And inside his camera-snuck into Sing Sing in defiance of the prison’s ban on photographs in the execution chamber-was the one of the most disturbing pictures ever shown to the public. Crouched down in the back was a photographer named Tom Howard. Soon after, the engine of a Ford sedan coughed to life as the car swung south toward Manhattan. By 11:14, both prisoners had been pronounced dead. “ Old Sparky,” in use since 1891, didn’t take long to do its work. Henry Judd Gray, Snyder’s lover and accomplice, met his end that night, too. Photo by NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images Tom Howard (seated) shows how he strapped a camera to his ankle to secretly photograph Snyder's execution. Photo by Tom Howard / NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images The January 13, 1928, front page of the New York Daily News' extra edition In four minutes, “ Ruthless Ruth” Snyder, a woman who’d murdered her husband for insurance money, would die in the electric chair. Men-the vengeful and the aggrieved-hurled curses. But people came anyway, some from as far as Chicago. There was little for them to see the night’s grim proceedings would take place deep inside the correctional facility’s grounds. on the night of January 12, 1928, hundreds of onlookers milled about below the guard towers. The main gate of Sing Sing prison, some 30 miles north of New York City, was hardly a place for congregating.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |