CHAPTER IV._My Experiences as an Executioner

My Method of Execution.

CALCULATIONS AND APPARATUS.

My method of execution is the outcome of the experience of my

predecessors and myself, aided by suggestions from the doctors, and is

rather the result of gradual growth than the invention of any one man.

The Drop.

The matter which requires the greatest attention in connection with an

execution is the allowance of a suitable drop for each person executed,

and the adjustment of this matter is not nearly so simple as an

outsider would imagine.

It is, of course, necessary that the drop should be of sufficient

length to cause instantaneous death, that is to say, to cause death by

dislocation rather than by strangulation; and on the other hand, the

drop must not be so great as to outwardly mutilate the victim. If all

murderers who have to be hanged were of precisely the same weight and

build it would be very easy to find out the most suitable length of

drop, and always to give the same, but as a matter of fact they vary

enormously.

In the earliest days of hanging it was the practice for the executioner

to place his noose round the victim's neck, and then to haul upon the

other end of the rope, which was passed through a ring on the scaffold

pole until the culprit was strangled, without any drop at all. After a

while the drop system was introduced, but the length of drop given was

never more than three feet, so that death was still generally caused

by strangulation, and not by dislocation, as it is at present. One

after another, all our English executioners followed the same plan

without thought of change or improvement, until Mr. Marwood took the

appointment. He, as a humane man, carefully considered the subject, and

came to the conclusion that the then existing method, though certain,

was not so rapid or painless as it ought to be. In consequence he

introduced his long-drop system with a fall of from seven to ten feet,

which caused instantaneous death by severance of the spinal cord. I

was slightly acquainted with Mr. Marwood before his death, and I had

gained some particulars of his method from conversation with him; so

that when I undertook my first execution, at Edinburgh, I naturally

worked upon his lines. This first commission was to execute Robert

Vickers and William Innes, two miners who were condemned to death for

the murder of two game-keepers. The respective weights were 10 stone 4

lbs. and 9 stone 6 lbs., and I gave them drops of 8 ft. 6 in. and 10

ft. respectively. In both cases death was instantaneous, and the prison

surgeon gave me a testimonial to the effect that the execution was

satisfactory in every respect. Upon this experience I based a table of

weights and drops. Taking a man of 14 stones as a basis, and giving him

a drop of 8 ft., which is what I thought necessary, I calculated that

every half-stone lighter weight would require a two inches longer drop,

and the full table, as I entered it in my books at the time, stood as

follows:--

14 stones 8 ft. 0 in.

13½ " 8 " 2 "

13 " 8 " 4 "

12½ " 8 " 6 "

12 " 8 " 8 "

11½ " 8 " 10 "

11 " 9 " 0 "

10½ " 9 " 2 "

10 " 9 " 4 "

9½ " 9 " 6 "

9 " 9 " 8 "

8½ " 9 " 10 "

8 " 10 " 0 "

This table I calculated for persons of what I might call "average"

build, but it could not by any means be rigidly adhered to with safety.

For instance, I have more than once had to execute persons who had

attempted suicide by cutting their throats, or who had been otherwise

wounded about the neck, and to prevent re-opening the wounds I have

reduced the drop by nearly half. Again, in the case of persons of very

fleshy build, who often have weak bones and muscles about the neck, I

have reduced the drop by a quarter or half of the distance indicated by

the table. If I had not done so, no doubt two or three of those whom I

have executed would have had their heads entirely jerked off,--which

did occur in one case to which I shall again refer. In the case of

persons with scrofulous tendencies it is especially necessary that the

fall should be unusually short, and in these cases I have at times

received useful hints from the gaol doctors.

Until November 30th, 1885, I worked to the scale already given, but on

that date I had the awful experience above referred to, which caused

me to reconsider the whole subject and to construct a general table on

what I believe to be a truly scientific basis. The experience referred

to is dealt with in another chapter. The man with whom it occurred

was Robert Goodale, whom I executed at Norwich Castle. He weighed 15

stones, and the drop indicated by the first table would therefore be 7

ft. 8 in., but in consequence of his appearance I reduced it to 5 ft.

9 in., because the muscles of his neck did not appear well developed

and strong. But even this, as it turned out, was not short enough, and

the result was one of the most horrible mishaps that I have ever had.

