Last person publicly hanged in America

Last person publicly hanged in America
The punishment was carried out by a woman
On 14 August 1936
A crowd of 20,000 flocked to Kentucky to witness a white woman hang a black man.
The last public hanging in America was on August 14, 1936 in Kentucky. 20000 people gathered at the place to watch this hanging....The newspapers of that time had given a lot of publicity before this hanging..
America's last public execution became a media frenzy... the hanging of a young black man in 1936. Crowds of newspaper reporters and spectators flocked to Owensboro, Kentucky, thinking it might be the last time people would see a public execution. Another story was being pursued in August. They have been in talks for weeks to see who will carry out the execution of convicted rapist and murderer Raini Betha, 26.

Daviess County Sheriff Florence Thompson had been in the position for only a few months when the Rainey Betha case landed on his desk. Betha had confessed to the rape and murder of 70-year-old Lycia Edwards - a death penalty under Kentucky law and the local sheriff's authority to execute her. She should have executed the gallows herself. Any citizen can be appointed or employed
By then, most states had long since abandoned public executions. But this "man hanging by a woman's hand" caused deep curiosity among the people. It was a grotesque community pastime in the Middle Ages. In dozens of newspaper articles leading up to the August 14 hanging, Betha's guilt was not questioned, let alone the ethics of its public execution.
Raini photographed Betha (left) two weeks before she was hanged. Local sheriff Florence Thompson (right) was charged with the public murder.
Over 20,000 people were present when Betha went to the gallows. To their surprise, Thompson didn't go ahead with it. Instead, two eager volunteer hangmen were selected for the grueling task of setting the sound and “pulling the trap”.
The intensity of media coverage of Beth's hanging led to Kentucky's decision to abolish public executions 18 months later. Knowingly or unknowingly, Sheriff Thompson opened the door to that attention, and the situation that led to the cover-up of the hanging led to it.

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