Executed
John Watkins
John Watkins was executed by hanging on a Friday in January 1834 in New York, before a large crowd estimated by the newspaper at 8,000 to 10,000 people. According to the account reprinted by the Litchfield Enquirer, he was taken from the jail, placed on a sleigh and carried to a gallows about a mile north of the village. The paper reported that he was much interested in the religious exercises held before his death, and that he addressed the crowd and acknowledged the justness of his punishment. The drop fell a few minutes before two o'clock.
Cause of death, as reported: Executed by the state
Reported by: Litchfield Enquirer, reprinting a New York account (reporters).