have occurred. We were
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  Speaker 1: all unnerved and shocked. The governor, whose effort to prevent
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  Speaker 1: any accident had kept his nerves at full strain, fairly
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  Speaker 1: broke down and wept. The inquest was a trying ordeal
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  Speaker 1: for all concerned, and it was a great comfort to
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  Speaker 1: me to find that the Governor and the jail surgeon
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  Speaker 1: both gave evidence as to the care with which every
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  Speaker 1: detail had been carried out. In the evidence I mentioned
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  Speaker 1: that I had hanged one heavier man previously, namely Joseph Lawson,
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  Speaker 1: who weighed sixteen stone eight pounds, and whom I gave
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  Speaker 1: a drop of eight feet. In his case, there was
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  Speaker 1: not even abrasion of the skin of the neck. When
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  Speaker 1: I finished my evidence, the coroner said, I am bound
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  Speaker 1: to say before you leave the room that as far
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  Speaker 1: as the evidence is gone, there seems to be nothing
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  Speaker 1: to throw any blame upon you, either from want of
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  Speaker 1: skill or being in an improper condition. After this, the
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  Speaker 1: evidence of the jail surgeon was taken, and the jury
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  Speaker 1: returned a verdict to the effect that Robert Goodale came
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  Speaker 1: to his death by hanging according to the judgment of law,
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  Speaker 1: and that no one was to blame for what had occurred.
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  Speaker 1: In the foregoing I have spoken of two terrible experiences,
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  Speaker 1: and some of my readers, with the execution of Conway
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  Speaker 1: at Kirkdale fresh in their memories, will ask why it
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  Speaker 1: is not mentioned the fact is the foregoing was written
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  Speaker 1: before Conway's execution took place, and as the mishap which
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  Speaker 1: occurred on that occasion was in no way due to
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  Speaker 1: my own ignorance or carelessness, but was exactly what I
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  Speaker 1: expected would happen in the consequence of my arrangements being
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  Speaker 1: interfered with by others. The shock that I received was
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  Speaker 1: by no means so great as on the other two occasions.
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  Speaker 1: Particulars of this execution will be found in the section
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  Speaker 1: headed the draw of the chapter on My method of execution,
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  Speaker 1: end of section seven. Recording by Ashley Jane