1885 Execution of Perry & William Melton, Convicted for Murder of John W. Cherry of Spearsville, Union Parish Louisiana Submitted by: T. D. Hudson Date of Submission: 8/2001 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.org/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.org/la/lafiles.htm ************************************************ ================================================================================== ================================================================================== 1885 Execution of Perry & William Melton, Convicted for Murder of John W. Cherry of Spearsville, Union Parish Louisiana From the "Home Advocate", a newspaper published in Farmerville, Union Parish Louisiana Issue of Friday, 19 June 1885, page 2, columns 2 & 3 ================================================================================== ================================================================================== BLACK FRIDAY EXECUTION OF PERRY AND WILLIAM MELTON Today is Black Friday in Farmerville. Today the vengeance of the law will visit with condign and ignominious punishment two men, who now are vigorous in health and endowed with the God-given faculties of human beings. These men will this day look for last time upon this bright world and will be ushered into the presence of their Maker with the dark and horrible accusation of murder on their souls. The Mosaic law of "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, and a life for a life" will be impressively illustrated to day, when the condemned criminals, Perry Melton and his son William, will be compelled to walk to their death for the murder of John W. Cherry, on the 15th of April 1884. Their unhappy fate should serve as a terrible warning to would be law-breakers and permanently impress their minds with the truth of the adage that "the way of the transgressor is hard." The majority of our readers are no doubt familiar with all the particulars of the crime for which the two Meltons are required to suffer the extreme penalty of the law. As above stated the crime was committed on the 15th of April 1884. The Meltons fled to Texas, and in July last Sheriff Pleasant, learning of their whereabouts, visited Texas, arrested, and brought them back to this parish for trial. They were convicted at the Nov. term of our Dist. Court and sentenced to be hanged. The Governor ordered their execution to take place on the 10th of April, but, on the 8th of April, a respite was granted in order to permit an investigation of a petition for commutation of sentence to life imprisonment. The Board of pardons refused to recommend a commutation of sentence and the Governor ordered the execution to take place to day. PERRY MELTON was born in Trigg [sic - Twiggs] Co., Ga., on the 7th Sept. 1825. His father moved to Crawford county and from thence to Bibb county Ala. In Feby. 1847 Mr. Melton was married, in Bibb county, to Miss Olave Muse. His condemed [sic] William is his eldest child and there are three other children issue of this marriage. In 1854 Mr. M. moved to Union parish. His wife died in 1863 and in 1865 he was again married to a widow Alphin. Nine children are yet living born of this marriage. WILLIAM MELTON was born in Bibb county Ala. On the 11th April 1848, and is therefore 37 years of age. He has no family. Through the courtesy of Mr. Wm.Turnage we were yesterday permitted to inspect the gallows and also to converse with the condemned men. They appeared to be resigned to their fate, and emphatically affirmed the truthfulness of the statement made and published in the ADVOCATE in April last. LATER, (Friday evening.) Today at 12:30 P. M. sheriff Pleasant, accompanied by fifteen witnesses repaired to the parish jail for the purpose of executing the death sentence upon Perry and William Melton - father and son - for the murder of John W. Cherry. Being interviewed before they were taken from the dungeon, they said: "While we do not think the execution upon us is just we are perpared [sic] to meet our death with christian [sic] hope and are perfectly reconciled to our fate, yet life would be much preferable. We do not think we have been dealt with properly by the courts, but we submit with perfect willingness and feel resigned to anything which the Lord permits sent upon us." What are your feelings toward the jury who sat upon your case? "We do not care to express our feelings toward the jury and the parties who appeared against us in our trial, but we can say that we are clear of all malice. The statements which we have previously made and had published in regard to the facts in our case are correct. It is now a late hour for us to talk and we prefer to say nothing further." They then asked that they be left in private for five minutes that they might engage in secret prayer. At one o'clock P. M. the doomed men were brought from the dungeon into the enclosed hall of the jail where they were to be executed and the death warrant was read to them. Being asked if they had any statements to make, both replied "none." Without assistance they both coolly and with great self-possession stepped upon the platform - an elevation of about 18 inches above the second floor of the jail. The ropes and caps were then adjusted and they asked the sheriff to grant them one half hour, which he did, and during this time they remained upon the platform in perfect composure, in a kneeling position, constantly asking: "how much time have we now." Near the close of their allotted half hour they requested that the sheriff notify them by some signal of the moment they would drop, which he consented to do by counting to the number three at which time they would drop. At 1:40 P. M., exactly, the number three was counted, and the unfortunate men fell with a drop of seven and one half feet from their kneeling positions. Perry Melton's neck was instantly broken and his pulse ceased to beat in three minutes. At 2:06 o'clock the pulse of Wm. Melton ceased to beat and both men were pronounced dead by Drs. C. H. Jameson and W. W. Barnes. The father was cut down at 2:10 and the son 2:12 P. M. they having hung respectively 30 and 32 minutes; the son having hung 26 minutes before he was pronounced dead. During the whole time both men remained in perfect composure and met the monster Death with the greatest courage; their nerves remaining perfectly steady up to the moment the trap was thrown. ############################################################# File at: http://files.usgwarchives.org/la/union/obits/1885melton-execution.txt