Execution Tales Chapter 48 Revision 2
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48: Trial & Cook County Jail
Five months after they were arrested Cheryl, April & Beth went on trial charged with twelve counts of first degree murder on February 24th 1877. Cheryl was by now 27 & April & Beth were 20. They chose to wear their College uniforms at the trial hoping to give an impression of sweet innocent respectability to the jury. It availed them nothing.
Ironically the crucial evidence against them was that each of the bodies had been wearing the same uniforms when they had been found, clearly identifying them as being College girls. Penny Smithson’s remains were never found.
On March 28th they were found guilty of the twelve murders. As the verdicts were read April & Beth started to sob, while Cheryl remained impassive. The next day the inevitable sentences were handed down.
The judge said, “Cheryl Barnes, April Jones & Beth Slade you have each been found guilty of twelve counts of 1st Degree Murder. Do you have anything to say before sentence is passed?”
The only sound heard in the courtroom was April & Beth’s weeping
The judge continued, “Cheryl Barnes, April Jones & Beth Slade you will be taken to Cook County Jail & held there until the date of your executions. On that appointed date you will each be hanged by the neck until you are dead. May God have mercy on your souls. Take them down”
April & Beth continued to sob as they were taken from the court. Cheryl was composed but her face was chalk white
At the prison the guards regarded their former colleagues with morbid curiosity as they were made to dress in prison uniforms & locked up. They would be given their own clothes back & taken to death row when the appeals process had been exhausted
Because of the age & sex of the culprits & the nature of their crimes the “College Girl” killers fascinated not just the people of Chicago but the entire country. There was some speculation that because of their age April & Beth would be spared the gallows but this proved to be unfounded & three weeks after their arrival at the prison the State Governor rejected the three young women’s final appeals.
Cheryl, April & Beth were moved to death row & their clothes returned to them.
Cheryl then made an unusual request. She asked for a meeting with O’Hanlon & O’Rourke of the NYPD & Henry of the Chicago Tribune. April & Beth were too terror stricken to be involved.
At the meeting O’Hanlon said “Why are we here Miss Barnes?”.
Cheryl smiled thinly & said, “I want to tell you the full story & I would like Mr Henry to ensure it is published after we are dead”.
Harris took out his notebook & began to write furiously as Cheryl recounted everything starting with her transcription of the notes of April & Beth’s consultations with Doctor Harris. It took two further visits by the three men for Cheryl to finish her full confession
Two days later the scaffold was brought out & began to be assembled in the prison yard. It had been adapted since the execution of the baby farmers Clare & Catherine Wilson & was now capable of hanging two prisoners at a time. To accommodate this the entire front of the platform fell away when the trap lever was pulled
April & Beth cried almost incessantly in the death cells as they listened to the sounds of the gallows being erected. Cheryl though very pale seemed calm
The next morning at 10 am the execution party arrived at death row. It consisted of the Prison Governor, a chaplain & four male guards. April & Beth screamed, wept & pleaded for mercy as their hands were tied behind their backs & they were dragged by the guards struggling from the cells, down the stairs & out into the prison yard.
Cheryl closed her eyes in her cell trying to shut out the sounds being made by the two doomed girls
Waiting in the yard were representatives from all of the organisations who had been involved in the case, apart from the Mafia. Amongst them were Captains Murdoch & O’Hanlon, Lieutenant’s Tierney & O’Rourke & the editor of the Chicago Tribune & his investigative team.
The terrified prisoners looked very young in their white blouses & tartan skirts as they were forced up the gallows steps. The hangman pulled them to the front of the gallows & noosed them. He then stood back.
The Governor went & stood in front of the two weeping trembling girls & said, “April Jones & Beth Slade you have been found guilty of twelve counts of Capital Murder. For these crimes you have been sentenced to be hanged by the neck until you are dead. Have you anything to say before sentence is carried out”.
April wailed, “Please don’t do this! Have mercy! I don’t want to die!”
Beth could only shriek in terror, “Nooooooooh! Nooooooooh!”.
The Governor moved to the back of the platform & nodded to the executioner who placed white hoods over the girl’s heads. Because of the horrible nature of their crimes, as had been the case with the baby farmers, the Wilson sisters, he had been told to ensure that the prisoners slowly strangled to death rather than being given a quick merciful passing by having their necks broken.
