Parrott Murder - The Execution

 For Benjamin Parrott Jr., the time was getting short.

On June 19, 1899, the Times carried an article, “His Last Week : Preliminary Preparations for Hanging of Parrott on Friday:

“Sheriff Middleton went to Toronto this morning to get instructions from the Inspector of Prisons regarding the execution of Ben Parrott on Friday morning. It is likely he will arrange with some Toronto man to do the job unless Radcliffe is likely to be here in time.

“The scaffold will be erected tomorrow by an expert carpenter, and will be thoroughly tested with weights before the execution. The machinery of death sent here by Radcliffe, the Government hangman, will not be used. Instead, the old scaffold, upon which McConnell was swung into eternity, will be used. It was a plain drop, there being just one trap door in it, which works from one side. Radcliffe’s trap is a double arrangement, opening in the middle.”¹

¹ Hamilton Times. June 19, 1899.

Parrott’s family had tried to save him from the gallows by requesting another examination to determine whether he was sane or insane. That had been rejected and there was no hope that the avenging of the death of Bridget Parrott

would be postponed :

“The Times Ottawa correspondent wires : ‘The Sheriff of Hamilton was advised this morning that the law would take its course in the case of Benjamin Parrott, who will be hanged on the  23^rd. Radcliffe, the hangman, is now on his way to Hamilton, from British Columbia, where he executed an Indian at Kamloops.”

“Parrott has not been officially advised of the medical commission’s report, but the death warrant, which the Governor-General signed on Saturday, will probably be read to him tomorrow.”

As the final hours were being counted down, Parrott’s behavior was closely monitored and much of it was reported in the press:

"He is becoming very nervous, but puts on a bold front, claiming he is not afraid to die. Some of the officials think he will break down before the execution, which will take place at 8 o’clock Friday morning in the east yard of the jail. The prisoners in the cells on the east wing will be removed as soon as the workmen commence putting up the scaffold. And will be kept there until it is removed. On account of the high wall around the jail yard, persons on the street will not be able to see the execution and as there are no high buildings in the vicinity, only a few persons passed in by the Sheriff will witness the last act in the dreadful tragedy.”¹

On June 20, 1899, the Times reported that efforts were being made to accommodate any final wishes Parrott may have had:

“This morning Sheriff Middleton paid a visit to Ben. Parrott, the murderer, and told him that the law would take its course and asked him if he had any requests to make. Parrott said he did not care when the execution would take place, and said he would like four of the clergymen, who have visited him frequently, present at the execution. He seemed partial to the Methodists, mentioning Rev. W.F. Wilson and Rev. R. Burns. He said he would like to have Rev. J. Gilmour and Rev. J. Young present also. These clergymen will be notified of Parrott’s wish. It is not likely that Mrs. Brigadier Reid, of the Salvation Army, Toronto, will be admitted as Parrott does not want her present.

“Parrott continues to receive half a pint of whiskey daily in the afternoon. The jail surgeon says he requires a stimulant.”²

² “Wants Four Ministers : Ben. Parrott Makes Another Request of the Sheriff.”

Hamilton Times.   June 20, 1899.

The upcoming hanging was the first to happen since Mr. Nelson Mills was knifed to death on the street near the corner of Queen and George Streets by Michael McConnell, 13 years previously. In fact some of the materials used in the McConnell execution were used again:

“The old scaffold, used for the hanging of McConnell, was put together this morning by a boss carpenter, under the direction of the Sheriff. It will not be erected, however, till Thursday afternoon.”²

During the morning of June 21, 1899, the scaffold was erected and indeed parts of the scaffold had remained attached to a wall on the Barton Street jail ever since McConnell had gone to his final reward.

