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They Survived Their Execution
By : M.R.Sethi
A myth that has
been prevalent in some parts of the world and still held by many is
that people who survive their execution are automatically reprieved.
It is believed that if the rope broke while hanging a convict, he
would be reprieved. But there is no basis for such myths. And the
order for hanging invariably mentions that the criminal is to be
"hanged till death."
Nevertheless, there have been many instances where criminals were
shown mercy out of a sense of humanity and their death sentences
were pardoned if they survived execution attempts.
In England, the most famous case was that of John Lee who was
brought for execution at Exeter Gaol in 1885. Three times, as he
stood on the scaffold, the trap door under his feet failed to open,
although each time it had functioned perfectly well under tests.
After the third unsuccessful attempt, Lee's sentence was reprieved,
later he migrated to the USA where he died in 1933. John Lee is
still remembered as, the "man they couldn't hang."
In England, Ann Greene was sentenced to death for infanticide at
Oxford in 1650. She was left hanging for half an hour. But after
that, when a surgeon was about lo dissect her body, she revived and
was ordered to be released. She recovered completely, married and
had three children.
In 1803, Joseph Samuels in New South Wales protested his innocence
as he mounted the scaffold. He accused another man of the crime for
which he was going to be hanged. His protest was not heeded and the
executioner hanged him. But twice the rope broke and once it
stretched so that Samuel's feet touched the floor. The governor
granted him a reprieve.
The most interesting case is that of Margaret Dickens of Scotland
who was hanged in 1728. But she climbed out of her coffin on the way
to be buried and was given a reprieve. However, under Scottish laws
prevalent at that time, as she had been officially han¬ged, her
husband was a widower. So to legitimize their union, they had to
marry again.
Sometimes, nature too plays its part in saving condemned prisoners
from death. On May 8, 1902, on the island of Martinque in the
Caribbean, the volcano known as Mount Peter erupted, emitting a
thick pall of lava and suffocating gases. In the catastrophe, the
city of St. Pierre was immediately destroyed. Days after, when
rescuers were able to start search operations they found nothing but
death beneath a thick crust of smoke and ash. Almost all of the
50,000 inhabitants of the city had died.
Then suddenly, as the search continnued, they heard faint cries
coming from beneath the earth. Obviously, someone was still alive.
When the searchers dug earth and removed the hot ash, they
discovered the way to a dungeon and reaching there, found Auguste
Ciparis, a criminal who had been serving his term in the deepest
dungeons of an old French prison and had been on the death row. So
well did the massive stone wall protect him that he did not even
know that Mount Peter had erupted. The prisoner was immediately
given a rep¬rieve.
In 1912, a prisoner was sentenced to death in Monaco. According to
the custom, an executioner had to be brought from France. When an
executioner was contacted, he demanded 10,000 francs for the job.
The authorities thought it better to let the condemned man go than
to pay the fabulous sum to the executioner just for killing a man.
The freed prisoner lived happily for 30 years after his unexpected
release.
Early in 1945, Baron Von Schlavrendroff was produced before a Nazi
court, charged with an attempt on Hitler's life. During his brief
trial, he was found guilty and was sentenced to death with the
orders that he be executed at once. He was taken to the gallows
specially erected in the court itself. When the executioner was
about to pull the lever, the Allied forces made an air raid. Before
anybody could rush to safety, a giant bomb scored a direct hit on
the court and demolished it into rubble. Everyone died, except the
condemned Baron who escaped from the shattered building and found
his way to safety and freedom.
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