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May 18,
1912
Page 1
THE FORTITUDE OF RICHESON GIVES
WAY
COLLAPSE CAME LAST NIGHT AND THE
CONDEMNED MAN WAS GIVEN OPIATES TO
Stop His Paroxysms of Grief and
Hysteria -The Wretched Man's Death in the Electric Chair Likely to
Take
Place, It is Thought, Tuesday
Morning.
Boston, May
18. - A deep sleep under the influence of opiates, shut out a world
of agonies from the troubled mind of Clarence V. T. Richeson, during
the earlier hours of the today.
The
fortitude of the former clergyman who awaits death by electrocution
next week for the murder of Avis Linnell, gave way last night. The
collapse came when the condemned man was alternately beseeching his
counsel to have his body interred beside that of his mother in
Virginia and hysterically raving
over the fancied persecution by the two guards forming his death
watch.
Richeson
learned definitely for the first time yesterday that he must meet
death by electrocution. Through the day he bore himself with outward
calmness. Little by little the import of the decision he had heard
began to impress itself upon his mind.
Some of
those who entered the death chamber imparted to the prisoner the
fact that his father did not care to have his body taken to
Virginia for burial. Richeson at
once gave way to his emotions and implored of his counsel, William
A. Morse, that arrangements
be made so that he might be beside his mother in the family
lot.
As the day
wore on other incidents occurred to disturb the condemned man. The
discussion between Richeson, his counsel and spiritual advisers
turned upon the execution, and the prisoner begged both Mr.
Stebbins, the prison chaplain, and Rev. Herbert S. Johnson, his
chosen adviser, to walk to the chair with him.
Richeson
also expressed a wish that Mr. Morse should be present during the
last few minutes and further exacted a promise that either one or
the other of the ministers would remain constantly with him until he
died.
In the
meantime Richeson did not eat his dinner or
supper.
It was
nearly twelve hours after he learned that he must die next week that
Richeson burst out in a paroxysm of grief and hysteria. He threw
himself on his cot and moaned and shrieked. His arms and shoulders
twitched, his face was drawn in agony, and form time to time as his
glare fell on the two guards set in death watch over him, he would
scream out in horror, crying:
"They're
watching me; they're watching me."
Warden
Bridges, who was notified and hurried to the house, sent for the
prison physician. That official was not at home, and Dr. Frederick
L. Lyons of Charlestown was called. When Dr.
Lyons arrived Richeson was still more or less hysterical but
apparently unconscious. Dr. Lyons administered a sedative and the
prisoner went to sleep about 2 o'clock remaining in deep slumber until
late. The attack follows out the conclusions of the alienists who
recently examined Richeson that Richeson, although sane, was subject
to periodical emotional disturbance or hysterical delirium. It was
claimed such attacks were of short duration,
however.
There will
be no advance announcement of the hour of Richeson's execution.
Beyond the statutory provision that it must take place between
midnight and
sunrise, the warden of the prison has discretion extending over the
week designated by the court for infliction of the death penalty,
which in this case begins with Sunday next.
It is
thought the execution will take place Tuesday
Morning.
Monday, May 20,
1912
Page 1
HE DIES
TONIGHT
RICHESON REGAINS HIS COMPOSURE AND
FINDS CONSULATION IN SINGING HYMNS AND Quoting and Expounding Psalms
"The slayer of Avis Linnell
Tells the Prison Warden He Will be Ready When Wanted "The Man's Body
to be Buried by the Side of That of His
Mother.
Boston, May
20. - A desire that his execution might come speedily was apparently
the dominating thought in the mind of Clarence V. T. Richeson, as he
rose from his prison bed today. The young Virginian, who shortly
after midnight
tonight probably will pay the penalty of his crime for the murder of
Avis Linnell, has become reconciled to his fate and courageously
faces the future.
"I will be
ready when you want me, warden," he said to general bridges late
last night, when that official paid him a visit. And he
added:
"do not
worry, I shall not break down."
Richeson
bore up well through his last Sunday on earth. He was was cheerful
as he sang hymns with Chaplain Herbert M. Stebbins until a late hour
last night, several times repeating his favorite selection, "Some
Time We'll Understand." Then he would read from the Psalms and his
expositions of lessons were described by the chaplain as eloquent
and learned.
It was not
until daylight this morning that Richeson fell into a fitful sleep.
Realizing that his hours were so few in number, the condemned man
openly declared that he did not want to sleep. "I have so
little time to live and have so much to say that I want to talk,
talk, talk," he said.
