The Last Public Hanging in the United States - 1936

Public hanging were supposed to thwart crime and humiliate the condemned. At many executions, a carnival-like spectacle took place. On August 14, 1936, in Owensboro, KY, 22-year-old Rainey Bethea was hanged for the rape of 70-year-old Lischia Edwards. It was the last public hanging in the United States. About 20,000 people attended the event. People would assemble for days to be up close to the gallows. What had become the norm in public executions, and especially lynchings, was the acquisition of some pieces of clothes, hair, or other part of the condemned. Bethea’s hanging was no different; the crowd scrambled to get a piece of his clothing as he danced on the rope and strangled to death. Police had to move the crowd until a physician declared him dead. Then the crowd was allowed to get their souvenirs.

Some disappointed journalists reported that the entire even had a carnival-like atmosphere, others that it was a solemn occasion, until the hunt for souvenirs. In 1938, the Kentucky State Legislature abolished public hangings.