There was a time in Texas history -- from just before the days of the republic up until 1923 -- when death sentences were carried out by local authorities. Back then the method of executing a convicted criminal was by hanging.

During that time, 467 people were executed this way, 60 percent of which were African-American. Eighteen were hanged in Harris County. The executions were an event, with thousands gathering outside to catch a glimpse of the condemned or to hear his final words. Such scenes played out often in the 122 Texas counties that performed executions.

Veteran law enforcement officer West Gilbreath has researched these executions for his book, "Death on the Gallows: The Encyclopedia of Legal Hangings in Texas" (Wild Horse Press). Gilbreath, a captain with the University of North Texas Police Department, previously published a similar look at legal hangings in New Mexico.

What follows are e-mailed questions and answers with Gilbreath about this era in the state's criminal justice system.

Executed in Harris County 1838: John Christopher Columbus Quick, murder 1838: David Jones, murder 1855: Johnson, murder 1856: John K. Hyde, murder 1870: Jake Johnson, robbery and murder 1880: Henry Quarles, murder 1882: John Cone, rape 1888: Burke Mitchell, murder 1888: William Caldwell, murder 1891: Henry McGee, murder 1892: Walter E. Shaw, double homicide 1897: Alexander Terrell, rape 1899: Pate E. Burton, robbery and triple homicide 1909: Marcellus Thomas, murder 1916: Louis Utley, murder 1916: Henry Sampson, robbery and murder 1916: Clarence Cooley, robbery and double homicide 1921: Harry L. Walker, robbery and murder 1922: Carl Parker, robbery and murder Source: "Death on the Gallows: The Encyclopedia of Legal Hangings in Texas."

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After working on this book and "Death on the Gallows: The Story of Legal Hangings in New Mexico" were there any major differences in how the two states approached the death penalty?

Yes. Two very distinct differences. In New Mexico, if the trial was moved to a different county on a change of venue, and if the defendant was found guilty, the defendant was returned back to the county that had original jurisdiction to be executed. A good example was when Billy the Kid was found guilty in Dona Ana County for the murder of Lincoln County Sheriff William Brady and was returned back to Lincoln for execution. After his return, Billy shot and killed both deputies and escaped. The other noted difference is Texas allowed the defendant to waive their 30-day appeal, and to be sentenced to death immediately with an execution date. Men such as Henry Johnson, who was hanged in Kaufman County on May 30, 1903, was hanged within five days from the day he committed the rape. Or Dick Garrett in Shelby County who was hanged within four days.

In Texas, did you observe any significant differences in how counties handed out the death penalty? Were some parts of the state more apt to hand down the death penalty than others?

The biggest differences were the counties that contained large towns such as Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Ft. Worth. Counties with less population had less. North and Panhandle counties had far less than anywhere else. The other difference would be where the execution took place. Was the execution held openly to the public, or did the sheriff hold it privately in the jail? Also the method: Was the method a fall from the trap that was released by a lever, or the cut of a rope that held the trap in place? Or was the method a weight-and-pulley system, whereby [...] the person was jerked upward with such force that the jerk upward or the fall would break the neck. The media at times referred to this method as being "Jerked to Jesus."

Was there any particular crime you discovered in your research that stood out?

Actually there are two incidents that stood out the most for me. The first being when members of the United States Army, 24th infantry, rioted in Houston on August 23, 1917. Sixty-three soldiers out of the 118 who were tried for murder, mutiny, aggravated assault and disobeying an order were found guilty. On the morning of December 11, 1917, 13 men were executed near San Antonio at Camp Travis. Another six were hanged on September 1918. This became Texas' largest mass execution and the second-largest in the nation. The other incident was the execution of Roy Mitchell, who was hanged on July 23, 1923, at Waco, McLennan County. He may have been Texas' first serial rapist and murderer.

You pulled from various media accounts to research these executions. What are your observations on how the media covered these events?

