Madison County FlArchives News.....Paid The Penalty November 14, 1901
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Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 September 25, 2008, 5:42 am

The New Enterprise November 14, 1901
Will Jones, Convicted of Murder at the Recent Term of Court, Legally Executed
Here Last Friday

   The first legal execution within a period of about ten years, was held in the
jail yard in Madison last Friday morning and was witnessed by a number of
citizens, both white and colored.

   On October 8th, Will Jones, a negro with many aliases, shot and killed a
negro woman near the McNeil turpentine camp below West Farm, and in his efforts
to escape shot a negro man dead and wounded a white man named Anderson so
seriously that he died in a short time. After a desperate fight the negro was
captured by the Sheriff and a posse and was landed in jail. The negro was badly
wounded in his fight with the sheriff's posse. An attempt to lynch him was made
a short time after his capture but was averted by the prompt action of sheriff
Armstrong who removed the negro to the jail of another county.

   The prisoner was indicted by the grand jury for the murder of the woman and
upon trial which was heard on October 23d, was duly convicted and sentenced to
death by hanging.

   Sheriff Armstrong received the death warrant on Wednesday of last week fixing
the time of execution on Friday and immediately left for Lake City where the
negro was imprisoned, and brought him back here for execution.

   The gallows was errected in the jail yard in full view of all who desired to
witness the hanging and a short time after 11 o'clock the sheriff and his
deputies appeared upon the scaffold with the doomed man. Because of wounds in
his feet which incapacitated him from walking the condemned man had to be
assisted up the steps. Arriving at the top, he was seated in a chair and told to
make his last statement. The negro recognized several friends in the crowd and
called out to them, exchanging with them a few words. He made no statement
further than that he was sorry to be "in this fix." He expressed a desire to be
buried at Cherry Lake. The black cap was adjusted, the noose placed about his
neck and at 11:25 o'clock the trap was sprung and the negro hurled into
eternity. Fourteen minutes after his drop Drs. Yates and Ruter pronounced him
dead. His neck was not broken but dislocated. The body was buried at the expense
of the county.

   Rev. A. B. Osgood was with the man before the execution and prayers were said
and hymns were sung, the man himself offering a fervent prayer for forgivenness
[sic] of his sins.

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