90 years ago in DeLand, crowds watched Florida’s last hanging

Apr 22, 2017 1267

BY: Mark Lane

Florida’s last execution by hanging was a huge event in DeLand. Ninety years ago this week, April 18, 1927, a big crowd gathered. Schools let out. Onlookers stood on rooftops to get the best view of the gallows that had been erected behind the jail, across the street from the courthouse. 

Everyone knew — at least everyone who read the papers knew — this would be their last chance to see something like that. The Florida Legislature had changed the method of state executions in 1924 from hangings presided over by local sheriffs to the electric chair operated by staff at Florida State Prison. But a surprising Florida Supreme Court ruling called for one last local hanging.

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SOURCE: http://www.news-journalonline.com/

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