The Last Public Execution in America

by Perry T. Ryan

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CHAPTER 21

THE TWO DEATH WARRANTS

On August 6, 1936, Kentucky's thirty-eight-year-old governor, Albert B. "Happy" Chandler, signed two death warrants, commanding that two hangings be carried out. The first was for Rainey Bethea. The second was for John "Pete" Montjoy, of Covington. However, Montjoy's execution was again delayed as a result of his appeals, and he was not hanged until 1938. Governor Chandler stated that he could "see no reason" to interfere with either execution.

TO THE SHERIFF OF DAVIESS COUNTY,

OWENSBORO, KENTUCKY, GREETINGS:

WHEREAS, one Rainey (Railey) Bethea was on the 25th day of June, 1936, convicted in the Daviess Circuit Court of the crime of RAPE and was by the Judge of said Court sentenced to die by hanging in Daviess County at Owensboro on July 31, 1936, and

 

WHEREAS, on July 29, 1936, the Hon. Elwood Hamilton, District Judge for the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky granted a stay of execution for the purpose of hearing a writ of habeas corpus and in obedience to said writ the defendant was produced into the Court at Louisville, Kentucky, on August 5, 1936, and the writ of habeas corpus was set down for hearing and was heard on said date by the Hon. Elwood Hamilton, Judge of the District Court of the United States for the Western District of Kentucky and after hearing the said writ and the response thereto and the Court being sufficiently advised, said writ was dismissed and the said defendant Rainey (Railey) Bethea was remanded to the Jailer of Jefferson County at Louisville, Kentucky, to be there confined and held according to law, and

WHEREAS, there has been no further date of execution set by any Court or Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and

WHEREAS, the defendant Rainey (Railey) Bethea having failed to perfect his appeal to the Court of Appeals in the proper manner but having an attempted appeal considered by the Court of Appeals and the Court of Appeals dismissed said appeal, and

WHEREAS, it appears that after careful consideration of all the facts in this case, the Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky can see no reason for setting aside the judgment of the Daviess Circuit Court or the judgment of the Court of Appeals of Kentucky or the judgment of the Hon. Elwood Hamilton, Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, or any reason for suspending the sentence or judgment of said Courts or to further grant stay of execution of said judgment or to commute the sentence imposed by said Courts,

THEREFORE, YOU ARE NOW COMMANDED by these presents that you will on Friday, August 14, 1936, at about the hour of sunrise of said day and within the Court House yard of the County of Daviess in the City of Owensboro, cause the said Rainey (Railey) Bethea to be hanged by the neck with his body suspended so as to cause his death as quickly as possible and you will see that death does ensue and you will make due and proper return of this warrant showing how and in what manner it was executed.

IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the Commonwealth of Kentucky to be affixed thereto.

DONE at Frankfort, this 6th day of August, (1936) in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and thirty-six and in the one hundred and forty-fourth year of the Commonwealth.

/S/ A. B. Chandler

A. B. Chandler, Governor

Commonwealth of Kentucky

 

/S/ Charles D. Arnett

Secretary of State

 

(SEAL)

The first death warrant required the hanging to take place on the courthouse yard. Sheriff Thompson had already planned to have the hanging in the parking lot of the county road garage, and the first deck of the scaffold had already been erected when Governor Chandler signed the death warrant. New shrubs and flowers had been planted in the yard of the Daviess County Courthouse, and Sheriff Thompson became concerned that a crowd of people might trample the flowers as they watched the execution.

County Attorney Sidney B. Neal drove to Frankfort on August 11 to confer with Attorney General Beverly M. Vincent with regard to changing the wording of the death warrant, but Governor Chandler was out of the state. The Kentucky Constitution made the lieutenant governor the "acting governor" while the governor was out of state, so Attorney General Vincent recommended to Lieutenant Governor Keen Johnson to make this change, and Johnson indicated that he would do so.

On August 12, 1936, Lt. Gov. Johnson signed a second death warrant, which was essentially the same as the one issued by Gov. Chandler on August 6, but the writ did not command that the sheriff execute the defendant in the courthouse yard. The new death warrant stated as follows:

EXECUTIVE ORDER

COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY

 

TO THE SHERIFF OF DAVIESS COUNTY,

OWENSBORO, KENTUCKY, GREETINGS:

 

WHEREAS, one Rainey (Railey) Bethea was on the 25th day of June, 1936, convicted in the Daviess Circuit Court of the crime of RAPE and was by the Judge of said Court sentenced to die by hanging in Daviess County at Owensboro on July 31, 1936, and

WHEREAS, on July 29, 1936, the Hon. Elwood Hamilton, District Judge for the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky granted a stay of execution for the purpose of hearing a writ of habeas corpus and in obedience to said writ the defendant was produced into the Court at Louisville, Kentucky, on August 5, 1936, and the writ of habeas corpus was set down for hearing and was heard on said date by the Hon. Elwood Hamilton, Judge of the District Court of the United States for the Western District of Kentucky and after hearing the said writ and the response thereto and the Court being sufficiently advised, said writ was dismissed and the said defendant Rainey (Railey) Bethea was remanded to the Jailer of Jefferson County at Louisville, Kentucky, to be there confined and held according to law, and

WHEREAS, there has been no further date of execution set by any Court or Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and

WHEREAS, the defendant Rainey (Railey) Bethea having failed to perfect his appeal to the Court of Appeals in the proper manner but having an attempted appeal considered by the Court of Appeals and the Court of Appeals dismissed said appeal, and

WHEREAS, it appears that after careful consideration of all the facts in this case, the Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky can see no reason for setting aside the judgment of the Daviess Circuit Court or the judgment of the Court of Appeals of Kentucky or the judgment of the Hon. Elwood Hamilton, Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, or any reason for suspending the sentence or judgment of said Courts or to further grant stay of execution of said judgment or to commute the sentence imposed by said Courts,

THEREFORE, YOU ARE NOW COMMANDED by these presents that you will on Friday, August 14, 1936, at about the hour of sunrise of said day and within the County of Daviess in the City of Owensboro, cause the said Rainey (Railey) Bethea to be hanged by the neck with his body suspended so as to cause his death as quickly as possible and you will see that death does ensue and you will make due and proper return of this warrant showing how and in what manner it was executed.

IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the Commonwealth of Kentucky to be affixed thereto.

DONE at Frankfort, this 12th day of August, (1936) in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and thirty-six and in the one hundred and forty-fourth year of the Commonwealth.

/S/ Keen Johnson

[Acting] Governor of the

Commonwealth of Kentucky

 

/S/ Charles D. Arnett

Secretary of State