(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.)
Bad women are the cause of my being in this position…with all due respect to women, I must say they have brought me to ruin … I implore you all to abstain from evil habits. Especially beware of bad women.”
— Lovett Brookins, convicted of murder, hanging, Georgia.
Executed April 16, 1897
Brookins, a teacher, met the gallows smoking cigarettes. Before the drop, he prayed and sang. The high-ranking Freemason received the death penalty for murdering his mistress, Leila McCrary, and a man named Sanders Oliphant.
On this day..
- 1966: Lau Pui
- 1947: Rudolf Höss, Auschwitz commandant
- 1868: Gujarat's "Tribal Martyrs"
- 1986: Alec Collett, Lebanon hostage
- 1841: Peter Robinson, Tell-Tale Heart inspiration?
- 1355: Filippo Calendario and Bertuccio Isarello, Doge stooges
- 1942: Vasily Klubkov, Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya's betrayer
- 2011: Three in Shiraz
- 1783: Philip, a negro slave of Henry Garrett
- 1525: Count Ludwig von Helfenstein
- 1178 B.C.E.: Penelope's suitors, by Odysseus
- 2004: Jerry McWee, a former policeman