As will be seen from the full report of this case, in another chapter,

the coroner exonerated me from all blame and testified to the careful

way in which I had done my work; but I felt that it was most necessary

to take every possible precaution against the recurrence of such an

affair. I, therefore, worked out a table of the striking force of

falling bodies of various weights falling through different distances;

which table I give on page 34. Working with this, I calculate that an

"average" man, of any weight, requires a fall that will finish with a

striking force of 24 cwt., and if the convict seems to require less,

I mentally estimate the striking force that is necessary, and then

by referring to the table I can instantly find the length of drop

required. To see how this new table works out we may take the case of

Robert Goodale again. As he weighed 15 stones his striking force with

a drop of 2 feet would be 21 cwt. 21 lbs., or with a drop of 3 feet

26 cwt. 7 lbs., so that if he were a man of ordinary build the drop

necessary would be 2 ft. 6 in. As I estimated from his appearance that

his drop ought to have been about one-sixth less than the standard, I

should have given him, working on this new table, about 2 ft. 1 in.

instead of the 5 ft. 9 in. which was actually given. This is an extreme

case, with a very heavy man, but all through the table it will be found

that the drop works out shorter than in the first table. For instance,

Vickers and Innes, the two Edinburgh murderers previously referred to

would have had their drops reduced from 8 ft. 6 in. and 10 ft. to 5 ft.

6 in. and 7 ft. respectively if they had been treated according to the

present revised table.

On August 20th, 1891, at Kirkdale Gaol, Liverpool, at the execution of

John Conway, an attempt was made to dictate to me the length of drop,

and a most unfortunate scene ensued. From seeing the convict, Conway, I

had decided that the drop ought to be 4 ft. 6 in., a little under the

scale rate; and I was surprised and annoyed at being told by Dr. Barr,

acting, I believe, under authority, that I was to give a drop of 6 ft.

9 in. I said that it would pull the man's head off altogether, and

finally refused to go on with the execution if such a long drop were

given. Dr. Barr then measured off a shorter drop, some ten or twelve

inches shorter, but still much longer than I thought necessary, and

I reluctantly agreed to go on. The result, everyone knows. The drop

was not so long as to absolutely pull off the victim's head, but it

ruptured the principal blood-vessels of the neck.

SCALE SHOWING THE STRIKING FORCE OF FALLING BODIES AT DIFFERENT

DISTANCES.

