THE LAST
PUBLIC EXECUTION
IN AMERICA
BY PERRY T. RYAN
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Dedication
Table of Contents
Preface
Ch. 1 The Background
Ch. 2 The Thompsons
Ch. 3 Lischia Rarick Edwards
Ch. 4 Rainey Bethea
Ch. 5 The Crime
Ch. 6 The Discovery of the Crime
Ch. 7 The Search for Rainey Bethea
Ch. 8 The Arraignment and Transfer to
Louisville
Ch. 9 The Special Proceedings for the
Indictment
Ch.10 Herman A. Birkhead, The Chief
Prosecutor
Ch.11 The Indictment
Ch.12 The Return to Owensboro
Ch.13 Counsel's Preparation for Trial
Ch.14 The Trial
Ch.15 Florence Thompson's Dilemma
Ch.16 Bethea's New Attorneys
Ch.17 The Motion for a New Trial
Ch.18 How to Get a Hangman
Ch.19 Edwards' Property Returned; Trial
Transcribed
Ch. 20 The Federal Habeas Corpus
Proceeding
Ch. 21 The Two Death Warrants
Ch. 22 Previous Death Sentences in Daviess
County
Ch. 23 The Hangman
Ch. 24 Final Preparations for the
Hanging
Ch. 25 The Execution
Ch. 26 The Aftermath
Epilogue
Sources Consulted
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Return to Geocities