No
relatives of the former minister will console him in his last hours,
or pay him a farewell, visit. His aged father in Virginia is
too feeble to stand the journey. His sister in new York
state, does not wish to have her last thought of her brother
associated with a death cell. His brother, Douglas Richeson of
Chicago, although in the city today
declared last night that he would not go to the prison today, but
would remain until after the execution to see to the disposition of
the body.
Following
the execution, the medical examiner of the county, Dr. G. B.
McGrath, will perform an autopsy in accordance with the law,
notwithstanding the fact that the family sent word they would not
allow it.
Rev.
Herbert S. Johnson, his spiritual adviser and his counsel, William
A. Morse, probably will accompany the body to Virginia,
where it will be buried beside that of the young man's mother at
Amherset court house.
The
disposition of Richeson's effects has already been provided for in
consultation between the prisoner and his counsel and through
documents left with his counsel.
Rev. Dr.
Johnson arrived at the prison just as Richeson awoke from a sound
sleep.
When
Warden Bridges went to the death chamber Richeson
said:
"I am
all right and in good condition."
The
condemned man had no appetite and did not touch his
breakfast.
Chaplain
Stebbins, who was in the chamber until Dr. Johnson arrived, said
Richeson slept soundle during the early morning hours.
Monday, May 20,
1912
Page 2
RICHESON IS READY FOR
DEATH
GIRL'S MURDERER DECLARES HE HAS MADE
HIS PEACE WITH GOD AND THAT HE IS
Resigned to His Fate -Will Go to His
Death in the Electric Chair After Midnight Tuesday.
Boston, Mass., May 20. - "I have made my
peace with God. I am resigned to my fate. I wish now to go to my
death as soon as possible, the quicker the better."
These
words, spoken yesterday by Clarence V. T. Richeson, former Baptist
minister and confessed slayer of Avis Linnell, to Rev. Herbert S.
Johnson, his spiritual adviser, expressed the mental condition of
the condemned man, whose tenure of life is now measured only by
hours.
There is
much reason to believe that he will go to his death in the electric
chair shortly after midnight Tuesday.
Reclining
on a cot in his death cell, Richeson talked long and earnestly with
Mr. Johnson and the prison chaplain, Rev. Herbert W.
Stebbins.
"I do not
want to sleep. I have so little time to live and so much I want to
say that I must talk," he declared.
RECALLS BOYHOOD SCENES.
Part of
the conversation was of a meditative and religious nature, and part
was reminiscent. The prisoner reviewed countless incidents of his
boyhood in Virginia; his college
days at Liberty,
Mo., further
topics.
When the
hour of execution arrives, Mr. Johnson, as his spiritual adviser,
will precede him in the short walk to the electric chair. Three
physicians, the prison doctor, county medical examiner and the
surgeon general of the commonwealth, will attend as the legal
witnesses.
The prison
chaplain also is entitled to attend.
Besides
these there may be three witnesses designated by the warden. An
appeal having been made to Governor Foss by press associations for
representation, the warden decided to accede to the wishes of the
governor and probably will name as the three other witnesses
representatives of three press associations.
Late
Saturday it was learned that Richeson had requested that his
counsel, William A. Morse, be present, but the warden was compelled
to deny the request, as all the witnesses permitted by law had been
arranged for.
SURGEONS SEEK BODY.
Surgeons
and medical societies, eager to gain some knowledge from the post
morten [sic.] of the usual subject, have applied for the brain and
spinal cord of the victim of the death chair, but these will all be
refused.
Richeson
was deeply pleased when told yesterday that his father had promised
that his body should lie beside that of his mother in the family
lot.
Between
Chaplain Stebbins and Mr. Johnson, Richeson has not been without a
religious adviser at any time since he received, Friday, the
announcement that there was no hope of his escaping the electric
chair. Saturday Mr. Johnson and Richeson had a long and earnest talk
on religion. Richeson was asked what passage of the Bible pleased
him most and he recited the twenty-third
psalm.
After
reciting the psalm," said Mr. Johnson, "Richeson gave a most
beautiful exposition of it, applying its truths to his own
experiences in life."
But the
greatest comfort the condemned man found, according to Mr. Johnson,
was the twenty-seventh verse of the twenty-second chapter of
Revelations: "And let him that is athirst come, and whosoever will,
let him take the water of life freely."
