Description: Tilby Smith, of Ashtabula County, electrocuted November 20, 1931, for the murder of his wife, Clara Smith, of Ashtabula County, Ohio. He was a black male, age 26 and his occupation is unknown. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL08214
Subjects: Ohio History--State and Local Government--Law; Prisons--Ohio; Death row; Ohio History--State and Local Government--Corrections
Places: Ashtabula County (Ohio)
 

Description: Before the Ohio Penitentiary’s closing in 1979, the facility's east annex housed and displayed photographs of many of the prisoners sentenced to death throughout the state’s history. This portrait of Hampton Pannell is one of them. Also located in this section of the penitentiary were the cells of prisoners awaiting execution and the death chamber itself. The Ohio Penitentiary closed in 1972 when construction of the new Southern Ohio Correctional Facility was completed in Lucasville. At this time, the execution chamber was relocated to the new Lucasville facility and the photograph collection of condemned prisoners was donated to the Ohio Historical Society. The caption at the bottom of Pannell's photograph reads, “No. 187, Hampton Pannell of Franklin County, Electrocuted January 4th, 1935, for the Murder of Fred Halten.” Pannell was executed at the age of 37. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL08219
Subjects: Ohio History--State and Local Government--Law; Ohio History--State and Local Government--Corrections; Capital punishment--Ohio--History; Electrocution; Death row; Ohio Penitentiary (Columbus, Ohio)
Places: Franklin County (Ohio); Columbus (Ohio)
 

Description: Before the Ohio Penitentiary’s closing in 1979, the east annex within the facility housed and displayed photographs of many of the prisoners sentenced to death throughout the state’s history. This portrait of William Wright is one of them. Also located in this section of the penitentiary were the cells of prisoners awaiting execution and the death chamber itself. The Ohio Penitentiary closed in 1972 when construction of the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility was completed in Lucasville. At this time, the execution chamber was relocated to the new Lucasville facility and the photograph collection of condemned prisoners was donated to the Ohio Historical Society. The caption at the bottom of Wright's photograph reads, “William Wright, of Franklin County, Electrocuted April 9, 1935, for the murder of Mrs. Addie Warrick, at Columbus, Ohio.” Wright was executed at the age of 39. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL08220
Subjects: Ohio History--State and Local Government--Law; Ohio History--State and Local Government--Corrections; Capital punishment--Ohio--History; Electrocution; Death row; Ohio Penitentiary (Columbus, Ohio)
Places: Franklin County (Ohio); Columbus (Ohio)
 

Description: Before the Ohio Penitentiary’s closing in 1979, the execution chamber within the facility housed and displayed photographs of many of the prisoners sentenced to death throughout the state’s history. This portrait of Peter Treadway is one of them. The caption at the bottom of the photograph reads, “No. 189, Peter Treadway of Cuyahoga County, Electrocuted June 1st, 1935, for the Murder of Mrs. Ruth Steese of Cleveland, Ohio.” Treadway had worked as a gas station attendant before his conviction. He was executed at the age of 38. From 1897 to 1963 there were a total of 315 people in the state of Ohio, both men and women, who were legally put to death on the electric chair, or “Old Sparky” as it was often referred. Before this time the main method of execution had been hanging. However, the electric chair was considered to be a more humane way to carry out death sentences. So in 1896 the Ohio General Assembly passed a bill mandating that electrocution was to replace hanging as the state’s sole method of execution. It was not until 2001 that lethal injection replaced electrocution as Ohio’s only method of execution. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL08221
Subjects: Ohio History--State and Local Government--Law; Ohio History--State and Local Government--Corrections; Capital punishment--Ohio--History; Electrocution; Death row; Ohio Penitentiary (Columbus, Ohio)
Places: Cuyahoga County (Ohio); Cleveland (Ohio); Columbus (Ohio)
 

