This week in 1904

“So long, fellows.”

— Frank Rose, convicted of murder, firing squad, Utah.
Executed April 22, 1904

The bravado of Frank Rose was well documented in Utah publications during his trial. On the day of his execution Rose walked with“almost a swagger to the death chair.” Rose had shot his wife on Christmas Day and left his two-year-old son in the room with the dead mother for two days without food or water. Rose refused to enter a plea to the court, and when a not-guilty plea was entered for him, he refused to offer any evidence on his behalf.

In a statement released the day before his death, Rose confessed to many murders and burglaries throughout the West. Officials doubted whether he was speaking truthfully.