This
passage he repeated to himself again and again. The twelve verse of
the twenty-seventh psalm he frequently repeated, apparently
believing that it might appropriately apply to his
case:
"Deliver
me not over unto the will of mine enemies, for false witnesses are
arisen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty."
CALLED
MAN OF TALENT.
"Richeson is a man of great
talent," said Mr. Johnson, after leaving the death cell. "He talked
at length of the great spiritual truths which religion holds and
which have been revealed unto men. He is in a calm frame of mind,
and I feel that he will meet his death courageously, and like a
Christian man. He has made his peace with God and he wishes now, he
says, to go to his execution as soon as possible."
Tuesday, May 21,
1912
Page 1
CONDEMNED
MURDERER
WAS ANXIOUS ABOUT RICHESON -ROSE FROM
COT, CALLED GUARD AND INQUIRED
About Richeson, Whether "He Died Like a
Man or a Cur."
Denver, May
21. - Oscar Cook, murderer, condemned to die in November, rose from
his cot in the condemned cell in the county jail at midnight and hoarsely
called his guard:
"Has that
preacher Richeson been electrocuted yet?" he asked, "I can't sleep
thinking of him." Throughout the night as the guard tramped the
corridor the condemned man clung to the bars of his
cell.
"Can't you
telephone the news and find out if he died like a man or a cur? See
if he had to be carried," he asked.
Is it
easier than being hanged? Do you think there's any chance of this
state putting in a chair before November?
Cook
refused to return to bed, declaring that horrible nightmares filled
his dreams.
Tuesday, May 21,
1912
Page 1
RICHESON'S BODY TO
RELATIVES
CLAIMED BY BROTHER OF FORMER
CLERGYMAN TO BE TAKEN, IF WISHES
ARE
Carried Out, to Cemetery in Virginia -The
Execution, Accomplished Without a Hitch, Considered a
Success.
Boston, May
21. - Douglas Richeson of Chicago, brother of the former clergyman,
Clarence V. T. Richeson, who paid the penalty for the murder of Avis
Linnell in the electric chair at the state prison just after
midnight, claimed the body today. Before the body could be turned
over to relatives, it was necessary for Dr. George B. McGrath,
medical examiner of Suffolk county, to perform the
autopsy required by law. This he planned to do during the forenoon.
Reports that the brain and other organs of the executed man might be
given to the medical institutions and medical specialists for
examination and study were declared untrue by Dr.
McGrath.
Richeson's
body will be taken back to his old home in Virginia if his wishes are carried out and
will be buried in the little cemetery at Amherst court
house. The last words as the remains are committed to the grave will
be said by Rev. Herbert S. Johnson of Boston, who acted as Richeson's
spiritual adviser after he was taken to the death house. One of the
last requests made by Richeson was that Mr. Johnson accompany the
body to Virginia.
Mr.
Johnson also will carry messages from the executed murderer to his
relatives.
Richeson
left no will but in conversation with Mr. Johnson and Wm. A. Morse
of his counsel, during the hours preceding his death, he gave
directions as to the disposition of his personal effects. His
library Richeson left to clerical friends.
The
execution of Richeson is said by witnesses to have been the most
successful of any of the fourteen that have been held at the state
prison since the electric chair was adopted. It was only necessary
to apply the current once and less than 15 minutes after Warden
Bridges and the party of witnesses left the prison office for the
death house they filed back and attached their signatures to the
papers stating that the order of the court had been complied
with.
After his
collapse of last Friday it had been feared that Richeson would not
be able to stand the final strain, but on the way from his cell to
the execution chamber his steps did not falter and he answered the
questions as to his faith in God, put to him by his spiritual
advisers calmly.
Within a
few days the death house will be occupied again by Lena Cusamano and
Enrico Masciolo of Hull, who have been sentenced to
death during the week of June 2, for the murder of the woman's
husband.
Tuesday, May 21,
1912
Page 6
PAYS THE
PENALTY
RICHESON ELECTROCUTED THIS MORNING
SHORTLY AFTER MIDNIGHT-MAINTAINED
His Composure to Last -Declared He
Had Made Peace With God and Was Ready to
Depart.
Boston, Mass., May 21 -Clarence C. T.
Richeson was electrocuted at 12:17 o'clock this
morning.
The
Current was turned on at 12:10:02 and the prisoner was declared dead
at 12:17.
The former
clergyman, confessed poisoner of Avis Linnell of Hyannis, Mass., his one-time sweetheart,
was outwardly calm when he entered the death chamber and he
maintained his composure while the straps and electrodes were being
adjusted as he sat in the electric chair.
