William F. Williams
William F. Williams was a 27-year-old English immigrant who spent his last day playing cards with the guards he had come to know, and the sheriff's wife prepared him a final meal of steak, German-fried potatoes and coffee. On February 13, 1906, he was hanged in the basement of the Ramsey County Jail in St. Paul. According to a St. Paul Daily News report, the rope stretched so that his feet touched the floor, and deputies pulled up on it while he slowly strangled for more than 14 minutes before he died. According to the Bemidji Pioneer, he maintained his innocence from the gallows, and accounts of the botched hanging are said to have helped turn public opinion against the death penalty, which Minnesota abolished in 1911.
Cause of death, as reported: Executed by the state. The St. Paul Daily News says the botched execution was prolonged when the rope stretched and deputies pulled up on it while he slowly strangled, and that he maintained his innocence from the gallows.
Reported by: St. Paul Daily News (reporters).