A Gruesome Day on the Gallows

Aug. 24, 1889: Note that the Daily Mirror does not advocate walking on railroad tracks. Pedestrians (and cows) always come out second best in a contest against a locomotive. The above item is for illustration purposes only.

When California made its transition to the gas chamber for executions (the state continued to use the gallows for a while), some longtime prison officials were horrified at the new process and said hanging was a more quick and humane method. As the above account shows, hanging could also be a slow, ghastly death.