Who was the official person given the task to carry out the last public hanging in the United States?

Florence Katherine Shoemaker Thompson Riney (October 30, 1892 – April 13, 1961) was the first female sheriff in the United States of America to carry out an execution. Rainey Bethea, the last man to be publicly executed in the U.S., was convicted of rape and sentenced to death by hanging in Daviess County, Kentucky.

The journalists nicknamed Thompson as "The Hangwoman". Florence Thompson received numerous letters from people across the nation. Some of the letters encouraged her to do the execution herself while others were distraught by the thought of her carrying out the task and asked her to think of her children.

The secretary of the Louisville National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Bessie Etherly, wrote to the current Governor, Happy Chandler, concerned about the way the execution would take place. Governor Chandler wrote to Thompson requesting that she not make it a spectacle. He also included Etherly's letter with his.

Thompson also received letters from people offering to carry out the execution for her. After consultation from priests and pastors of various faiths, Thompson decided not to perform the execution herself. Thompson had asked each of her deputies if they would like the job before offering the job to Arthur L. Hash, a former Louisville police officer. Hash was so intoxicated that when given the sign to pull the lever, he did not do it and ultimately, one of Thompson's deputies had to lean on the lever to open the trap door.

More Info: en.wikipedia.org

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10 Comments

skullfire

Arthur L. Hash is the correct answer, however, we do not know the actual executioner. This question should be corrected or removed.

Beau Shilkraut

Hash was given the task. Hash is the answer. However, hash was drunk and didn't do it. Someone else stepped up and actually pulled the trigger, but was never given the task to to it. Confusing q and a. There is a difference between someone officially given the task and someone doing the task.

lls

...well, the answer was a little confusing, but I never knew that women in the U.S. had ever publicly done these tasks...

Samuel Anhalt

She retain the services of one G. Phil Hanna, a farmer from Illinois who had overseen 69 hangings up to this point. Once Bethea had ascended the gallows, he gave his last confession to the priest, declined the offer to make a last statement, was strapped tightly at the ankles, legs and arms/chest, and had a black hood placed over his head. Hanna fitted the rope around Bethea’s neck, and carefully adjusted it to maximize the chance that the neck would break and Bethea would suffer as little as possible. He then signaled to pull the lever to open the trap door. The one who placed the rope around the neck and signaled for the lever to be pulled obviously was given the task to carry out the last public hanging in the United States.