+--------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+

+--------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+

| 1 Ft. | 8 0 0 | 9 0 0 |10 0 0 |11 0 0 |

| 2 " |11 1 15 |12 2 23 |14 0 14 |15 2 4 |

| 3 " |13 3 16 |15 2 15 |17 1 14 |19 0 12 |

| 4 " |16 0 0 |18 0 0 |20 0 0 |22 0 0 |

| 5 " |17 2 11 |19 3 5 |22 0 0 |24 0 22 |

| 6 " |19 2 11 |22 0 5 |24 2 0 |26 3 22 |

| 7 " |21 0 22 |23 3 11 |26 2 0 |29 0 16 |

| 8 " |22 2 22 |25 2 4 |28 1 14 |31 0 23 |

| 9 " |24 0 11 |27 0 12 |30 0 14 |33 0 23 |

| 10 " |25 1 5 |28 1 23 |31 2 14 |34 3 4 |

+--------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+

+--------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+

| 1 Ft. |12 0 0 |13 0 0 |14 0 0 |15 0 0 |

| 2 " |16 3 22 |18 1 12 |19 3 2 |21 0 21 |

| 3 " |20 3 11 |22 2 9 |24 1 8 |26 0 7 |

| 4 " |24 0 0 |26 0 0 |28 0 0 |30 0 0 |

| 5 " |26 1 16 |28 2 11 |30 3 5 |33 0 0 |

| 6 " |29 1 16 |31 3 11 |34 1 5 |36 3 0 |

| 7 " |31 3 5 |34 1 22 |37 0 11 |39 3 0 |

| 8 " |34 0 5 |36 3 15 |39 2 25 |42 2 7 |

| 9 " |36 0 16 |39 0 18 |42 0 19 |45 0 21 |

| 10 " |37 3 22 |41 0 12 |44 1 2 |47 1 21 |

+--------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+

+--------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+

| 1 Ft. |16 0 0 |17 0 0 |18 0 0 |19 0 0 |

| 2 " |22 2 11 |24 0 1 |25 1 19 |26 3 9 |

| 3 " |27 3 5 |29 2 4 |31 1 2 |33 0 1 |

| 4 " |32 0 0 |34 0 0 |36 0 0 |40 0 0 |

| 5 " |35 0 22 |37 0 16 |39 2 11 |41 3 15 |

| 6 " |39 0 22 |41 2 16 |44 0 11 |46 2 5 |

| 7 " |42 1 16 |45 0 5 |47 2 22 |50 1 11 |

| 8 " |45 1 16 |48 0 26 |51 0 8 |53 3 18 |

| 9 " |48 0 22 |51 0 23 |54 0 25 |57 0 26 |

| 10 " |50 2 11 |53 3 1 |56 3 19 | 60 0 9 |

+--------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+

I do not know who was really responsible for the interference with my

calculation, but do not think that the long drop was Dr. Barr's own

idea, as the drop which I suggested was on the same system as he had

previously commended, and was almost identical with the drop that would

have worked out on the basis of his own recommendation in a letter to

the _Times_ some years ago. Dr. Barr's letter to me, written in 1884,

was as follows:--

1, St. Domingo Grove,

Everton,

Liverpool, _Sept. 2nd, 1884_.

Sir,

In compliance with your request I have pleasure in giving you a

certificate as to the manner in which you conducted the execution

of Peter Cassidy in H.M. Prison, Kirkdale. I may now report the

statement which I gave in evidence at the Inquest, "that I had

never seen an execution more satisfactorily performed." This was

very gratifying to me.

Your rope was of excellent quality; fine, soft, pliable, and

strong. You adjusted the ring, directed forwards in the manner in

which I have recommended in my pamphlet, "Judicial Hanging." You

gave a sufficient length of drop, considering the weight of the

culprit, and completely dislocated the cervical vertebræ between

the atlas and axis (first and second vertebræ). I have reckoned

that the weight of the criminal, multiplied by the length of

the drop, might range from 1120 to 1260 foot pounds, and I have

calculated that this _vis viva_ in the case of Cassidy amounted to

1140 foot pounds.

The pinioning and other details were carried out with due decorum,

I hope, whoever be appointed to the post of public Executioner,

may be prohibited from also performing the part of a "showman" to

gratify a depraved and morbid public curiosity.

JAMES BARR, M.D.,

Medical Officer, H.M. Prison, Kirkdale.

To Mr. James Berry.

A few days after Conway's execution I received a letter from a

gentleman in the South of London, shortly followed by a second letter,

and as they throw some useful light upon the subject I give them

in full--omitting the writer's name, as he does not wish it to be

published.

_August 22nd, 1891._

_Re_ the Execution at Kirkdale.

Sir,

As the accident attending the execution on the 20th inst. at

Kirkdale may be falsely, and very unjustly, charged to your

account, and at the same time be brought forward by a mass of

misguided people as a reason for the total abolition of capital

punishment, I think the following remarks on the subject of hanging

may not be out of place.

Some years ago, Dr. James Barr, medical officer at Kirkdale Gaol,

published a letter in the _Times_ regarding what he considered the

proper length of drop. He said that the length of drop ought to be

such as to produce a momentum of 2600 lbs., meaning by "momentum,"

the convict's weight multiplied by the velocity of his descent at

the end of the fall. Now, in estimating the convict's weight, I

conceive that you ought to leave out the weight (as far as you can

guess it) of his head, because the weight of his head is supported

by the noose when the jerk takes place, and, therefore, cannot

affect the amount of pull, or strain, on the neck. From what Dr.

Barr says regarding the 2600 lbs. momentum, it is easy, by a little

mathematics, to deduce the following rule.

To find length of drop in feet, divide the number 412 by the square

of the convict's weight of body in stones.

By the above rule I constructed the following table:--

Weight of body without head. Length of drop.

15 stones 1 ft. 10 in.

14 " 2 " 2 "

13 " 2 " 6 "

12 " 2 " 11 "

11 " 3 " 5 "

10 " 4 " 2 "

9 " 5 " 1 "

8 " 6 " 6 "

7 " 8 " 5 "

Convict Conway's weight, you are reported to have said, was 11

stones 2 lbs. Leaving 1 stone for the weight of his head, which

is perhaps more than sufficient, his hanging weight would be 10

stones 2 lbs, so that a drop of 4 feet and a few inches[B] would

have been, according to the doctor's rule, quite enough for him.