To this end April & Beth only drop a foot or so when the front of the gallows platform falls away. Their screams are cut short as the ropes bite into their soft throats & only gurgling sounds can be heard coming from the hoods.
Underneath the hoods April & Beth’s tongues spring from their mouths & their faces began to darken.
Their feet stretch downwards desperately trying to reach the ground. Their chests heave as they try fruitlessly to catch a breath of life-giving air. They begin to thrash & kick on the ropes their bodies writhing & bucking. Their kicking legs make wild gyrations occasionally lifting their yellow & black tartan skirts high enough to show their brief white panties.
Gradually after five minutes their struggles diminish & April & Beth’s consciousness fades. Their feet give a few final spasmodic twitches & then they both swing dead on the gallows.
The spectators left the yard for some refreshments because as required by law the bodies must be left dangling for half an hour before being removed prior to burial within the prison.
When they returned forty minutes later a single noose dangled on the gallows crossbeam
Cheryl was brought out into the yard her composure still unbroken. She noticed O’Hanlon, O’Rourke & Henry & smiled grimly at them. She mounted the gallows steps with a firm step & stood unresisting at the front of the platform as the hangman placed the noose around her neck.
When the Governor asked if she had anything to say she shook her head & closed her eyes trying to prepare herself for the coming ordeal.
She now knew following April & Beth’s executions that she too was in for an agonising dance in the air.
The executioner placed a white bag over her head & then pulled the lever releasing the front of the gallows platform.
Like April & Beth Cheryl only falls about twelve inches & then her body begins to jerk as her death struggle starts. Her legs flail back & forth & her arms, bound at the wrists, twist. Her shoes fly off as the intensity of her kicking increases & just like April & Beth’s her tartan skirt lifts up high enough to expose her underwear, her body convulses violently.
Cheryl being bigger & stronger than the younger girls lasts eight minutes slowly strangling to death on the rope before she finally expires
The spectators silently left the prison yard leaving the last of the “College Girl Killers” swaying gently back & forth on the Cook County Gallows
Five months after they were arrested Cheryl, April & Beth went on trial charged with twelve counts of first degree murder on February 24th 1877. Cheryl was by now 27 & April & Beth were 20. They chose to wear their College uniforms at the trial hoping to give an impression of sweet innocent respectability to the jury. It availed them nothing.
Ironically the crucial evidence against them was that each of the bodies had been wearing the same uniforms when they had been found, clearly identifying them as being College girls. Penny Smithson’s remains were never found.
On March 28th they were found guilty of the twelve murders. As the verdicts were read April & Beth started to sob, while Cheryl remained impassive. The next day the inevitable sentences were handed down.
The judge said, “Cheryl Barnes, April Jones & Beth Slade you have each been found guilty of twelve counts of 1st Degree Murder. Do you have anything to say before sentence is passed?”
The only sound heard in the courtroom was April & Beth’s weeping
The judge continued, “Cheryl Barnes, April Jones & Beth Slade you will be taken to Cook County Jail & held there until the date of your executions. On that appointed date you will each be hanged by the neck until you are dead. May God have mercy on your souls. Take them down”
April & Beth continued to sob as they were taken from the court. Cheryl was composed but her face was chalk white
At the prison the guards regarded their former colleagues with morbid curiosity as they were made to dress in prison uniforms & locked up. They would be given their own clothes back & taken to death row when the appeals process had been exhausted
Because of the age & sex of the culprits & the nature of their crimes the “College Girl” killers fascinated not just the people of Chicago but the entire country. There was some speculation that because of their age April & Beth would be spared the gallows but this proved to be unfounded & three weeks after their arrival at the prison the State Governor rejected the three young women’s final appeals.
Cheryl, April & Beth were moved to death row & their clothes returned to them.
Cheryl then made an unusual request. She asked for a meeting with O’Hanlon & O’Rourke of the NYPD & Henry of the Chicago Tribune. April & Beth were too terror stricken to be involved.
At the meeting O’Hanlon said “Why are we here Miss Barnes?”.
Cheryl smiled thinly & said, “I want to tell you the full story & I would like Mr Henry to ensure it is published after we are dead”.
