DOUBLE EXECUTION IN BATHURST GAOL.-TERRIBLE SCENE. (FROM THE "BATHURST TIMES," MAY 27.)

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXIV, Issue 3405, 15 June 1868, Page 5

DOUBLE EXECUTION IN BATHURST GAOL.-TERRIBLE SCENE. (FROM THE "BATHURST TIMES," MAY 27.)

Thb sentence of death passed upon the two men, Barnes and McKvitr, «t the l*st Assizes, was carried into effect on Tuesday morning within the precincts of the gnol. Albert Barnes, it will be remembered, was conYicted of the murder of au old man named J»ui>-b Casey, at Hawaii's Walls, in March la»fc. tie *o«i his victim had bean inmates of the Liverpool Asylum, andou learing thatiaetitution they travelled together, Barnes being penniless, and CaBey having some few pounds in his possession. Barnes was crippled in the right leg and used crutches, and he and the murdered man were traced alon< the road to withiu a short distance of the spot where the body of Casey w»s founl. Bamee, a day or so after, was seen travelling back alone, had plenty of money, and spent it lavishly. Lea< ing fn>m the bo.ly of the murdered man were certain tracks and iudentations in the soil as if produced by crutches. I'pon evidence is to these facts, Barues was found guilty of tnu deiing his mate, and cast for death. In the condemned cell he was attende i by the Re*-. T. Sharpe, M. A. (Church of EngUnd), and paid great attention to the rer. gentleman's miuistr^tious • ai.d, being visited by the Kisbop of -yduey, made a full confession of his dime, and expressed deep remorse and contrition for the deed. He was very penitent, and carried out his religious instructions with great strictness and fervour, being found at all times engaged in prajer. He desired that the fact of his concession might bo made known to the Judge and those concerned in hit trial, and seemed to realise to the full a sense of his awful condition. The chocking circumstances attending the crime of which John McKviit was convicted cannot fail to be impressed upon the miuds of our readera, and it is unnecessary to repeat more of them than to mention that his presumed victim was a boy named Fraucis Evans, living at Clarks Creek, not far from the residence of the prixoner. The b<>dy of the boy was found in a waterhole, with marks of ill-usage up in it, and the case against the prisoner was supported by a remarkable chain of circumstantial evidence that left no reasocable doubt of his guilt. The prisoner, however, persistently denied the commission of the crime, and was assiduously visited by the clergy of his Church (Rotnau Catholic)— the fi.»-v. Fathers McGirr and Scha»tignon, to whose advice and initructi >n he listened with great respect and attention. He nevertheless assorted his innoceooe|to the last. Bishop Qumn also visited him in his cell, but, we understand, without eliciting fr-m the wretched man any admission of his guiit. To Mr. Forbes, the governor of the g*«l, *ho went to him late on Monday night to ask him if he had any last request to make, he declared hit innocence, saying, " 1 have saved life, but never taken it." He seemed, like Uaraes, tt be resigned to his fate, and expressed thankfulness for the kindness with which be had been treated in the gaol. : At 9 o'clock yesterday morning, Mr. Uhr, deputysheriff, demanded the bodies of the convicts from the gaoler, and the executioner (Bull) piuioned MoEvitt, whilst Barnes, who was unable to move without his crutches, was allowed to proceed to the gallows with his arms at liberty. The Rev. Messrs. Sharpe and Xiible were in attendance upon the latter, and the Rev. Father Schastiguon accompanied McEvitt. The proceision passed down the corridor to the court-yard where the gallows was erected, and then the culprits knelt down in prayer at the prisoners' mess table. Birnes buried his face in his handa and 'wept convulsively —not seemingly in fear, but with contrition and shame, whilst at the other end of the table McEvitt knelt erect, with a stolid expression 'on his features, muttering responses as the priest ,prayed. There was nothing defiant or demonstrative fin his manner, ti.it face was devoid of ex.>re»Bion, .showing no signs of emotion or fear. The prayers of 'the clergymen having been brought to a conclusion, 'he was conducted up to the drop. The orutohei of Barnes, who was now" quite calm and collected, jWere than taken from him, and, being pinioned, he was assisted up the steps of the gallows by two .warders and placed by the side of hii wretched companion, where he stood without emotion or speech. jThe Rev. Father Schastignou stood on the s'-affold {by the side of McEvitt f or,_ a little time offering him (religious consolation, and; then McEvitt spoke, but his voice, as at the trial, was so weak and his jutterance so indistinct that it was impossible to 'catch what he said, except that be was innocent !of the charge of murdering Francis Evans. The [priest having left the platform, the executioner 'passed the caps over the heads of the culprits, and then followed the catastrophe which is almost too sickening and ghastly to describe. ' In height, the floor of the scaffold stknds about \ fourteen feet from the ground, and below the drop the earth is excavated to a depth of three feet ; an 1, 'as the event proved, it was as well this precaution was taken. In i nglaud, we believe it is seldom that a drop of more th*n three or f ur feet is given, hut in this colouy it is customary to extend the fall to t-"n or twelve f«*t. The reason for this is undoubtedly a merciful one, as death is rendered instantaneous ; but m the present instance, owing pos-ibly to some miscalculation as to the length of the ropes,' the fall given to Barnes was quite fourteen feet, whilst McKvitt fell neatly two feet lower. The moment the executioner pulle i the bolt, the bodir* of both men lurched downwards through the chasm, •and came to the end of the shivering rope wi r h * dreadful thud. As the bodies swung round, that of JMeKvitt presented a sp-ofcaole that evoked an, [exclamation of horror f.orn the spectators. Death |wm, of course, instantaneous in the case of both men. < In a little time the bodies were lower*! into shells, 1 and removed for the purpoM of burUi. i