What Happens To Convicts Who Survive Execution on Death Row
Death is the ultimate punishment for the most atrocious crimes. But what if death does not come? What if a convict survives the execution attempt on death row? This is not a hypothetical scenario but a reality for some unlucky souls who faced the wrath of the law and lived to tell the tale. In this video, we will explore the astonishing cases of people who survived death row and what happened to them next.
#history #truestory #educationalpurposes #documentary #execution #death row #death row execution
0:00 Intro
0:24 John Smith
2:01 Zoleykhah Kadkhoda
3:26 Joseph Samuel
5:17 Anne Greene
7:16 Doyle Lee Hamm
9:51 Wenseslao Moguel Herrera
10:58 John Babacombe Lee
12:22 Willie Francis
14:02 Romell Broom
15:39 William Duell
Death is the ultimate punishment for the most atrocious crimes. But what if death does not come? What if a convict survives the execution attempt on death row? This is not a hypothetical scenario but a reality for some unlucky souls who faced the wrath of the law and lived to tell the tale. In this video, we will explore the astonishing cases of people who survived death row and what happened to them next.
#history #truestory #educationalpurposes #documentary #execution #death row #death row execution
0:00 Intro
0:24 John Smith
2:01 Zoleykhah Kadkhoda
3:26 Joseph Samuel
5:17 Anne Greene
7:16 Doyle Lee Hamm
9:51 Wenseslao Moguel Herrera
10:58 John Babacombe Lee
12:22 Willie Francis
14:02 Romell Broom
15:39 William Duell
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00:00Death is the ultimate punishment for the most atrocious crimes.
00:03But what if death does not come?
00:05What if a convict survives the execution attempt on death row?
00:09This is not a hypothetical scenario, but a reality for some unlucky souls who face the
00:14wrath of the law and live to tell the tale.
00:17In this video, we will explore the astonishing cases of people who survived death row and
00:22what happened to them next.
00:23John Half-Hanged Smith Starting with John Half-Hanged Smith, who
00:27was born around 1661, John started as a regular guy, trying his hand at various jobs, even
00:33serving in the Royal Navy for a time.
00:35However, after being discharged following the Battle of Vigo Bay in 1702, he took a different
00:41turn by enlisting as a soldier and eventually became a skilled housebreaker.
00:45John eventually became a notorious housebreaker in London in the early 18th century.
00:50John's criminal journey led to his conviction on two charges of burglary in 1705 and he was
00:56sentenced to death.
00:56In this era, the punishment might seem extreme, but it was the norm at that period.
01:01On Christmas Eve in 1705, John was hanged at the Tyburn gallows.
01:06However, as the seconds ticked away, it became apparent that he wasn't close to death.
01:11Spectators even attempted to intervene, tugging at his feet to quicken his death.
01:15After 15 minutes, the crowd demanded that he be cut down and a reprieve was granted.
01:20He was taken to a nearby house, where he recovered after some treatment.
01:23When asked about his feelings during the hanging, he said that he felt great pain and saw a flash
01:28of light before losing consciousness.
01:31John was freed a few weeks later, but he returned to his old ways of housebreaking.
01:35He was caught again and tried at the Old Bailey, but the jury left the verdict to the 12 judges,
01:39who decided to set him free.
01:41He was indicted for the third time, but the prosecutor died before the trial began, and Smith was released
01:46once more.
01:47In 1727, when he was 66 years old, he was found picking a padlock in a warehouse.
01:52He was only convicted of theft of the padlock and sentenced to transportation to Virginia.
01:57Nothing is known about his fate after that, but hopefully, he turns a new leaf.
02:01Zoleka Kadkoda Another convict who survived their execution
02:04was Zoleka Kadkoda.
02:06Zoleka was born in 1977 in Karnirash village, Bukhan, Iran.
02:11In 1997, at the age of 20, Zoleka was arrested and charged with having sexual relations outside
02:17of marriage.
02:18Shockingly, she was quickly sentenced to death by stoning by the religious magistrate
02:23Hakim Shahar with the involvement of the local Friday prayer leader, Khalif Zadeh.
02:27On that day, local authorities and other supporters of the Islamic regime buried her from the waist
02:33down in a ditch and began stoning her.
02:35The brutality of this act sparked outrage among the village's residents, leading to a stop
02:40to the stoning.
02:41Initially, it was believed that Zoleka Kadkoda had died from the stoning, and her lifeless
02:45body was taken to the morgue.
02:47However, in a surprising turn of events, she began to breathe again, showing signs of life.
02:52She was promptly transferred to the hospital with severe head and face injuries, where
02:56her condition gradually improved.
02:58The news of this incident stirred strong disapproval among the people of Bukhan and nearby villages.
