TRIPLE EXECUTION IN VIENNA.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 6996, 19 April 1884, Page 2 (Supplement)

TRIPLE EXECUTION IN VIENNA.

The following revolting particulars of tha execution of the three murderers of Chief Justice Majilath, is supplied by tha Vienna correspondent of the Daily Telegraph Sixty persons were allowed to witness the execution, which took place in a small courtyard inside the prison. Three po3ts aboat S feet high and 4.feet apart, were erected in »he centre. At the top of each post wa3 a. small hook, and at the bottom a pulley. The three men were brought oat at seven precisely, and placed each with his back against one of the posts.- They were not blindfolded. Each of them wa3 attended by a priest. In front of them the troop 3 and spectators formed an. irregular semi-circle, while in the centre stood the judges of tha last Court of Appeal, in ordinary morning dress. Some little time was occupied by the reading of the sentence, a most unnecessary formality whioh had been goao through already in the presence of the three criminals the previous day at the CoHrt of Appeal. On a signal given by .the Public -Prosecutor tha execution was then proceeded with. jSponga, who was placed to the left, was the first to suffer the penalty of the law. Two step* were placed at the foot of the' post, whisfi the convict was bidden to mount, his hands being then pinioned to his left thigh. He looked pale, but kept his nerve, and asked pardon of the Majilath faiilily and of the authorities. A screen of wood was put between him and the two others, after which the chief executioner mounted a ladder, and taking out of his pocket a rope with a loop at both ends, passed it round the neck, and securing a knot under the left ear, tightened it. Meanwhile one of the assistants tied -his feet together with another rope, and passing it through the pnlley, kept the other end in his hand. Ihe chiei executioner*then gave the signal, and, with the aid of another assistant, the convict wa3 lifted by the rope attached to his neck aboat six inches, and hung on the hook at the top of the post. The attendant holding the rope attached to his legs simultaneously pulled with force, while hi 3 chief' placed his hands on the criminal's month and eyes. Death ensued in about two minutes, not, as some' accounts state, in seventeen. Tha execution of the others then took place in the same way. The man Pitely, who was the principal author of the crime,' had a ruffianly countenance, beetle-browed, and of sallow complexion. In his case death resulted in half a minute.. The last of the three, by name Bereez, was a big, shambling fellow with a Newgate slouch, an eagle nose, and an Oriental cast of countenance. He lost his nerve, and had to be supported to the stake. He kissed the crucifix, and called upon the Almighty to enrse his judges. The President of the Court of Appeal thereupon ordered the drums to play, so as to drown his voice. Death with him was instantaneous, but his face, unlike that of his accomplices, was fearfully distorted. The principal priest in attendance then knelt down, and the spectators with uncovered heads listened to a short prayer for the souls of the departed. Within fifteen minutes three doctors had successively examined the bodies «vita stethoscopes, and declared life to be extinct. The bodies were left hanging half an hour, and then removed to a dissecting-room.