Description: Before the Ohio Penitentiary’s closing in 1979, the execution chamber within the facility housed and displayed photographs of many of the prisoners sentenced to death throughout the state’s history. This portrait of Russell Swiger is one of them. He was convicted for robbery and murder. The caption at the bottom of his photograph reads, “Russell Swiger, of Muskingum County, Electrocuted July 22nd, 1935, for the murder of Harold Fleming of Zanesville, Ohio.” Swiger was 21 years old at the time of his execution. From 1897 to 1963 there were a total of 315 people in the state of Ohio, both men and women, who were legally put to death on the electric chair, or “Old Sparky” as it was often referred. Before this time the main method of execution had been hanging. However, the electric chair was considered to be a more humane way to carry out death sentences. So in 1896 the Ohio General Assembly passed a bill mandating that electrocution was to replace hanging as the state’s sole method of execution. It was not until 2001 that lethal injection replaced electrocution as Ohio’s only method of execution. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL08222
Subjects: Ohio History--State and Local Government--Law; Ohio History--State and Local Government--Corrections; Capital punishment--Ohio--History; Electrocution; Death row; Ohio Penitentiary (Columbus, Ohio)
Places: Muskingum County (Ohio); Zanesville (Ohio); Columbus (Ohio)
 

Description: Before the Ohio Penitentiary’s closing in 1979, the execution chamber within the facility housed and displayed photographs of many of the prisoners sentenced to death throughout the state’s history. This portrait of Roy Smith is one of them. The caption at the bottom of the photograph reads, “Roy Smith, of Van Wert County, Electrocuted August 9, 1935, for the murder of Deputy Sheriff Forrest Good at Van Wert, Ohio.” Smith had been a farmer before his conviction. He shot and killed Deputy Good on April 18, 1935 while being questioned about a theft of grain that was recently committed by his brother. Smith was executed at the age of 29. From 1897 to 1963 there were a total of 315 people in the state of Ohio, both men and women, who were legally put to death on the electric chair, or “Old Sparky” as it was often referred. Before this time the main method of execution had been hanging. However, the electric chair was considered to be a more humane way to carry out death sentences. So in 1896 the Ohio General Assembly passed a bill mandating that electrocution was to replace hanging as the state’s sole method of execution. It was not until 2001 that lethal injection replaced electrocution as Ohio’s only method of execution. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL08223
Subjects: Ohio History--State and Local Government--Law; Ohio History--State and Local Government--Corrections; Capital punishment--Ohio--History; Electrocution; Death row; Ohio Penitentiary (Columbus, Ohio)
Places: Van Wert (Ohio); Van Wert County (Ohio); Columbus (Ohio)
 

Description: Before the Ohio Penitentiary’s closing in 1979, the execution chamber within the facility housed and displayed photographs of many of the prisoners sentenced to death throughout the state’s history. This portrait of Walker Brown of Hanford Village, Columbus is one of them. Brown was the youngest member of a gang led by another Columbus resident, Henry Loudermilk. On December 10, 1931 Loudermilk’s gang invaded the home of John and Sarah Kidney in Monroe Township with the intent of stealing roughly $60,000 that was rumored to be hidden within. In actuality, the robbers were only able to find $446. John Kidney, an elderly farmer and blacksmith, age 75, was violently beaten and killed by the assailants. Sarah, his invalid sister, age 70, was beaten and tortured. Although there were multiple men involved in this violent crime, Brown was identified by each of the accomplices as the one responsible for the actual murder of John Kidney. However, Brown continually denied being involved. He was the first person in the group to be executed for Kidney’s murder. The caption at the bottom of the photograph reads, “Walker Brown, of Pickaway County, electrocuted June 3rd, 1932, for the murder of John Kidney of Pickaway County, Ohio.” Brown was executed at the age of 24. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL08224
Subjects: Ohio History--State and Local Government--Corrections; Ohio History--State and Local Government--Law; Ohio History--State and Local Government--Corrections; