Roxana Druse
Encyclopedia
Roxana Druce née Flowers (1847 – February 28, 1887) was the last woman hanged in the state of New York
. Her botched execution resulted in the decision to replace the gallows
with the electric chair
in 1890.
Druce beat her 72-year-old husband Wiliam Druce to death, with the help of her daughter Mary. She then chopped up the body and boiled the remains. Druce alleged her motive was that her husband worked her too hard.
, New York state used suspension hanging for executions.
The process jerked the prisoner upwards by a weighted rope instead of the body dropping downwards through a trap door. But as Druce was a small woman, the force failed to break her neck leaving her to die agonizingly by strangulation.
The scene was so upsetting, officials decided to switch the primary method of execution in the state to the electric chair.
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. Her botched execution resulted in the decision to replace the gallows
Gallows
A gallows is a frame, typically wooden, used for execution by hanging, or by means to torture before execution, as was used when being hanged, drawn and quartered...
with the electric chair
Electric chair
Execution by electrocution, usually performed using an electric chair, is an execution method originating in the United States in which the condemned person is strapped to a specially built wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes placed on the body...
in 1890.
Druce beat her 72-year-old husband Wiliam Druce to death, with the help of her daughter Mary. She then chopped up the body and boiled the remains. Druce alleged her motive was that her husband worked her too hard.
Execution
When Druce was sentenced to death, Herkimer CountyHerkimer County, New York
Herkimer County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. It was created in 1791 north of the Mohawk River out of part of Montgomery County. As of the 2010 census, the population was 64,519. It is named after General Nicholas Herkimer, who died from battle wounds in 1777 after taking part...
, New York state used suspension hanging for executions.
The process jerked the prisoner upwards by a weighted rope instead of the body dropping downwards through a trap door. But as Druce was a small woman, the force failed to break her neck leaving her to die agonizingly by strangulation.
The scene was so upsetting, officials decided to switch the primary method of execution in the state to the electric chair.
See also
- List of individuals executed in New York
- Capital punishment in the United StatesCapital punishment in the United StatesCapital punishment in the United States, in practice, applies only for aggravated murder and more rarely for felony murder. Capital punishment was a penalty at common law, for many felonies, and was enforced in all of the American colonies prior to the Declaration of Independence...