A
Philosopher once said: "Hanging is the worst
use
a man can be put to."
Executions
were a regular occurrence and we always knew about them. We knew the
man who was delegated to conduct the hangings. He was a regular
employee of the prison but when an execution was held, he served as
the hangman. During our time as youngsters, this man was Frank
Abrogast. He was a large, handsome fellow, and pleasant natured, but
we always thought of him as The Hangman. In addition to his regular
salary, he was given an extra fee of ten dollars for each hanging,
and a days vacation.
Condemned
men were kept in one corner of the Old Spanish Cell block while
awaiting appeals from their conviction or awaiting the time set by
the court for their execution. This area was called "Condemned
Row" and the men remained in their small cells, except for an
hour or so each day when they were brought out under guard and
allowed to walk around the yard. This was done after all of the rest
of the prisoner's had been locked up. Twenty-four hours before the
execution the condemned man was brought to the area adjacent to the
gallows where two bare cells were located. A pad to sleep on was
placed in the corner, but there was nothing else present. Officials
were careful that nothing was within reach that could be used as a
weapon or as a means of self-destruction.
In
the many times that I had toured through the prison with a visiting
friend, I noticed that some of the men had written short messages on
the wall of the condemned cell in pencil. They were readily readable,
and as I recall, some were touching and pitiful.
Our
Dad (William J. Duffy) was employed at the prison for thirty years,
but had never witnessed an execution. The law required that there be
at least twelve witnesses to each execution, but there were always
people who wanted this experience.
Author:
William J. Duffy, Jr.