The
Hangman, John C. Woods who carried out the Nuremberg Executions died on this
date, 21 July 1950. In memory of him carrying out his duty as an executioner, I
will post information about him from Wikipedia and his Pro-Death Penalty Quote.
Master Sergeant John C. Woods |
INTERNET
SOURCES: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_C._Woods
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John Clarence Woods (June 5, 1911 – July
21, 1950) was a United States Army Master Sergeant who, with Joseph Malta,
carried out the Nuremberg executions of ten former top leaders of the Third
Reich on October 16, 1946 after they were sentenced to death at the Nuremberg
Trials.
Master-Sergeant
Woods readies the Gallows at Nuremberg in 1946.
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The
Nuremberg executions took place on October 16, 1946, shortly after the
conclusion of the Nuremberg Trials. Ten prominent members of the political and
military leadership of Nazi Germany were executed by hanging: Hans Frank,
Wilhelm Frick, Alfred Jodl, Ernst Kaltenbrunner, Wilhelm Keitel, Joachim von
Ribbentrop, Alfred Rosenberg, Fritz Sauckel, Arthur Seyss-Inquart, and Julius
Streicher.
The
sentences were carried out in the gymnasium of Nuremberg Prison by the United
States Army using the standard drop method instead of long drop. The
executioners were Master Sergeant John C. Woods and his assistant, military
policeman Joseph Malta. Woods may have miscalculated the lengths for the ropes
used for the executions, such that some of the men did not die quickly of an intended
broken neck but instead strangled to death slowly. Some reports indicated some
executions took between 14 minutes to 28 minutes. The Army denied claims that
the drop length was too short or that the condemned died from strangulation
instead of a broken neck. Additionally, the trapdoor was too small, such that
several of the condemned suffered bleeding head injuries when they hit the
sides of the trapdoor while dropping through.
The
bodies were rumored to have been taken to Dachau for cremation, but were
instead incinerated in a crematorium in Munich and the ashes scattered over the
river Isar. Kingsbury Smith of the International News Service wrote an
eyewitness account of a reporter watching the hangings. His historical press
account of it appeared with photos in newspapers.
He executed a total of 347 people during his 15-year career. After the
Nuremberg executions, Woods stated:
"I hanged those ten Nazis... and I am proud of it... I wasn't nervous.... A fellow can't afford to have nerves in this business.... I want to put in a good word for those G.I.s who helped me... they all did swell.... I am trying to get [them] a promotion.... The way I look at this hanging job, somebody has to do it. I got into it kind of by accident, years ago in the States...."
Woods kept small pieces of the rope used for each convict as his
souvenir, considered to be against the policy adopted at Nuremberg Trials by
the Colonel in charge of executions. He was born in Wichita, Kansas. Woods
accidentally electrocuted himself in Eniwetok, Marshall Islands on July 21,
1950. He is buried in Toronto Township Cemetery, Toronto, Kansas.
QUOTE: "I hanged those ten
Nazis... and I am proud of it... I wasn't nervous.... A fellow can't afford to
have nerves in this business.... I want to put in a good word for those G.I.s
who helped me... they all did swell.... I am trying to get [them] a
promotion.... The way I look at this hanging job, somebody has to do it. I got
into it kind of by accident, years ago in the States...."
And:
"Ten
men in 103 minutes. That's fast work."
AUTHOR: John
Clarence Woods (June 5, 1911, Wichita, Kansas – July 21, 1950 at Eniwetok,
Marshall Islands) was an American Master Sergeant and the hangman for the Third
United States Army at the Nuremberg Trials.
(SOURCE: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=73369257) |
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