Harris took out his notebook & began to write furiously as Cheryl recounted everything starting with her transcription of the notes of April & Beth’s consultations with Doctor Harris. It took two further visits by the three men for Cheryl to finish her full confession
Two days later the scaffold was brought out & began to be assembled in the prison yard. It had been adapted since the execution of the baby farmers Clare & Catherine Wilson & was now capable of hanging two prisoners at a time. To accommodate this the entire front of the platform fell away when the trap lever was pulled
April & Beth cried almost incessantly in the death cells as they listened to the sounds of the gallows being erected. Cheryl though very pale seemed calm
The next morning at 10 am the execution party arrived at death row. It consisted of the Prison Governor, a chaplain & four male guards. April & Beth screamed, wept & pleaded for mercy as their hands were tied behind their backs & they were dragged by the guards struggling from the cells, down the stairs & out into the prison yard.
Cheryl closed her eyes in her cell trying to shut out the sounds being made by the two doomed girls
Waiting in the yard were representatives from all of the organisations who had been involved in the case, apart from the Mafia. Amongst them were Captains Murdoch & O’Hanlon, Lieutenant’s Tierney & O’Rourke & the editor of the Chicago Tribune & his investigative team.
The terrified prisoners looked very young in their white blouses & tartan skirts as they were forced up the gallows steps. The hangman pulled them to the front of the gallows & noosed them. He then stood back.
The Governor went & stood in front of the two weeping trembling girls & said, “April Jones & Beth Slade you have been found guilty of twelve counts of Capital Murder. For these crimes you have been sentenced to be hanged by the neck until you are dead. Have you anything to say before sentence is carried out”.
April wailed, “Please don’t do this! Have mercy! I don’t want to die!”
Beth could only shriek in terror, “Nooooooooh! Nooooooooh!”.
The Governor moved to the back of the platform & nodded to the executioner who placed white hoods over the girl’s heads. Because of the horrible nature of their crimes, as had been the case with the baby farmers, the Wilson sisters, he had been told to ensure that the prisoners slowly strangled to death rather than being given a quick merciful passing by having their necks broken.
To this end April & Beth only drop a foot or so when the front of the gallows platform falls away. Their screams are cut short as the ropes bite into their soft throats & only gurgling sounds can be heard coming from the hoods.
Underneath the hoods April & Beth’s tongues spring from their mouths & their faces began to darken.
Their feet stretch downwards desperately trying to reach the ground. Their chests heave as they try fruitlessly to catch a breath of life-giving air. They begin to thrash & kick on the ropes their bodies writhing & bucking. Their kicking legs make wild gyrations occasionally lifting their yellow & black tartan skirts high enough to show their brief white panties.
Gradually after five minutes their struggles diminish & April & Beth’s consciousness fades. Their feet give a few final spasmodic twitches & then they both swing dead on the gallows.
The spectators left the yard for some refreshments because as required by law the bodies must be left dangling for half an hour before being removed prior to burial within the prison.
When they returned forty minutes later a single noose dangled on the gallows crossbeam
Cheryl was brought out into the yard her composure still unbroken. She noticed O’Hanlon, O’Rourke & Henry & smiled grimly at them. She mounted the gallows steps with a firm step & stood unresisting at the front of the platform as the hangman placed the noose around her neck.
When the Governor asked if she had anything to say she shook her head & closed her eyes trying to prepare herself for the coming ordeal.
She now knew following April & Beth’s executions that she too was in for an agonising dance in the air.
The executioner placed a white bag over her head & then pulled the lever releasing the front of the gallows platform.
Like April & Beth Cheryl only falls about twelve inches & then her body begins to jerk as her death struggle starts. Her legs flail back & forth & her arms, bound at the wrists, twist. Her shoes fly off as the intensity of her kicking increases & just like April & Beth’s her tartan skirt lifts up high enough to expose her underwear, her body convulses violently.
Cheryl being bigger & stronger than the younger girls lasts eight minutes slowly strangling to death on the rope before she finally expires
The spectators silently left the prison yard leaving the last of the “College Girl Killers” swaying gently back & forth on the Cook County Gallows
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Forum > Public / Stories > Execution Tales Chapter 48 Revision 2