The identity of the executioner who would be present at Parrott’s hanging was still unknown as the final date was approaching :

“Sheriff Middleton received a telegram from the Minister of Justice last night, saying that Radcliffe had been notified that there will be no postponement of the execution, but he had not been heard from since. Yesterday afternoon he purchased a league baseball catcher’s mask from Billy Carroll, the sporting goods man, for the use of the hangman, who fears Parrott may strike him when he goes to pinion his arms. The mask will be covered with linen from the eye holes down, so spectators cannot recognize the wearer.”³

³“A Mask for the Hangman : It is a Baseball Catcher’s and Will Be Covered : Parrott Will Not Repent”

Hamilton Times.   June 21, 1899.

Many efforts had been made to help Parrott come to terms with his fate but he was unrepentant:

“Rev. W.F. Wilson visited the condemned prisoner yesterday afternoon, and had a long talk with him. Parrott promised to make a statement to him, tomorrow, expressing regret for his crime and asking for forgiveness.

“After the minister retired, Parrott told the guards he had no intention of signing anything, and today he told Mr. Sam Landers, of the Salvation Army, that he did not regret what he had done, and reiterated his statement that he did not believe in ‘Heaven, hell or God.’ While the Army man prayed, Parrott laughed and kicked his feet playfully. Parrott said afterwards, ‘I will not repent; I’ll die bravely, just as I lived.’ Mr. Landers has visited him oftener than any other man – every week since he arrested – and he has given up all hope of converting the murderer. He will not visit him anymore.”³

Hamilton Police Chief decided that he would make preparations regarding the morning of the hanging:

“Chief Smith will have a large force of policemen in the vicinity of the jail to keep order. He will not allow any demonstrations of any kind on the street, and every effort will be made to disperse any crowd that may gather.”³

Thursday June 22, 1899 would be Ben. Parrott’s last day alive. He seemed to waver between indifference, anger and self-pity:

“The murderer’s father, brother and sister will visit him at 4 o’clock this afternoon for the last time. None of them will be present at the execution.

“Parrott was in a rage yesterday afternoon because the Governor refused to allow him to see the scaffold. He heard the carpenters putting the machinery of death together, and said he wanted to see ‘what kind of a thing’ it was. The scaffold is on the north side of the east yard of the jail. The arm, to which the rope is attached, has been in the wall for 23 years, since McConnell was hanged. The machinery of death looks like a big box, with steps on one side of it. The unfortunate man will pass out of sight as soon as the lever is pulled. The platform is ten feet high, but there will be a drop of nearly fourteen feet, as a four-foot excavation has been made beneath the scaffold.

““Yesterday Parrott made some peculiar remarks, which are not in harmony with his former declarations that he does not believe in ‘a Heaven or a hell.’ He said that in two days he will be running amuck in Hades. “I’ll have a pitchfork,’ he said,’ and I’ll give the old devil a merry race around for a while. I don’t care to see my old woman, as she may not be in a very good humor.’

⁴ “His Last Day on Earth : Parrott Continues to be Indifferent as to His Fate : Hanging Tomorrow Morning”

Hamilton Times.   June 22, 1899.

The condemned prisoner was allowed to receive a visit from his family during his last afternoon:

“Yesterday afternoon, Mr. Ben Parrott, sen., visited his son, after Rev. Mr. Wilson and other minsters had secured signed statements from him. Mr. Parrott was accompanied by his two sons and daughter. One of the brothers, Daniel, told the condemned man to be brave and ‘not make a fool of himself.’ Ben replied he would ‘die like a man.’

“A reporter had a talk with the father in the evening, and the latter expressed regret that his son had not experienced a change of heart. ‘But,’ he said,’ the poor boy is crazy; he does not know what he is doing. Those ministers bothered him too much, I think.’

“The first person to whom Parrott expressed any regret was his old Sunday School teacher, Miss George. He admired her, he said, as she was a good woman. When writing her his last letter – on Wednesday – he asked one of the officials what he thought would please her best. The official said : ‘Tell her you are sorry for what you did; that you forgive all men as you hope they will forgive you, and that you trust the Lord will pardon.’ Ben replied : ‘All Right; I will.’ He wrote as advised, but afterwards said he did not mean it; he just wished to please the recipient.”⁵

⁵ Hamilton Times. June 23^rd 1899.