03:04This public outcry compelled local representatives and the religious magistrate to promise Zoleka
03:09Kadkoda amnesty if she survived.
03:11However, concerns remained that despite these reports of amnesty, she might still face a
03:16second stoning.
03:16The Iranian authorities later confirmed that the death sentence against Zoleka Kadkoda
03:21had been lifted, and she was released on November 26, 1997.
03:26Joseph Samuel Joseph Samuel, known as the German, is another notable figure who managed to survive
03:32death row.
03:33Born in 1780, he earned notoriety as a robber and was sent to the British penal settlement
03:38at Sydney Cove for his crimes.
03:40However, the prison couldn't hold Joseph, and he successfully escaped.
03:44After his escape, he joined a gang that robbed the house of a rich man.
03:47During the robbery, a policeman named Joseph Luker, who was guiding the house, was tragically
03:52killed.
03:52Murdering a police officer has always been a grave crime, and the gang was swiftly hunted
03:57down and apprehended.
03:58A witness identified Joseph, who confessed to the robbery, but denied the murder.
04:02Unfortunately, his argument didn't move the court.
04:05Following the principle of vicarious liability, which holds a person accountable not only for
04:09the original crime, but any others committed during the act, Joseph was convicted and sentenced
04:14to death.
04:15Ironically, his gang members were acquitted due to a lack of evidence.
04:18On September 26, 1803, Joseph and another criminal were taken to Parramatta for a public
04:24hanging by slow strangulation, a popular execution method at the time.
04:28A rope made of five cords of hemp was tied into a noose and placed around his neck.
04:32The rope was capable of carrying 450 kg for more than four minutes without strain.
04:38Typically convicts would die within minutes, but when Joseph's execution began, the rope
04:42snapped, and he fell to his knees.
04:44Surprisingly, his most serious injury was a sprained ankle.
04:48The executioner and the crowd were astounded.
04:50The other criminal who was hanged alongside Joseph was nearly dead, while Joseph remained
04:54alive.
04:55After several failed attempts to execute him, the crowd demanded his release, and the governor
04:59was summoned.
05:00Upon inspecting the ropes, it was clear that no foul play was involved.
05:04The governor agreed with the crowd, believing that it was a sign from God.
05:08As a result, he reduced Joseph's sentence to life imprisonment.
05:11Joseph Samuel lived out his days in prison and passed away in April 1806.
05:16Then there is Anne Green, a kitchen maid in the house of Sir Thomas Reed, a justice residing
05:22in Dunstan, Oxfordshire.
05:23She was born around 1628, and her life seemed typical until she became involved with Sir
05:28Reed's grandson, Geoffrey Reed, who was around 16 or 17 years old.
05:33Despite the age difference, Geoffrey successfully wooed the 22-year-old Anne, and their relationship
05:38led to her pregnancy.
05:39Oddly, Anne remained unaware of her pregnancy until she suffered a miscarriage after 17 weeks.
05:44Fearful of the consequences if the affair was exposed, she attempted to hide all evidence
05:49of it.
05:50Unfortunately, her attempts were unsuccessful, and she was discovered.
05:53Sir Reed sued Anne, charging her with infanticide under the Concealment of Birth of Bastards
05:59Act.
05:59This law presumed murder when a woman concealed the death of her illegitimate child.
06:04Anne pleaded her innocence, and a midwife testified that the fetus was too underdeveloped
06:09to be considered a living child.
06:10However, their efforts were insufficient, and Anne was sentenced to death for infanticide.
06:16On December 14, 1650, Anne Greene was executed by hanging at Oxford Castle.
06:21Even during her hanging, a soldier believed she was dead and struck her multiple times
06:26with the butt of his musket.
06:27After 30 minutes, everyone believed she was dead, and she was cut down.
06:32Her body was then delivered to the University of Oxford for research purposes.
06:36Oxford physicians William Petty and Thomas Willis discovered that the supposedly deceased
06:41Anne was, in fact, still alive.
06:43Although weak and with faint vital signs, she was not dead.
06:47The doctors worked diligently to save her life, and their efforts paid off.
06:51As Anne gradually recovered and returned to relatively normal health, news of Anne Greene's
06:56miraculous recovery spread rapidly, making her a topic of conversation in town.
07:01Upon learning of her survival, the authorities believed her innocence and granted her a pardon,
07:06attributing her survival to divine intervention.
07:09Anne went on to live for another nine years.
07:11She married and gave birth to three children before passing away in 1659.
07:16Doyle Lee Hamm.
07:17Another lucky convict was Doyle Lee Hamm, who was born on February 14, 1957, in Alabama.
07:23Doyle had a tough childhood.
07:25His father and each of his six brothers have all been to jail.
07:28By the time he was 20, he had been arrested for robbery, and he spent five years in prison.
