AN EXTRAORDINARY EXECUTION

Dunstan Times, Issue 1260, 23 April 1886, Page 3

AN EXTRAORDINARY EXECUTION

An extraord nary executim occurred at New Orleans on March 12 The Governor that morning received a te’egram from Sheriff Butler, of Orleans .parish, _ saying “ Ford and Murphy attempted suicide this morning by swallowing poison. They are in a stupor and in a comatose condition. The doctors believe the-attempt a failure, but cannot say how'lohg it will take' to. ’ estore them to consciousness. Should they not revive before the hour fixed shall I execute the warrant notwithstanding i ” The Governor replied: “Yes, go on with the executions. Carry out the warrants.” It appears that when the keeper went to call Ford and Murphy, who were to hang for the murder of “Cap.” Murphy, committed December Ist, 1884, he could not rouse them. Physicians were hastily called, and they pronounced the men under the influence of belladonna. Every effort was made to restore them to consciousness, and at 10 o’clock Murphy had rallied a little, but Ford was still unconscious. At 12.30 a.ra. a service was held in the chapel by members of the Vincent de Paul Society. At two o’clock the men became unusually calm, so much so that they seemed hardly able to realise the fact that a fearful doom was awaiting them. At 2.30 a.m. Ford said ho was tired, and ho and Mnrphy went to their cells, accompanied by the deputy-sheriffs and reporters. They en» tered their cells, b»le all good night, and were left alone. The men appeared to be sleeping soundly. At 7.30 a.m., when, the efforts to arouse them revealed their condi* tion, they were lying on their backs. Ford was breathing very loudly, while Murphy was aroused, and, when asked how he felt, replied “ very bad.” A tremor passed over [him and be again sank into uncon* scionsness. Two pieces of paper were found in the cell which had evidently contained belladonna. In view of the fact that the condemned men had committed suicide, Rev, Father Callahan, in accordance with the rules of the Catholic Church, refused to administer the last sacraments to them. The preparation for the hanging began at .12.30 p.m., when the yard and corridor were cleared of prisoners. Both men were lying in their cots. M urphy was in the same semi-con-scions state, and although his eyes wandered in all directions he could not understand what was going on. Only once did he return to his senses, and then he held out his hand to Ford and endeavored to shake hands with him. This was only for an instant, for he once more lost consciousness. notwithstanding the fact that emetics administered to him causing him to vomit the poison, which was of a greenish hue. As 12.35 the arms and legs of the men were pinioned while they were still in a recumbent position. Six witnesses were sworn in by Sheriff Butler, and the death warrant was read to the senseless men.

At 12.40 o’clock Sheriff Butler, accompanied by several subordinate officials, proceeded to the cells of the condemned, where the bodies ot the doomed men still lay apparently lifeless. Under the physicians’ care, the forms were carefully lifted from their recumbent positions and borne in the arms of the agitated deputies to the scaffold. Amid profound silence, the ghastly bodies were carried up the steps to the platform and held iu an erect position while the fatal nooses were drawn over and around their necks. No signs of life were observed in either man. When the last sad rites jjad been performed, and when the trap was sprung by an unseen baud and the bodies were launched into eternity, a hush fell upon the little group of unwilling spectators.

The crime for which Ford and Murphy weio hanged is without a parallel in history. The high position of the accused and those associated with them, ■ the boldness and audacity of the crime itself, and the social, political, and financial influences brought to bear to retard and prevent justice, made the trial a duel between the State and the defendants. The central figure in the tragedy was Judge Thomas J. Ford, late Recorder of the city of New Orleans, and now serving a twenty years’ sentence iu the Penitentiary for the part he played in the murder. Ford, the condemned man, is a brother of the Judge, and Murphy was an officer of Judge Ford’s Court. The trial showed that Judge Ford and his brother and five officers of his Court were implicated in the murder.