Will Norprove Expiate Crime With His Life?

NZ Truth, Issue 1173, 24 May 1928, Page 1

Will Norprove Expiate Crime With His Life?

Murderer's Collapse On Scaffold | And Hangman's Fantastic Nightmare

.HiiiiHiiiiiiiiiijtiinniiiuiiiiiiiiiiiinittiiiniiiitiiiimuiiniiiiiiiiniimmnnnniiliM, VTORGROVE'S history might well Iv convey a- solemn warning to the community: ; ; He was an uncontrollable child, with a terrible temper. One of New Zealand's leading alienists, ' Dr. Beattie, has pronounced him, insane. The, trial of the New Lynn murderer was remarkable m many ways. By his demeanor,, actions and speech, Norgrove entirely defeated the efforts 'of those who so ably defended him. Dr. Beattie declared him to be suffering, from dementia praecoxi A per~ son thus afflicted, he said, would commit a crime without knowing it, though realization might come later. However, the testimony of three mental specialists .from various State asylums revealed that Norgrove was sane, just as positively and definitely as Dr. Beattie pronounced him insane. These experts for the Crown declared that a dementia praecox case would react m his emotional outbursts m a way contrary to the situation m which he found himself at the time, that there was no co-relation between the emotional outburst and the situation itself, and that such, a patient would turn from those who were dearest to him. . , Norgrove's attitude throughout his trial, his actions, his interjections during the evidence of Crown witnesses and — perhaps more vital than all else — his anger when he thought his mother was being subjected to annoyance under cross-examination, were all factors that militated against the opinion of Dr. Beattie. A close scrutiny of Norgrove's head, as shown m his photograph, will reveal unmistakably an abnormal cranial development. A distinct bulge Is noticeable on the right side, which, according to mental tniniiniiuiiimnntiinuiinniuninnniiintntnitinimniiiiinininiiiftiiinTniuinnnnnniininnninni ttittllttitt Otlt UWUltttltttit IIIHIIIf t/IKIU J II If If i J Jill II II U tIIUI UltUll If Wi If IUUIUII Mil I Jit Itlttl II (If IflUI 111

experts, is larger by three-quarters of an inch than the left side of his head. Be that as it may, these same experts also stated that such abnormality does not necessarily mean that the individual is insane. Norgrove's reception of the death sentence is m keeping with the demeanor of other murderers. Dennis Gunn, the Ponsonby murderer, was apparently indifferent and heard the fateful words - without a tremor. The passing of the death sentence always has its psychological effect on the community. There are those who do not believe m capital punishment and seek its abolition. But so long as the law demands a life for a life, so long must those who commit murder expiate their crime upon the scaffold. Passing years have brought changes m the procedure surrounding the judicial enforcement of the extreme penalty. , . • ... Some years ago, for instance, the wording of the death sentence Itself was altered, the words: "Taken to the place from-^w±Lenc£...you came,", being' replaced -by : ' '''Sifken "to the" place of execution."-;''" : :^:'!'y^'-\ : -:r' '':-^r/.' The ' concluding- WOrds and their solemn exhortation: "May the Lord have mercy on your soul!" have been eliminated. According to the regulations governing executions, if the Executive Council declines to reprieve Alan Norgrove, the sheriff of Auckland, C. J. Hewlett, will have the unpleasant duty of carrying out the death sentence.^ His position is one m which — should he be unable to find a hangman—the actual duty of executing Norgrove must be carried out by himself. Rarely does it happen, however, that a sheriff finds himself m such a predicament. It is doubtful whether this has ever been the case m New Zealand.* It is interesting to recall, m connection with executions m New Zealand, that a peculiar position arose re-

Hangman's Terror

garding the hanging of the Maori murderer, Hararaia Te Kahu, m Mt. Eden gaol early m October, 1921. The hangman entered the gaol on Saturday night as the execution had been arranged for Monday morning.