The Times, along with the other two Hamilton daily newspapers, the Herald and the Spectator, were prepared to issue a full report on Parrott’s execution as the day, Friday June 23^rd began. Some of their features had already been written, while space was reserved for up-to-the-minute reporting of the events to take place around 8 a.m. that morning. All three newspapers were allowed to send a representative to witness Parrott’s death.

The reporters were allowed to see Parrott in his cell and follow the death procession from there to the scaffold:

“Parrott’s last night on earth was a quiet one. Rev. R. Burns and Rev. Mr. Gilmour visited him about 10 o’clock and stayed with him for half an hour. After they left, he seemed nervous, and after retiring to his cell, was unable to sleep. He dozed off about 1 o’clock and slept soundly, his guard said till after 6 o’clock, prepared his toilet slowly, and at 6:30 o’clock, when a Times reporter saw him, he looked like a raw country lad. He made no special request regarding his last meal, and his dish – ham and eggs – was given to him. He ate sparingly, however, and was through in less than five minutes. After he had a few sips of coffee, he was given a cigar. He appeared to enjoy the smoke more than the meal, but he was visibly nervous. He removed his slippers, and paced up and down the corridor, talking to his two keepers – Norman Stewart and A.C. Springstead. His conversation was somewhat jerky, and was interspersed with the words, ‘d---, d----‘ Ever and anon he made the remark, ‘I’m going to be hung this morning,’ and his actions were not unlike those of a crazy man.

“His last act in his cell was to annoy the jail officials, he committing an offence, because he thought water had been put in the whiskey. That was the reason he gave, anyway.

“Parrott was dressed in an ordinary tweed suit, and he wore a black cotton shirt, with no collar, while awaiting the dreadful hour.”⁵

“The procession of death started from the murderer’s cell at 7:40, and in three minutes the trap had been sprung, and the pinioned and black-capped murderer disappeared from sight into the enclosure beneath the platform without having said a word that was audible to any but the men at his elbow, or shown any signs of trepidation except for what, to the spectators, looked like a nervous twitch or two in the head, and slight turn in the direction of the hangman during the time the prayers were being said, and while the executioner was unfastening the string which held the lever after the ‘amen’ had been said. The time that elapsed was but a few seconds, but to those in the jail yard, it seemed minutes. There was scarcely a sound when the body descended, the enclosed death trap preventing the usual ‘dull, sickening thud.’

“When Sherrif Middleton emerged from the jail door, there were present in the enclosure the Jail surgeon, Dr. Balfe, and three or four other city physicians, the warden of the county, and three or four members of the Joint Court House Committee of the city and county, one representative from each of the city’s newspapers, and a fourth reporter, representing the Associated Press agency, half a dozen officials connected with the jail, the sheriff’s office and the Court House, and about a score of other people, including the coroner’s jury.

“Right at the side of the sheriff as he said into the jail yard was the murderer. He looked a different man from when seen in the Court House at the trial. The high red color of his face had given place to an almost ashy whiteness, which a full growth of reddish brown beard brought out rather plainly. The moment he steeped from the doorway, he glanced around the yard, first at the crowd which stood watching him and then at the instrument of death. Turkey Awty was at his left hand, and the executioner followed only a step behind.

“The hangman was a big, false-whiskered man , who wore only his ordinary clothes, and no mask or anything else that might serve as a disguise, except his false beard.

“Then came Rev. J.L. Gilmour, from whose lips proceeded the solemn words of the last service Parrott should hear. Rev. H. Burns followed, and then Rev. W.F. Wilson. The procession turned directly to the steps of the scaffold and proceeded across the jail yard, a solemn hush falling over the crowd.

