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William Payne, for the killing of Albert Austin, was hung here Thursday at 10 o'clock A.M.
The scaffold was erected in the rear of the jail inside the walled yard, the platform being three steps higher than the floor of the hall.
The twelve men who composed the jury were Peter Hunter, J. F. Houston, J. H. Hunter, Stanton Woods, Thos. Love, J. J. Zimmerman, Edward Barris, Edward Kaye, Louis Busco, Chas. Hineman, A L McKibben and Chas. Johnson. The doctors in attendance were U. S. Strouss, J. Burt Armstrong, of Beaver; Dr. McCauley, of Rochester and the coroner, Dr. Gormley, of Monaca. Besides these were fifty or more persons present to witness the execution.
The jury was arranged in front, in a drizzling rain, as if nature wept over the sad ending of a young life. At exactly 10 o'clock the prisoner was brought out between two officers, he mounted the steps firmly, stepped on the platform and stood smiling and without a tremble as the fatal noose was adjusted around his neck and the black cap drawn over his face. He was dressed in a black suit, with neat fitting patent leather shoes. His face showed signs of nerve, rather than fear. In less than a minute from the time he appeared he was hanging by the neck. The trap fell before the prisoner himself was expecting the drop and almost before the onlookers had time to realize what had happened. The job was neatly and quickly done. The crowd was awed into silence. Not a sound could be heard and the solemnity was as deep as at a funeral. Death was not instantaneous, but seemingly painless. For a few seconds the body hung motionless, not a sign of any muscular action, then the hands and feet began to twitch and tremble slightly. That was all. The body hung about twelve minutes, when life was extinct and the law's demands had been executed. The body was taken in an ambulance to Rochester and was buried this afternoon at 2 o'clock.
Payne slept well Wednesday night; he ate a good breakfast and drank a quart of buttermilk. He was perfectly resigned, cool as any prisoner in jail. In conversation Wednesday with his attorney he showed emotion, the first he had manifested. As he grasped his hand and held it in a firm grip, he could not speak, but the tears trickled down his cheek, and not until he had wiped away the tears could he master himself, then he talked.
He said that all have to die. If he had been left to wander and die a natural death, he might not have been prepared, but now he had had time to think and repent. He was willing to go. He hoped God would give him strength, courage to overcome physical fear that he might not break down the last moment.
He did go through the ordeal bravely. In the lapel of his coat was a beautiful rose bud, just ready to burst into bloom, an ante-mortem offering from one who believed in his repentance and whose heart had been touched with sympathy.
We have heard the rumor, but how true it is we cannot say, that Payne's father was once a member of the Canadian Parliament. When approached on the subject of having his photograph taken for publication, he said he did not want his picture published; that Payne was not his right name, and he was anxious that his parents should forever be kept in ignorance of his criminal career and sad ending. In fact he had the appearance of a French- Canadian.
He was intelligent, philosophical in thought, as his poems show, and became deeply religious. He might have been a useful citizen, had he escaped the downward path of destruction. His ending is another warning to the young.
The crime for which William Payne was found guilty was the killing of Albert Austin, in a boarding house on Crow's Run, in May, 1902. It was a cold-blooded murder, and was done while the victim was in bed and thus unprepared to defend himself The weapon used was a revolver. As soon as the deed was committed, about 4 p.m., the murderer fled toward Rochester, passed through Bridgewater and crossed over the P. & L E. railroad bridge to Monaca. He was told by the watchman that he could not pass over the bridge. The murderer drew his revolver and threatened to shoot the watchman. When he reached Monaca he was arrested for trespassing and placed in the lockup. County Detective Lazarus, having heard of the arrest went to Monaca and found that the prisoner answered the description of the murderer of Austin. The next morning Lazarus preferred the charge of murder against him and he was committed to jail for trial.
In the trial June 9, 1902, the Commonwealth was represented by District Attorney D. K Cooper and John M. Buchanan, the prisoner by J. F. Reed, M. F. Mecklem, E. N. Bigger and Henry H. Wilson. After a motion was made for a continuance of the trial and discussed pro and con and overruled by the Court, the jury was called and after much difficulty selected, and was as follows:
On Monday, December 1, 1902, the prisoner was sentenced to be hanged. A large crowd filled the court room at that time.
About 10 o'clock the prisoner was brought in by County Detective Lazarus, Sheriff Geer and Sheriff-elect Howard Bliss. He made a good appearance, about 25 years old, did not look like a murderer, was cool and when asked to stand up and if he had anything to say, he arose and in a low tone of voice said: "I have not much to say, but I will say, that what I may lose in this world, I will gain in the next." He then sat down and the Court said in part:
"The fact that when the murder was committed you were a stranger in this county, having resided here only about a month and the fact that you had no friends here, caused a good deal of sympathy to be felt for you. The Court, at the time of your trial, appointed three able members of this bar to defend you. The jury having found you guilty of murder in the first degree, an appeal was made by your attorneys for a new trial, which was overruled by the Court. It therefore, becomes my duty as judge of this court, you having been given an opportunity to state your reasons why sentence should not be passed, to pass sentence. You will stand up.
"The sentence is that, 'You be taken to the county jail and there remain until the day of your execution, and to be then hanged in the jail yard by the neck, until you be dead, dead, dead, and may God have mercy on your soul."' The prisoner was then returned to jail by County Detective Lazarus and Sheriff Geer.
The following verses, entitled "The Healing Balm," were written by the murderer, Payne, before his execution. Payne wrote some other remarkable short poems, which we are unable to reprint due to lack of space.
Like the closing of an angel's psalm, It comes to my fevered soul; Like the morning dew drops cool, It refreshes my dying hope; Like love overcoming strife, It seems the harmonious chord Like balms of sweet memories, It links all perplexing meanings; Like kisses from a mother It quiets pain and grief; Like the blessed sleep at night It soon shall give me peace.