John McCaffary
John McCaffary was a farmer from Ireland, according to historians of Kenosha County. He was hanged in Kenosha in August 1851 before a crowd of thousands. The gallows was built to jerk him into the air rather than drop him, and without a hood he struggled for roughly 20 minutes before dying, which Jon Martens of the Kenosha County Historical Society describes as a slow strangulation. Witnesses were horrified, and local anti-death-penalty advocates cited his death in the debate that led Wisconsin to abolish capital punishment in 1853.
Cause of death, as reported: Executed by the state. Jon Martens of the Kenosha County Historical Society says the gallows jerked McCaffary into the air without a hood, so he slowly strangled over about 20 minutes, and anti-death-penalty advocates cited the death in the debate that led Wisconsin to abolish capital punishment in 1853.
Reported by: Jon Martens, Collections and Exhibitions Specialist at Kenosha County Historical Society.