This week in 1895

“Good-bye, boys. Here goes a brave man!”

— Anthony Azoff, convicted of murder, hanging, California.
Executed June 7, 1895

Azoff and two others were taken by surprise when attempting to rob the South Pacific Train Station Depot. Three officers sprang from an empty boxcar, informed ahead of time of the robbery. While running to escape, Azoff fired wildly, fatally wounding Detective Len Harris in the abdomen. A five-hundred-dollar reward was place on his head before he was finally captured.

Later Azoff spoke with a reporter, telling him that he actually liked prison. “This is better than scrapping for a living outside any day,” he said. “Before I came here I had a dread of the place. Instead I have a fine room, dry and clean and white as snow. And such beds! It’s almost worth hanging to have a nice, soft place to lie in.”