“Parrott walked firmly and mounted the stairs, first glancing up at the iron bars projecting from the jail wall, from which the noosed rope hung. Upon arriving at the top, he was placed with his face to the people below, but the hangman and attendants largely concealed him from view. His arms were quickly pinioned to his sides and the noose was adjusted. Then the black cap was pulled over his head, and when Rev. Mr. Gilmour finished his exhortation, Rev. Mr. Burns began the Lord’s Prayer, repeating it slowly and solemnly, while the crowd stood with covered heads. As the prayer was being repeated, the condemned man was seen first to move his head and then slightly turn his body in the direction of the hangman who had begun to untie the string holding the lever.

“A moment or two after the last word had been said, the lever was drawn, the trap opened and the body descended. Almost immediately, Dr. Balfe, the jail surgeon, stepped into the enclosed pit of the scaffold and took the hand of the dying murderer, which he held until the pulse ceased to beat. Death followed in a remarkably short time.”⁵

While Parrott was dead, that was not the immediate end of the story. More had to be done:

“As soon as the drop fell, Dr. Chamberlain went below, and joined Dr. Balfe. He found in a few seconds that the pulse had stopped. He said death resulted in less than 14 seconds, the neck being broken.  Parrott dropped 9 ½ feet, and never moved a muscle after the rope became taut.

“Drs. Balfe, Chamberlain and Cockburn, Gillrie, Wallace, White Baugh and Bauer were beside the body for some time. Shortly before 8 o’clock, Dr. Chamberlain ordered the body cut down and his order was quickly complied with. Deputy-Governor Awty, Detective Campbell and Constables Miller and Gibbs placed it on a stretcher, and the precept for the inquest was read by Coroner Griffin.

“The following jurymen took the oath : Messrs. Farrar, John Forsyth, Geo. Depew, Robert B. Spera, John Brown, George Henderson, J.A. Cox, Fred. Shelter, Wm.Carroll, Robt. Rogers. Their duty was simply to identify the body and declare that the decree of the court had been carried out.

“An autopsy was commenced, the physicians desiring the brain for the Medical College.

“When the black cap was removed his face had a purple cast, and it was quite clear his neck was broken.

“While the inquest was being conducted, two men were busy digging a grave in the southeast corner of the east yard. It was about four feet from the south wall, beside the unmarked grave of McConnell, the only other murderer hung at that jail. Strange to say one of the grave diggers was Hugh Cassidy, a prisoner, who offered to act as hangman some weeks ago before he was sent down for disorderliness. The burial was to take place as soon as the doctors had finished the post mortem examination. The burial will consist of the reciting of the Lord’s Prayer.

“There was only a small crowd outside of the jail yard. Sergeant Pinch and a posse of police kept order.”⁵

Parrott’s execution was also witnessed by a reporter with the Toronto Globe. As his account was not published until the day after the execution, he was able to interview some of those who accompanied Parrott in his final moments:

““He died ‘game’ as advised by his brother Daniel yesterday afternoon, and the young man of low instincts and foul and careless tongue passed into the beyond with but little apparent fear. If there was repentance for his crime, it was not manifested to those who were with him at the last, and the matricide gave little hope of having undergone a change spiritually. He died as he lived, a coarse unrepentant sinner.

“The executioner, who is said to be a Toronto man named Thompson, followed a step behind. The hangman is big of stature, and his face was pretty well-covered by a beard which did not look to be genuine. He is said to be an Englishman and an old hand at the business.

“Just before leaving his cell, Parrott cursed the policeman who arrested him and asked for brandy. His last words were ‘give me a chaw of tobacco.’ He cursed the hangman on his way to the scaffold. After the black cap was drawn over his head, he expressed regret that he could not get at the executioner. He also said he was sorry he had not killed the policeman who arrested him.”

While Ben Parrott’s hanging was not unwelcome to many who had followed his story since he axed his mother in front of the family’s home on Steven street, there were others who felt that he was indeed crazy and as such should not have been executed.”