The list
of those appointed to attend the execution of Richeson, given out by
the warden last evening, included, besides the three physicians who
were official witnesses, Rev. Herbert S. Johnson, the prisoner's
spiritual adviser; Edmund C. Kelley, deputy sheriff of Suffolk
county, and one representative for each of three press
associations.
The three
medical witnesses were: Dr. George B. McGrath, Dr. Joseph I.
McLaughlin, the prison physician, and Dr. J. P. Butler, representing
the surgeon general of the state.
Rev.
Herbert W. Stebbins, the prison chaplain; the warden, General
Bridges, and assistants made up the death chamber.
REFUSED TO EAT SUPPER.
Richeson
had no supper, saying he desired none. After eating a little fruit,
he lighted a cigar and was sitting on the edge of his cot,
apparently enjoying his smoke, when Deputy Warden Allen entered his
cell with the black suit of clothes to be worn during the
execution.
Richeson
nodded calmly to the deputy, but said nothing.
Attorney
Morse, who visited Richeson yesterday afternoon, found his client
calm and anxious to have the sentence of the law carried
out.
Mr. Morse,
is an interview later in the night, said:
"Richeson
has made up his mind to die and he doesn't want any delay. This has
been a long story and the last chapter is being written
today.
Richeson
is going to die without holding a grudge against any one. He has
scarcely uttered a harsh word and to me personally and to those who
come in contact with him, he has again and again expressed his
gratitude."
Not once
yesterday did Richeson lose his self-control. He insisted upon
making arrangements for his funeral.
ARRANGED FOR BURIAL
"Bury me,"
he told his spiritual advisers, Rev. Herbert S. Johnson and Rev. H.
W. Stebbins, prison chaplain, beside my mother at Amherst, Va., and have a religious service
in our old home before I am laid away."
Several
times he partly arose from his cot and said to the
clergymen:
I wish it
were all over. I wish the hour were here now. This waiting is as
hard on you, I know, as it is on me. I do not fear death. I have
made my peace with God, and, strange as it may seem to you, I feel
almost happy.
Late
yesterday afternoon Richeson's long hair was clipped so that the
electrode, would fit to his skull and at 15 minutes after 7 o'clock last evening
Nathan Allen, deputy warden of the prison, took to the death house a
pair of black trousers, slit up the leg and a striped shirt, which
is the prescribed costume for the death chair.
Unmoved,
Richeson watched the preparations about him. From his cell he could
hear the movements in the death chamber, where the last tests were
being made of the mechanism of the electric
chair.
Yesterday
morning Richeson read several letters which had been allowed to come
to him by the prison authorities. After this, he wrote to a number
of his friends. These letters were given to his attorney to be
delivered after Richeson's death, and with the injunction that the
names of the persons to whom they were addressed be kept in
confidence.
WRITES
FORMER FIANCEE
One of
these letters, it is known was directed to Miss Violet Edmands, the
girl to whom Richeson was engaged when he murdered Avis Linnell. Dr.
Johnson was with Richeson the greater part of
yesterday.
At 10:15
o'clock yesterday morning Richeson was visited by Rev. J. Murphy,
Catholic chaplain of the prison, and Dr, Joseph I. Laughlin, the
prison physician. Father Murphy talked with Richeson briefly upon
spiritual matters and remained with him only a few
minutes.
Richeson
and the priest shook hands and in strong voice the condemned man
said: "Good-bye, father. Thank you for coming to see me."
Richeson
dined with Dr. Johnson at noon. He was not hungry and ate sparingly
of the repast which had been prepared. When this was over, Richeson
laid out the plans for his funeral.
Richeson
expected all yesterday afternoon that his brother, Douglas Richeson,
of Chicago, who came to Boston to take
charge of the body, would visit him, but Douglas Richeson decided he
would not go to the death house.
When the
condemned man was told that his brother would not see him he said:
"Perhaps it is better so."
Clarence
Virgil Thompson Richeson was put to death in the electric chair for
the murder of Miss Avis Linnell, 19 years old, to which crime he
confessed Jan. 3, 1912, almost 3 months after he had been
arrested and accused of poisoning the young woman in order that he
might marry Miss Violet Edmands, a wealthy girl of Brookline.
