This week in 1945

“So long.”

— James Joseph Roedl, convicted of robbery and murder, firing squad, Utah.
Executed July 13, 1945

Roedl killed Abigail Williams with a hammer after she picked up him and an accomplice while they were hitchhiking. According to authorities, one of them sang the pop tune “Love Letters in the Sand” to signal the murder. Just before his execution, Roedl served cherry pie and coffee to the press, laughing and joking. According to the prison chaplain, however, Roedl “broke into sobs” when he was strapped to the “old wooden chair” used in previous executions.