Regarding the value of the rule, I am, of course, unable to speak;

nor do I know, from what I remember of the doctor's letter, that he

meant the 2600 lbs. momentum to apply in all cases. Much depends on

the convict's build, strength of neck, etc.

Yours truly,

X. Y.

(Second letter.)

_August 25th, 1891._

_Re_ the Execution at Kirkdale.

Sir,

In constructing the table I sent you two days ago, I find that I

have made an absurd mistake. It arose from my carelessly taking a

stone weight as 16 lbs., instead of 14 lbs., which I beg you to

allow me correct. Instead of the number 412, I ought to have given

the number 539. The corrected rule based on Dr. Barr's momentum of

2600 lbs. is, therefore, as follows:--Length of drop, in feet, is

found by dividing the number 539 by the square of the number of

stones in weight of convict's body, exclusive of the weight of his

head. Thus, if a convict weighs 11 stones altogether, and we take

his head as 1 stone, we have length of drop = 539/100 = 5·39 feet

(5 ft. 5 in. nearly).

The table, corrected, stands thus:--

Weight of body without head. Length of drop.

15 stones 2 ft. 5 in.

14 " 2 " 9 "

13 " 3 " 2 "

12 " 3 " 9 "

11 " 4 " 6 "

10 " 5 " 5 "

9 " 6 " 8 "

8 " 8 " 3 "

7 " 11 " 0 "

In allowing, in the case of convict Conway, who weighed 11 stones

2 lbs., 1 stone for the head, I may be allowing too much; it is a

mere guess. If his head weighed 9 lbs., the drop ought to have been

4 ft. 10 in.

Yours truly,

X. Y.

P.S.--A mistake of 3 or 4 lbs. in estimating weight of head makes,

you will see, a considerable error in calculating the drop.

It will be seen that this calculation, which does not include the

weight of the head in a man's hanging weight, works out the drop to a

rather greater length than my own table, but the difference is only

small, and I have always found my own table give quite sufficient drop.

The Rope.

The apparatus for carrying out the extreme penalty of the law is very

simple. The most important item is the rope, which must necessarily

possess certain properties if the death of the condemned person is to

be instantaneous and painless.

For successful working the rope must, of course, be strong, and it

must also be pliable in order to tighten freely. It should be as thin

as possible, consistent with strength, in order that the noose may be

free running, but of course, it must not be so thin as to be liable to

outwardly rupture the blood vessels of the neck.

Before undertaking my first execution I gave careful consideration to

the question of the most suitable class of rope, and after trying and

examining many varieties, I decided upon one which I still use. It is

made of the finest Italian hemp, ¾ of an inch in thickness. Before

using a rope for an execution, I thoroughly test it with bags of cement

of about the weight of the condemned person, and this preliminary

testing stretches the cord and at the same time reduces its diameter

to 5/8 of an inch. The rope consists of 5 strands, each of which

has a breaking strain of one ton dead weight, so that it would seem

unnecessary to test it from any fear of its proving too weak, but the

stretching and hardening which it undergoes in the testing makes it

far more "fit" and satisfactory for its work than a new, unused rope

would be.

It has been said that I use a rope with a wire strand down the centre,

but the notion is so ridiculous that I should not refer to it if it

were not that many people seem to believe it, and that more than once

it has been stated in the newspapers. A rope with a wire strand would

possess no possible advantage that I can see, and it would have so many

practical disadvantages that I do not think anyone who had studied the

matter would dream of using such a thing. At any rate I have not done

so, and I know that neither Mr. Binns nor Mr. Marwood ever did. Mr.

Marwood used ropes of about the same quality and thickness as my own,

while Mr. Binns used a much thicker rope (about 1¼ inch diameter after

use), of a rougher and less pliable class of hemp.

Until the commencement of 1890 I supplied my own ropes, some of which,

however, were made to order of the Government, and I was able to use

the same rope again and again. One I used for no less than sixteen

executions, and five others I have used for twelve executions each.

These are now in the possession of Madame Tussaud. At the beginning

of 1890 a new rule was made under which a new rope is ordered to be

supplied and used for most of the executions in England, and to be

burned, together with the clothes of the person executed (which were

formerly a perquisite of the executioner) by the prison officials

immediately after the execution. In Scotland and Ireland I still

provide my own ropes.

