Executed
John Williams
John Williams asked to be baptized before his execution, and a minister immersed him in a creek near the jail at Waverly, Tennessee, where he was hanged on April 8, 1881. He had been brought to Waverly from Nashville for the execution. The Memphis Daily Appeal reported that he said he expected to go straight home to Jesus, and that at his request his body was sent to Johnsonville to be buried beside his wife and children. Citizens sent dispatches asking the governor to commute the sentence, but the governor declined to interfere.
Cause of death, as reported: Executed by the state
Reported by: news reports.