During the week-end he underwent an experience, which, it is said, permanently terminated his active participation m executions. His experience might appropriately be called "The Hangman's Dream." A nerve-ridden wreck was discharged from gaol on the Sunday, almost m a state of collapse — and it was the man who had contracted to hang the Maori. The sudden .transformation, the warders ascertained, was due to a particularly vivid dream the prospective hangman had experienced on the Saturday night. He had seen himself being led to the scaffold, taking his position on the trapdoor and the noose put about his neck. He had seen himself taking the Maori murderer's place! In a voice hysterical with terror, he announced next morning that nothing would induce him to go through with the execution and a substitute had to be found immediately. This proved to be a difficult matter. The sheriff at the time was A. Stubbs and the grim task would have fallen upon his shoulders if no executioner had been forthcoming. Strangely enough, Sheriff Stubbs was due to retire a few days before the execution and his successor, Sheriff Ward, fell ill at Wanganui. Sheriff Stubbs placed the matter m the hands of his deputy, W. Schramm, now a well-known Auckland lawyer, but on the eve of the execution he received a telegram asking him to remain m office a- few days longer. „ After considerable difficulty a hangman was found. He was a prisoner named George B. Thompson, alias Braithwaite, now believed to be m Australia. Thompson agreed to perform the execution on condition that his sentence would be remitted. He was brought to Auckland from Rotoroa Island. It is stated that" Thompson also executed the murderer, Robert Scott. Unless he is incapacitated through illnes3, the sheriff must attend all executions m his district and demand the body of the condemned man. From the time he leaves his cell on the journey to the gallows, until his execution, a murderer Is m the legal custody of the sheriff. No more than ten persons are permitted to be present at an execution In New Zealand — and they must remain there until the sentence of death has been carried out and the subsequent formalities completed. . Those who pay the ie'ixtreme penalty of the law must be buried within the prison, no judge having power to make an prder for the disposition ol the

Of the murderers who have gone to the. gallows m Auckland since the famous Gunn trial, only one went to his death m a state of collapse.

That was the Maori, Hararaia Te Kahu, who shot Patrick R}chai*d Elliott at Ongaroto on Easter, Monday, March- ■■ 27, I .*i 1 92 i..;.. ■/ ■■"■":•;- ■■•■v.^^r^--- ' :; j .\.>..# iKln ; hisV demeanQr : throughout :his trial anfl his reception of the death sentence Alan Norgrove resembled the others. Perhaps no crime — save that committed by Scott, who foully outraged and murdered little Gwendoline Kathleen Murray, aged 11, at Makaraka, four

miles from Gisborne — aroused m Auckland province a greater feeling of horror than the Ponsonby murder of March, 1920. \. Callously and m cold blood, Dennis Gutin shot .down Augustas Edward Bra!j!thwaite,';'the Porisonby.; postmaster, at ''hi&'j]q>xnV: in ''■'Shelly' Beach Road on ite mlafe^bf :i92#:^< l -*v*; <^ iJ^he^l^^V^i^as^lhe^t'hef t at the post 6fflce>key^ and sub^efiuerit burglary. After 'two days*' trial, Gunn was found guilty and^sentenced to death. He listened to the death sentence with! ; the same composure that had characterized him thoughout his trial

When Gaol Authorities Pardoned Convict Who Performed Execution

— even under searching cross-examina-tion by the Crown Prosecutor. Save for a perpetual blinking of his eyes, which was habitual, he showed no sign that he was affected by the words of doom.

When the judge had concluded, Gunn turned m the dock and walked below, with only a casual glance at the spectators m court. He went to the scaffold apparently composed, though ashen of face. Asked if he had anything to say, the condemned man sent a message to his mother, adding: "I am prepared to meet my God and myCreator." . The Gunn trial has become a cause cefebre m New Zealand criminal jurisprudence, mainly because his arrest was brought about by finger-print evidence. His conviction established conclusively the value of such evidence m criminal cases, the Crown admitting that the case would stand or fall on the finger-print evidence submitted against the accused. , An interesting feature of Gunn's arrest was the manner , . m which ... the poUce?:;oi^teod^^ Detective Issel had departed for Wellington; With the; names of 28 isuspects for finger-print identification. Dennis Gunn's name was hot among them. . -■. It was a casual meeting between Detective-Sergeant Hammond and a man named Hughes, the day following Issel's departure, that altered the whole case. • Hughes . told the detective that he had seen Dennis Gunn m the vicinity of the post office at Ponsonby on the afternoon of the murder. Gunn's name was immediately wired to Wellington for inclusion m the list of . suspects. His finger-prints were identified on the cash-boxes. Whilst the Gunn murder was cruel and wanton, that committed by Samuel John Thorn had jealousy as its motive. His crime was the outcome of intrigue with a married woman during the husband's absence abroad.