07:32In January 1987, he was arrested after a crime spree that included robbing a motel and taking
07:38the life of a motel staff member, Patrick Cunningham.
07:42Initially, two individuals, Regina and Douglas Roden, claimed to be witnesses to the crime and
07:47testified against Doyle.
07:48However, during the police investigation, they confessed to being accomplices and agreed to
07:53testify against him in exchange for reduced sentences.
07:56They claimed that they were not actively involved in the robbery or the murder, placing the blame on Doyle.
08:02Doyle Hamm was tried and convicted on charges of robbery and murder.
08:06A second jury voted 11-1 in favor of imposing the death penalty on him in September 1987.
08:11Even before his execution, his case raised significant controversy regarding the handling of his trial,
08:17leading to multiple appeals.
08:18During his second trial, before the sentencing phase, his defense had an opportunity to present
08:23mitigating evidence to convince the jury to spare his life.
08:26However, his lawyer spent just 19 minutes presenting this evidence, which omitted crucial information
08:31about Doyle's intellectual disability and his suffering from fetal alcohol syndrome.
08:36These issues prompted a group of former judges and state bar association presidents to petition
08:41the U.S. Supreme Court for legal relief for Doyle.
08:44His case also gained public attention, particularly when he developed lymphatic cancer while on death
08:49row, and many humanitarian and religious organizations appealed to Alabama Governor Kay Ivey for clemency.
08:55Despite these appeals, Doyle Hamm's execution proceeded.
08:59The execution attempt turned into a gruesome and lengthy ordeal.
09:02For over two and a half hours, prison officers struggled to insert needles into his legs and ankles
09:07to find suitable veins for the execution.
09:10When they couldn't find veins in his limbs, they tried his groin.
09:13During this process, Hamm was punctured multiple times, causing severe internal injuries,
09:19including puncturing his bladder and femoral artery.
09:22As a result, blood was present in his urine after the attempt,
09:25and there was a substantial amount of blood around his groin during the execution.
09:29When the execution was finally stopped, Hamm collapsed and appeared in severe physical distress.
09:35In March 2018, his lawyers in the state of Alabama reached an agreement that effectively
09:40commuted his sentence to life imprisonment.
09:42This greatly pleased advocates and Doyle's family.
09:45Doyle remained in prison until his passing in 2021 due to complications related to cancer.
09:51Wenceslau Moguel Herrera Just like Doyle, there was also Wenceslau Moguel Herrera.
09:56Born on November 1, 1896, Wenceslau was a Mexican soldier who fought alongside Pancho Villa during
10:03the Mexican Revolution. His remarkable story earned him the nickname El Fusilado, meaning
10:08The Shot One, in Spanish. On March 18, 1915, he was captured during the Mexican Revolution and
10:15sentenced to death by firing squad without a trial. Wenceslau was shot nine times, including a
10:21point-blank shot to the head, intended to ensure his death. Despite these grave injuries,
10:25he miraculously survived, although the ordeal left him permanently scarred and disfigured.
10:31Different accounts exist regarding how he managed to survive. Some suggest that he was discovered
10:35unconscious among the dead bodies of his fellow soldiers and received medical attention. Others
10:40claim that he crawled to the Church of S.T. James Apostle, three blocks away, where a church member
10:46found him and provided care until he recuperated. Remarkably, Wenceslau Moguel went on to live a full life
10:52after this shocking execution. He even appeared on Ripley's Believe It or Not radio show,
10:57John Babacom Lee. John Babacom Lee was born in 1864 in Abbotskerswell, Devon, England. He was accused
11:04of murdering his employer, Emma Keyes, with a knife on November 15, 1884. The evidence against him was
11:11largely circumstantial, including a suspicious cut on his arm and a history of theft. Despite maintaining his
11:17innocence, John Lee was convicted of Emma Keyes's murder and sentenced to death by hanging, with the
11:22execution scheduled for February 23, 1885. However, a bizarre turn of events occurred during the
11:29execution. The scaffold's trap door malfunctioned and refused to open, not once, but three times.
11:35The medical officer eventually refused to proceed, and the execution was halted. The failed execution
11:40created a public and official uproar, leading to an investigation. It was determined that an alignment
11:46issue had affected the gallows due to its relocation, causing the trap door hinges to bind. As a result,
11:52John Lee's sentence was commuted from death to life in prison by the Home Secretary, Sir William Harcourt.
