On an uncertain date — approximated only to “about the time of the Columbus affair,” which was Pancho Villa‘s famous (and otherwise unrelated) raid on Columbus, N.M. March 8-9, 1916 — a triple execution took place in Juarez, Mexico.
The who, why, and wherefore appear to be completely lost. Only the image remains:
These images were captured by C. Tucker Barrett, a lawyer and amateur photographer serving with the U.S. Army’s 16th Infantry Regiment then stationed right across the border from Juarez, in El Paso, Texas. (This regiment would be detailed for a punitive expedition into Mexico, which Barrett also photographed.)
The Mexican Revolution may be ancient history, but Juarez and extrajudicial executions are still very much in the news.
On this day..
- 1945: Theo van Gogh, famous name
- 1988: Elina Zlatanova, the last woman executed in Bulgaria
- 2000: Hu Changqing, Jiangxi deputy governor
- 1693: Five at Tyburn
- 1734: Judith Defour, in the Gin Craze
- 1715: Lips Tullian, outlaw and comic hero
- 1782: The Gnadenhutten Massacre
- 1945: Karl Hulten, for the Cleft Chin Murder
- 1862: Martin Dumollard, l'assassin des bonnes
- 1951: The Lonely Hearts killers, tortured by love
- 305: Feast Day of St. Philemon the Actor
- Themed Set: The Church confronts its competition
- 1845: An Italian highwayman, as witnessed by Dickens