The rope I use is thirteen feet long and has a one-inch brass ring

worked into one end, through which the other end of the rope is passed

to form the noose. A leather washer which fits the rope pretty tightly,

is used to slip up behind the brass ring, in order to prevent the noose

slipping or slackening after it has been adjusted.

In using the rope I always adjust it with the ring just behind the

left ear. This position I never alter, though of course, if there were

any special reason for doing so, for instance, if the convict had

attempted suicide and were wounded on the side of the throat, death

could be caused by placing the ring under the chin or even behind the

head. The position behind the ear, however, has distinct advantages

and is the best calculated to cause instantaneous and painless death,

because it acts in three different ways towards the same end. In the

first place, it will cause death by strangulation, which was really the

only cause of death in the old method of hanging, before the long drop

was introduced. Secondly, it dislocates the vertebra, which is now the

actual cause of death. And thirdly, if a third factor were necessary,

it has a tendency to internally rupture the jugular vein, which in

itself is sufficient to cause practically instantaneous death.

Pinioning Straps, Etc.

The pinioning arrangement, like the rest of the arrangements for an

execution, are very simple. A broad leathern body-belt is clasped

round the convict's waist, and to this the arm-straps are fastened.

Two straps, an inch and a half wide, with strong steel buckles, clasp

the elbows and fasten them to the body-belt, while another strap of

the same strength goes round the wrists, and is fastened into the

body-belt in front. The legs are pinioned by means of a single two-inch

strap below the knees. The rest of the apparatus consists of a white

cap, shaped somewhat like a bag, which pulls down over the eyes of the

criminal to prevent his seeing the final preparations.

[Illustration: Plan and elevation of the Drop.]

The Scaffold.

Until recently, the scaffolds in use in the various gaols differed very

much in the details of their construction, as there was no official

model, but in each case the local authorities followed their own idea.

In 1885, however, a design was drawn, in the Surveyors' Department

of the Home Office, by Lieut.-Col. Alten Beamish, R.E. Before being

finally adopted, the design was submitted to me; and it seemed a

thoroughly good one, as, indeed, it has since proved to be, in actual

practice. The design is supplied to the authorities of any gaol where a

scaffold is to be erected, from the Engineers' Department at the Home

Office; and, with a slight alteration, has been the pattern in general

use to the present day. The alteration of which I speak, is a little

one suggested by myself, and consists of the substitution of a slope,

or a level gangway, in place of the steps. I had found in some cases,

when the criminals were nervous or prostrated, that the steps formed a

practical difficulty. The slope, or gangway, was approved by the Home

Office, and was first used on April 15th, 1890, at Kirkdale Gaol, for

the execution of Wm. Chadwick. It was a simple improvement, but it has

turned out to be a very useful one.

At most of the gaols in the country the scaffold is taken to pieces and

laid away immediately after use, but in Newgate, Wandsworth, Liverpool,

and Strangeways (Manchester), it is kept standing permanently.

The essential parts of the scaffold are few. There is a heavy

cross-beam, into which bolts terminating in hooks are usually fastened.

In some cases this cross-beam stands on two upright posts, but usually

its ends are let into the walls of the scaffold house. Of course, the

hooks fastened to it are intended to hold the rope.

The scaffold proper, or trap, or drop, as it is variously called, is

the portion of the structure to which most importance is attached,

and of which the Government furnishes a plan. It consists of two

massive oaken doors, fixed in an oak frame-work on a level with the

floor, and over a deep bricked pit. The plan and section will explain

the arrangement. The two doors are marked A A and B B on the plan.

The door A A is hung on three strong hinges, marked C C C, which are

continued under the door B B. When the trap is set the ends of these

long hinges rest on a draw-bar E E, as shown in the plan. The draw-bar

is of iron, 1¼ in. square, sliding in strong iron staples, F F F, which

fit it exactly. When the lever D is pulled over in the direction of

the little arrow, it moves the draw-bar in the opposite direction,

so that the ends of the long hinges drop through the openings H H H,

and the two doors fall. To set the trap the door B B has to be raised

into a perpendicular position, until the other door is raised and its

hinges placed on the draw-bar. The arrangement is a very good one; as

both doors must necessarily fall at exactly the same moment. Their

great weight--for they are of three inch oak--causes them to drop very

suddenly, even without the weight of the criminal, and they are caught

by spring catches to prevent any possibility of rebound.

[Illustration: Newgate.]