1857: Danforth Hartson, again
July 15th, 2018 Robert Elder
(Thanks to Robert Elder of Last Words of the Executed — the blog, and the book — for the guest post. This post originally appeared on the Last Words blog. Fans of this here site are highly likely to enjoy following Elder’s own pithy, almanac-style collection of last words on the scaffold. -ed.)
“For God’s sake, don’t do that again.”
– Danforth Hartson, convicted of murder, hanging, California.
Executed July 15, 1857
Hartson (aka Sailor Jim) claimed self-defense in a fight that followed his argument with “estimable citizen” John Burke, whom he knocked to the ground and then shot in the chest. Burke was able to make a full statement, naming Hartson as the murderer, before he died.
Hartson’s last words came after he slipped through the noose and fell through the trap door.
On this day..
- 1942: Wenceslao Vinzons - 2020
- 1958: Nuri al-Said - 2019
- 1738: Baruch Leibov and Alexander Voznitsyn, Jew and convert - 2017
- 1381: John Ball, radical priest - 2016
- 1936: Charlotte Bryant - 2015
- 756: Yang Guifei, favored concubine - 2014
- 1883: Leoncio Prado, for defending his homeland - 2013
- 1927: Three persistent escapees - 2012
- 1907: Qiu Jin, Chinese feminist and revolutionary - 2011
- 1953: John Christie, a little late in the day - 2010
- 1977: Princess Misha'al bint Fahd al Saud and her lover - 2009
- Themed Set: The Feminine Mystique - 2009
- 1685: James Scott, Duke of Monmouth - 2008
Entry Filed under: 19th Century,Botched Executions,California,Capital Punishment,Common Criminals,Crime,Death Penalty,Execution,Guest Writers,Hanged,Murder,Other Voices,USA
Tags: 1850s, 1857, danforth hartson, july 15