Thorn Indifferent

Thorn, if anything, was even more indifferent than Gunn during his trial.

Convicted of the murder of Sidney Seymour Eyre at Pukekawa on August 24, 1920, he maintained an attitude of calm indifference. Like Alan Norgrove, he stood with folded arms, giving no outward sign of concern. Placed m the dock, he had to wait some minutes before the judge entered. He spent the time glancing at the clock and studying the faces of the jurora. Thorn paid the penalty for his crime on December 20, 1920. He protested his innocence to the end and met his death calmly. Mounting the scaffold without hesitation and standing firmly on the trapdoor, he looked straight before him. s "I am not guilty," he said. "I do not know Who did it. I am prepared to meet my- God. I have made my peace with Him." The night before he was hanged, he was said to have \ slept well and awakened at 6 o'clock, when he had a good breakfast. In the Thorn trial the jury was faced with a mass of circumstantial evidence. One vital factor m helping to convict Thorn was a horse named "Micky," which belonged to a farmer for whom Thorn had worked. ' In order to establish the fact that, this horse had covered the eighteen miles separating the murderer, from Eyre's home on the night of the tragedy, the Crown was compelled to prove that" certain hoof-marks were those of "Micky." Detective McHugh was given the stupendous task. During his investigation he examined some thousand hoof-prints. The execution of the Maori, Te Kahu, was notable as being the first death sentence carried out m the British Empire after two juries had failed to agree. .''.'■■'. Though he maintained his selfcontrol fairly well during his trial, he broke down and wept like a child immediately after leaving the court when sentence had been passed. Te Kahu murdered a man named Patrick. Richard Elliott at Ongaroto on March 27. 1921. He was hanged early m October the same year. His execution was distinguished for the manner in s which it was found necessary to carry it out. It was believed that the reluctance of the jury to agree on Te Kahu's guilt was due to a feeling that the shooting of Elliott might have been accidental. An appeal against the sentence was dismissed. The remarkable feature about the execution was that for the first time m New Zealand it was found necessary to place upon the condemned man a patent belt. This was strapped under his arms to support him, as he was m A fltato «f coljapao on the aoaffold.

iiiniiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiniMiiiiiMiiMiiiiiiiiMiniiniiiMiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimmii The wretched man. Showed his terror m a pitiable way. ;He groaned as he staggered uj> the steps to the scaffold and was scarcely able 'to make his responses to the service. . Asked if he wished to say anything, Te Kahu whispered: "I send my love to my parents." • ! In a choking voice, just before the final moment, he said:: "Now I am about to go, I feel it very much. I have the greatest regard for all." - No murderer more richly deserved his punishment than Robert Herbert Scott for the . ghastly outrage he first perpetrated on pretty little" Gwendoline Murray and then callously murdered her. * The defence m this case was the same as m Norgrove's — that of insanity. It was said that Scott was subject to uncontrollable impulses arid was incapable I—when1 — when m such a state-^ of knowing what he was .doing. There was a considerable history of mental disorder and complete insanity on both sides of his family. Medical testimony revealed that Scott was not normal and of a mental condition which would make him unable to control certain impulses. Like Gunn, Thorn. and Norgrove, Scott displayed no visible sign of emotion when the death sentence was passed. He was executed on April 17, 1924, and met. his death with every sign of repentance and regret for the crime he had committed. He spoke just before the lever was pressed, saying: "I wish to say that I fully recognize the justice of this punishment. I richly deserve it and now I commit myself to the loving hands of my Lord and Saviour. Lord receive my soul ..."