Richeson
until his arrest was pastor of the Immanuel Baptist church of Cambridge, and prior to that was pastor of
a small church at Hyannis, Mass. It was in Hyannis that
the friendship began between the minister and the young girl, who
sang in his choir.
Richeson
then was 33 years old, handsome and eloquent. Avis Linnell, 17 years
old when she first met the minister, resided with her parents, Mr.
And Mrs. Edgar Linnell. The girl was ambitious to become a teacher
and was studying in the State Normal
school in Hyannis.
She joined
Richeson's church, was baptized and began singing in the choir.
Early in 1909, Miss Linnell showed a ring to her girl friends and
whispered that she was to be married to the minister the following
October.
But in
June, 1910, friction developed between Richeson and the deacons of
the Hyannis church over the minister's
manner and the loss of $50, left by a parishioner in the young
pastor's study.
When it
was learned that Richeson had sent $50 to a woman in Salt Lake City
his resignation was forced, and he went to the Cambridge Baptist
church.
GIRL
FOLLOWED HIM TO BOSTON
Avis
Linnell followed Richeson to Boston, and on his suggestion took
up the study of vocal music at the New England Conservatory of
Music.
She went
to the Young Women's Christian Association building, in Warrenton
street, to live, and it was there that she died of poisoning
Oct.
14, 1911, the same day on which invitations were issued
to the wedding of Richeson and Miss Edmands, for whom he had
discarded the choir singer.
While at
the conservatory Miss Linnell was a diligent student. In leisure
time she did church work for the Tremont Temple.
There were
frequent meetings between the young singer and the pastor, whom she
regarded as her fiance, but Richeson's success in the larger town
seemed to turn his head and he began to pay court to the wealthy
Miss Edmands.
Miss
Edmands is the daughter of Moses Grant Edmands of Brookline, a
prominent Baptist layman and trustee of the Newton Theological
Seminary. Miss Edmands was wealthy in her own right and heiress to a
share in an $800,000 estate left by her
grandfather.
It was not
long before the young minister was the accepted suitor for her
hand.
OFFERS
DAUGHTER TO FRIE IN
PLACE OF RICHESON
Boston, Mass., May 21 -While Richeson was
preparing for his death, J. S. Emery of Whitman appeared at the
state house and asked that his 9 year old daughter be electrocuted
in place of Richeson.
Iwant to
see Gov. Foss, he said "I am nearer to Christ than any other man on
earth. The state must not take the life of Clarence V. T. Richeson.
I have had a vision, and in it I was told that if I were to
sacrifice my darling daughter by placing her in the electric chair
in place of Richeson, my sacrifice would mean the end of capital
punishment, at least in Massachusetts. I stand ready to
make the sacrifice."
Emery was
locked up and will be examined by alienists.
Wednesday, May 22,
1912
Page 9
HIS BRAIN WAS NORMAL
AUTOPSY ON BODY OF RICHESON DISCLOSED
NOTHING IRREGULAR OR UNUSUAL
Boston,
Mass., May 22 - Medical Examiner George B. McGrath, after an
autopsy on the body of Clarence V. T. Richeson, yesterday afternoon,
issued a statement in which he declared the dead man's brain was
normal in structure.
It has not
been decided what disposition will be made of the body. The body
remained at the North
Grove street morgue, where the autopsy
was performed, though it was expected it would be removed soon. The
autopsy began at 12:30 yesterday afternoon and was finished an hour
later. There were two witnesses and two other persons
present.
This is
the statement that Dr. McGrath made after the
autopsy:
-The
postmortem examination on the body of C. V. T. Richeson made in
conformity with the provisions of Chapter 274 of the Acts of 1911,
disclosed conditions usually met with an death from electric shock.
The brain was normal in structure.
Thursday, May 23,
1912
Page 1
RICHESON
FUNERAL
INVESTRY OF BOSTON
BAPTIST CHURCH - FEWER THAN 20
PERSONS IN ATTENDANCE.
Boston,
Mass., May 23 -The funeral of Clarence V. T. Richeson, who was
electrocuted for the murder of Avis Linnell, took place yesterday
afternoon in the vestry of the Warren ovenue (sic.) Baptist
church.
Rev.
Herbert S. Johnson, pastor of the church, who was one of Richeson's
spiritual advisers in his last days, conducted the
services.
Less than
a score of people attended. Before beginning the service, Mr.
Johnson refused to state what disposition would be made of the
body.
Source: The Quincy Daily
Journal May 18-23, 1912
Transcribed &
Contributed by Debbie Henson
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