HORRIBLE SCENE AT A SCAFFOLD.

Waikato Times, Volume XXIV, Issue 1990, 9 April 1885, Page 4

HORRIBLE SCENE AT A SCAFFOLD.

Ay extiaonlinary seen" was witnessed 'M th in Fxttu daol on thcmoining of February l?.">id, "lien .n ittempt wat made to hang John h< < , who was cod Meted lefoie Mr Justice Manisty, nt the Kxeter A^izc, for thr nmrdei of Misc Kcvi's at Babhicombe list Novembei The place of execut'on at which tlie nt tempt «n» made to hang Lee was a new one. The earth beneath the floor of tlu ami h house in which tho prison \ an i* usually kept lias been hollowed out, and one portion of the floor is made in th»' form of double doois which.ne rctaim d in position by a central bolt; .1 le\er works thu bolt, and on this being pulled the doors urc mij>jiom d to give way be neath the cnmimls feet, and his bodj drops into the ten feet hole bcneatli. Wlitn B ii}, the executioner, .triived o-i ■vtturday he tued the apparatus, and the iliop fell fieely without any wught hi ing upon it, nnd with the addition of the weight of a man upon it the floor outfit to have gone with the utmost freedom tthen rili,iit'(l by the lever drawing th< bolt. The piocession, lie.nle.il by the ( lucf « aider, and attendtd by the Under Sheriff, the governor iiml chaplain of the g.iol, nnd the piison suigu.n, 11 ached the place of execution a few seconds before eight o'clock in the morning. The comlemned man walked In mly to the drop without eMiieing «n> emotion. The rope was adjusted around Ins neck, and as the concluding Bentenccs of the services for the dead wen lead, the lever was drawn. But, instead of the platfo.m falling, it remainH stuck fast. A second tug by the executioner at the lever produced no further result, and then thr warders, standing on each side of the condemned man, each put a foot on the drop and endeavonred to assist its fill. As this did not answer, Lee was marched to the back of the house, the cap still o\er his face and tinrope still round his neck, and an the cuminal stood in this position the falling doois foiming the drop were opened and then returned to their original position, ready for .1 further attempt to hang the condemne 1 man. The attempt wus duly made, and the weight of the ftet of the wardeis added to tint of the cuminal with the \iew of aiding the fall of the drop 'Ihe efiort was so great that the hoai ds spuing sufficiently to give quite an upward impetus to Lee. Six ininuUs having been expended in these unsuccessful elicits to execute the sentence, the prisoners f.ice was tin covered, the rope taken from hn neck, and he was matched back to the cells. It s<cmed as if the edges of the doors winch formed the drop had swollen and had become jimmed. A little attention, however, seemed to put things all right, md at ten minute-, past eight the condemned man wns again put on the drop, the concluding sentences of the service for the dead were read for the third or fourth time, and the lever again pulled by the executiouei ; but once moic the drop remained fixed and firm, and tho additional weight of the warders did not do more than just shake the floor . The scene was most painful. The prisoner, who had remained standing, without any assistance, whilst pievious ctfoits were made to secuie tho working of the drop, now fchovved some indications of being affected by the teinble ordeal through which he had been pausing. Twelve minutes had alieady been expended in futile efforts to lung him. The lever had been pulled almost as many time*, ai.d with each pull the platform had quivered, bo that on this number of occasion*, -it least, Lee must have imigined that each moment was his hint At thirteen minutes after the first attempt the white cap and the rope were for the necotul time removed from Ins head nnd neck, and he was again led out of the pla'-e. of execution to the piison. The condemned man was by this time ndticed to almost an extreme state. His face was destitute of colour, his hands weie blue with the cold, and hiscjes Mere half closed. Up to this time he had stood and moved without any assistance, but now he had to be suppoited on the way back to the piison, and had not sufficient strength to mount the step to reach the passage to the intei ior of the prison. He was accordingly helped in by the warders. Other warders then set to work with a hatchet to chop off the edges of the doois so that they might not again catch in each other, but might fall readily when the support of the lever was removed. A quarter of an hour was expended in these operations. Meanwhile a conference had taken place between the chief otiieials, and at twenty minutes to nine o'clock the Undei-Sheiift informed the reporters that aftci what had taken place, he did not think he should be justified in again allowing an attempt to be made to hang the prisoner until there had been an opportunity to communicate with the Home Secretaiy, and to ariange for the diop being made to work properly. He took the opportunity of saying that he did not think there w<is any blame due to the executioner, as he took eveiy care to see. that the nppaiatus was in pioper older on Satuiday, and then it worked as easily as possible. The governor of the gaol remm kid that although tfVre had not been any execution m the coach homo previously to this, yet the platfoim was exactly the same as that used at the execution of Annie Took some years .since, and then the sentence was said to have been can ied out without the least hitch; but on th.it occasion the police oflieials only weie picM-nt. Iterry had arranged to have given the condemned man an eight fict ill op, and although he was on Satuiday quite satisfied that the existing appaiatus would vvoik, jet he suggested certain alti lations which he thought would be an impiovement for futuic executions Outside the gaol there was a great deal of p\cit( meiit. The delay in hoisting the black Hag caused consideiablc comment ; and although at fiiit the ciowd was Miiall, yet the idei that their was something wrong spccdilv. epnad, and wlilii tho repoiters left the gaol they found the whole of the roads approaching the prison crowded by Hpectatoi.s. Shortly afterwards the Undcr-Shciiff proceeded to London and had an interview with the Home Scretary, w ho granted a respite.