11:58He continued to petition for his release and was finally set free in 1907, after serving 22 years in
12:04prison. John Lee earned the nickname, The Man They Couldn't Hang, and became, A Sensation. He capitalized on
12:11his fame, writing a book and having a silent movie made about his life. After his release, he relocated to
12:17the USA under the name James Lee and lived until 1945. Willie Francis. Willie Francis's case is a
12:24controversial one. Born on January 12, 1929, he was a young African American in 20th century America,
12:30and his conviction has been theorized to have racial motivations. The story began with the murder of
12:36Andrew Thomas, a pharmacy owner in St. Martinville, and a former employer of Willie Francis. For months,
12:42the police had no leads on the case. In August 1945, nine months after Thomas's death, the police arrested
12:49Willie for an unrelated crime. They claimed he had Thomas's wallet, and during his interrogation, Willie
12:54confessed to the murder. However, some argue that the confession was coerced, as no substantial evidence
13:00linked him to the crime. All other evidence, including items from Thomas's wallet, the murder weapon,
13:06which belonged to a deputy with a grudge against the victim, and the victim's remains mysteriously
13:12vanished. Willie was tried, but his state-appointed lawyers put up no defense, and he was found guilty.
13:18He received a death sentence by electric chair, even though he was only 16 at the time of sentencing.
13:23On May 3, 1946, Willie Francis faced electrocution, but a drunken prison guard had incorrectly set up the
13:30electric chair, causing extreme pain, but not death. Witnesses noted he was shouting,
13:35Take it off! Take it off! Let me breathe! After the failed execution, attorney Bertrand de Blanc took
13:41up Willie's case, arguing that executing him again would violate constitutional provisions for equal
13:47protection, double jeopardy, and protection against cruel and unusual punishment. Unfortunately,
13:52the Supreme Court didn't agree, and on May 9, 1947, Willie was executed as planned,
13:58a criminal who seemingly evaded the consequences of his actions for an extended period. He was born
14:09in Muskegon, Michigan, in 1956. He had a troubled youth marked by criminal activities. Despite being
14:15sent to the Ohio Youth Commission for rehabilitation, he continued his life of crime, focusing on robbery and
14:21sexual assault. After serving time for multiple rape and armed robbery convictions, he was paroled,
14:27which turned out to be a grave mistake. Rommel escalated his crimes to murder when he abducted, sexually
14:33assaulted, and killed 14-year-old Trina Middleton in September 1984. A few months later, he attempted to
14:39abduct an 11-year-old girl, Melinda Grissom, but her mother's heroic intervention led to his arrest. Rommel was charged
14:46with
14:46murder, sexual assault, kidnapping, and attempted kidnapping. His plea deal was rejected, and he was
14:52convicted on all counts, receiving a death sentence. However, his execution didn't go as planned on
14:58September 15, 2009. The execution team struggled for over two hours to establish a functioning
15:04intravenous line for the lethal injection, but ultimately had to halt the execution. This incident
15:09garnered significant attention. Rommel and his legal team attempted to capitalize on the failed
15:13execution to commute his sentence. Although the Ohio Supreme Court ruled to proceed with his
15:18execution, it bought Rommel additional time. His execution was rescheduled for June 17, 2020,
15:25but was later postponed to March 16, 2022. However, Rommel passed away from suspected COVID-19 complications
15:32at Franklin Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio, on December 28, 2020, at the age of 64.
15:38William Duell. William Duell was born around 1723. On November 24, 1740, when he was 17,
15:46William was convicted and sentenced to death for his involvement as an accessory in a rape case in
15:51London. Following his conviction, William was hanged alongside four other individuals. He dangled
15:56for 20 agonizing minutes, and everyone believed he had given up the ghost. In the customary practice of
16:01that era, his body, along with the others, was designated for dissection and medical research
16:06at the anatomy theater of the Worshipful Company of Barbers and Surgeons. However,
16:11what happened next was extraordinary. While being prepared for dissection, a keen-eyed servant noticed
16:17that William was still breathing, though weakly. It became clear that he was alive and breathing.
16:22His condition rapidly improved as he received treatment, and within just two hours, he was able to
16:27sit up. When he regained his ability to speak, it became evident that William had no recollection of
16:32the hanging. Doctors said that a fever during his trial and execution might have affected his mental
16:37state, potentially saving his life. Now that William was miraculously alive and on the road
16:42to recovery, the authorities faced a dilemma. Uncertain of how to proceed, they returned him to prison
16:48while they considered their options. The news of William's miraculous survival reached the public,
16:53causing quite a sensation. The government had to decide what to do next, re-attempt his execution,
16:58an unpopular choice, commute his sentence, or release him. Ultimately, the government chose to
17:03commute his sentence to transportation to America, which was a common practice during a period when
17:08London was perceived as overpopulated. William was sent to Boston, where he lived a full life,
17:13and even witnessed the American Revolution before passing away in 1805. If you found this video
17:19intriguing, don't stop here. Click on the link on your screen to explore the most astonishing aspects
17:24of our world. Discover more incredible stories and captivating mysteries that will leave you amazed.
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