This week in 1852
“Mr. Sheriff, you are a good man, and I have nothing to say, except that I protest my innocence. In my last dying words, I say I am innocent! I am innocent! I am innocent Justice in this country is bad. I was not guilty, and the Jury did wrong in convicting me.”
— Otto Grunzig, convicted of murder, hanging, New York.
Executed February 27, 1852
Though he emphatically maintained his innocence to the very end, Grunzig died for poisoning his wife, Victorine, in order to enjoy his mistress’s company unencumbered. He later blamed the murder on his mistress, Margaretta Lohrenz.
This week in 1881
“All young men take warning and never be guilty of theft, however small, because they might deserve the small penalty I am about to suffer. I have five minutes to live. I can think of Heaven in that time. While there is life there is hope.”
After kicking off his slippers:
“I will give them to the poor. The Courier-Journal cannot say I died with my boots on.”
— John Vanderpied, convicted of murder, hanging, Kentucky.
Executed February 25, 1881
The murderer of Rebecca Johnston, Vanderpied climbed the scaffold smoking a cigar. Although his full speech has not survived, it was reported that in it he maintained his innocence and read from the Shelby Sentinel, saying the newspaper misreported the story.
This week in 1865
On the way to the gallows:
“How beautiful the sunlight is! I never knew what its splendor was till now, when I look upon it for the last time.”
— John Yates Beall, convicted of espionage, hanging, New York.
Executed February 24, 1865
In September 1864, Beall, a well-educated Acting Master of the Confederate navy, led a raid on the Great Lakes, in part to free rebel prisoners held at Johnson’s Island on Lake Erie. He and several other men boarded the steamer Philo Parsons, “took possession of the steamer, threw overboard part of the freight, and robbed the clerk of the money in his charge, putting all on board under duress.” Beall was branded a pirate and was hanged for spying and violations of the laws of war. He protested his innocence until his death.
