SCENE ON SCAFFOLD

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22090, 22 April 1935, Page 9

SCENE ON SCAFFOLD

DOOMED MAN'S CHARGES A WOMAN DENOUNCED * (Received April 21, 5.5 p.m.) XEW YORK. April 20 A shocking scene occurred at an execution at Smithland, Kentucky. After William Deboe, aged 23, had harangued for three-quarters of an hour 1500 citizens of Western Kentucky, who had gathered to see him die, he was hanged in the court-house yard for attacking the wife of a shopkeeper during a robbery. On the scaffold Deboe denounced Mrs. Marjorie Johnson, the woman he was accused of attacking, as a " coldblooded murderer " owing to her activities as chief witness for the prosecution. Nine separate times the doomed man shook his manacled hands at Mrs. Johnson, whose whereabouts in the crowd had been indicated to him.

"Why do not you speak? Are you satisfied to stand there and say nothing and see me die? " demanded Deboe. " You should be here in my place." The woman's face remained expressionless until Deboe in a final outburst cried: "If I had had 500 dollars I would not be on this scaffold. She would have taken the money and said nothing." The woman shrieked: " Not if you had offered me 1000 dollars." One-third of the crowd were women and Deboe in his rambling speech criticised them for being present. Also he denounced Randolph Johnson, the woman's husband and the State Attorney, Mr. Lisinby, as parties to a " terrible miscarriage of justice." Deboe then went to his death calmly. His father and his sister, aged 19, saw him executed.