COATS' EXECUTION
duties of sherriff FINAL DECISION MADE According to the Crimes Act, the sheriff must carry out a sentence of death within seven days of receiving notice that the Governor-General will ; not interfere. George- Errol Coats, convicted of the murder of Phillis Avis Symons, has had the customary "three clear Sundays with which to make peace with his Maker." Since the sentence of death was passed upon him, and since 'the conclusion of the trial on November 11, he has been housed at the Wellington gaol. Usually, a condemned man remains under the gaoler's care until a few minutes before the time set for the execution. At the appointed time the sheriff walks to the cell, where the condemned n:sn has been. under stric.t watch without interruption since sentence was passed upon him, and demands the body of the person within. Although the i esponsibility of an execution rests with the sheriff he has the right tc appoint a deputy known as the b mgman. Should no one offer his s.rvices for this post the sheriff must fulfil the duty himself. A man coming forward to act as hangman is paid by the sheriff and not by the State. After an execution has taken place, the body is not permitted to be removed from the place of hanging or buried until eight hours have elapsed. This provision is made to enable anyone desirous of viewing the body after death to do so, but no one can view the body without the written authority of a justice. An inquest is always held after an execution before a coroner and jury, and it is the duty of the jury to inquire and find whether the sentence of the court was duly and properly carried into effect. The jury which must comprise at least four persons, 1 must not include any person who witnessed the execution. It is more than a year since a hanging took place in New Zealand. The last person to pay the death penalty was Arthur Thomas Munn, who was convicted at Auckland on May 6, 1930, for the murder of his wife.
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Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 98, 16 December 1931, Page 7
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355COATS' EXECUTION Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 98, 16 December 1931, Page 7
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