was hanged in Gloucester Prison on February 17th, 1887, for the
murder of a boy at Stroud. The object was robbery, for the boy was
carrying money to pay wages, from the bank. Pritchard practically
pleaded guilty, and appeared to be sincerely sorry for his deed. He
was not anxious to escape death, but took great pains to secure the
forgiveness of the firm whose money he had taken, and of the parents
of the boy whom he had murdered in order to get it. To the father of
the lad he wrote a letter, earnestly begging for his forgiveness; and
Mr. Allen, who was a good, kind-hearted man, journeyed to Gloucester
to convey an assurance of that forgiveness in person, and to pray
with the murderer. Owing to a prison regulation Pritchard was unable
to receive Mr. Allen's visit, but the fact that the visit was made
seemed a great consolation to the prisoner. While waiting for execution
Pritchard frequently showed much emotion and it was feared that there
might be a "scene" at the last moment, but when the time came, he was
composed. There was no reckless bravado, but a quiet submission. He
walked uprightly to the scaffold and stood motionless upon the drop.
For a second his glance wandered round the prison-yard, and in that
second he seemed to comprehend everything. He saw his grave, ready dug,
in a corner, and heaved a sob, but this was his only demonstration of
feeling whilst in my hands.
[Illustration: Walter Wood.]
_Walter Wood._
Another man who was apparently truly penitent was Walter Wood, executed
at Strangeways, Manchester, on June 30th, 1887, for the murder of his
wife. When the sentence of death was pronounced he was calm, and
so he remained up to the time of execution. He did not falter even
when visited by his mother and his two sons. He neglected no means
of showing his contrition and making his peace with God, and on the
day before his execution he attended the prison chapel, occupying
a screened pew, where he paid careful attention to the service and
appeared much solaced by a portion of the sermon which was introduced
for his special benefit. On the morning of his last day he was awake
early and spent the time with the good chaplain of the gaol. As I
entered the cell the poor fellow was slowly repeating the responses
to the prayers read by the chaplain, and he continued to do so during
the pinioning. The chaplain was assiduous in his attentions and did
not weary of his good work even when on the scaffold, but continued to
comfort and solace the doomed man with an earnestness that indicated
the depth of his sympathy. At the last moment the calm, but wretched,
culprit raised his head, drew a deep breath, and said in a deep,
solemn, unshaken tone, "Lord have mercy upon me. Lord receive me."
And so he died. This execution affected me deeply. The man was fully
conscious of the hideousness of his crime, and sincerely repented.
He assured the chaplain that he beheld the world and all things in a
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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