This week in 1854

“Oh merciful God—merciful God—look down on me!  Oh, merciful Jesus, have mercy on my soul.  Oh, Sir, will it be anyways easy?  I never thought I should come to this!  Oh, merciful Jesus, what have I come to at last!… Oh God!  Oh, Jesus!”

— William Darry, convicted of murder, hanging, New York
Executed December 1, 1854

An episodically violent man, ship carpenter William Darry often beat his wife Mary in private. What would be her last beating lasted three days, during which Darry, in a drunken rage, beat her so repeatly that her injuries proved fatal. Darry killed his wife in mid-August and was hanged in December.