Some accounts of the crime and the defendants were very sensational and were covered very extensively on the front page with large, bold headlines, especially once the telegraph and railroad system was built where information and mail could flow faster and more accurately. When executions were public, the media would print the history of the crime and the trial, attempt to interview the defendant and provide a witness account of the last moments of the condemned on the gallows. [...] Did he confess on the gallows or make a last statement prior to the trap being sprung, which was very important to the witnesses.

Some newspaper accounts were vague. One reason is because everyone in the community already knew what occurred, or went to the trial, and then some of the newspaper sources did not feel the need to write about it. The media also assumed the reader was already aware of the story and never imagined that people would want to know and research this information a hundred or more years later. There also seemed to be a shift in the amount of information printed about the offense and the execution after the year 1900.

You mention the crowds that would come out to witness these executions. Based on your research, did you get a sense as to how Texans felt about the death penalty?

When executions were public, the stores would close and families from nearby counties would make the trip by horse, buggy, wagon and train. Estimates were in the thousands, 10,000 or more. The newspapers noted that hangings gathered more of a crowd than the approaching circus. Other sources described the event as having a carnival atmosphere. Men and women dressed in their finest clothes. This gave families, friends, neighbors an opportunity to visit and socialize. The witnesses present expected to be entertained. Many times, people running for a political office took the opportunity to stand on the platform to address all as to why they should elect him. Vendors would sell refreshments or photograph souvenirs. Many times the condemn sold items as well for money to be given in support of their families. They also saw this as a religious gathering. The clergyman took the opportunity to make a sermon, and hymns and gospel songs were sung by all. After the execution, the crowd would ask the sheriff to cut the rope used in the execution and hand out the pieces as souvenirs. Other times, pieces of wood from the gallows were taken. Once the executions were held privately inside the jail or enclosed in the jail yard, the sheriff would receive many requests asking for an invitation to be present, and hundreds would also gather outside the jails awaiting word that the execution had taken place.

In your research involving African-American defendants, did you get a feeling as to the certainty of the verdict? Did any case against a suspect seem tenuous or did it appear as if a suspect was being railroaded? Do you have a theory as to why so many of those hanged were African-American?

Did I get a feeling of the certainty of the verdict?

With 60 percent of black males being hanged, I would believe if a black male committed certain crimes, it was a good chance his fate was already sealed once he was arrested. Not only by the judge and jury but for fear of a lynch mob. Texas as a republic and later as a pre-Civil War state had laws making it the death penalty for murdering the slave's master. After the Civil War, sexually assaulting a white woman by a black male made the offense a capital offense.

Were any of the accused railroaded?

I'm sure there were. There were a lot of prejudicial feelings, especially during the reconstruction of Texas and the rights afforded to free slaves after the war. The jury many times already had their minds made up, especially if the crime involved the rape or murder of a white girl or a white woman by a black male. The raping or murdering of a white woman by a black male was considered one of the most horrible crimes imaginable at the time and society did not tolerate it. At trial, when the victim took the stand and identified the defendant as the person who committed the assault upon her, even after the defendant claimed he was innocent, did the victim correctly identify the offender? Or did she hope by identifying him as the offender that his conviction and death sentence, regardless if he was the correct person responsible, would bring both her and the community in which she resided to closure? I am sure some victims and even the members of the jury said to themselves, "It must be him because he is black and the police who arrested him said he did it."

When such crimes did occur, posses were immediately organized to track down the responsible person. Once captured, the sheriff had to do everything in his ability to make sure the suspect was not lynched or the jail overpowered to remove his prisoner from his care. The sheriff had to call upon the Texas Rangers and state militia, and swear in trusted citizens as special deputies to protect the jail, or sneak the prisoner out of the jail and quickly transport him to a stronger jail in a different town until the town folks calmed down or until trial. Regardless of the crime, the sheriffs took their oath seriously and protected the accused. Many times on the gallows, the African-Americans' address to the crowd that had gathered showed appreciation to the sheriff and his jailers for the kind treatment afforded to him.

Houston Chronicle front page reporting the execution of Carl Parker, the last execution carried out by the Harris County sheriff.



