▲ A photo collage and illustration about Williams’ execution covered the front page of the St. Paul Dispatch on Feb. 12, 1906.
rope stretched, but his neck didn’t break due to the too-long rope. Williams was still alive. What happened next horrified those in attendance: Three deputies pulled the rope for 14½ excruciating minutes until Williams was pronounced dead by strangulation.
An illegal hanging Three newspapers — the St. Paul Pioneer Press, St. Paul Dispatch and St. Paul Daily News — broke the law and published the gruesome events in detail. The Minnesota Supreme Court later indicted the newspaper outlets for breaking the law, and each newspaper was found guilty and fined $25. By the early 20th century, the public was generally against the death penalty, and not surprisingly, people were shocked and horrified by the botched execution. Williams’ death renewed public outcry against capital punishment. Furthermore, the public was
sympathetic to Williams because his story was one of love and heartbreak. Then-Gov. John A. Johnson was against capital punishment. Mary Lochren, wife of U.S. district judge William Lochren, had attempted to save Williams’ life by publicly pleading with her husband, but to no avail. As a result of the botched execution, plus a sympathetic and angry public — and weak support for the death penalty — Williams was the last person to be legally executed in Minnesota. After the execution, Gov. Johnson and his successor, Adolph O. Eberhart, deferred all death penalty sentences to life sentences. A few years later on April 22, 1911, the state legislature and Eberhart abolished Minnesota’s death penalty for good. Abigail Thompson is a public relations intern with the Minnesota Historical Society. Minnesota Good Age / February 2020 / 13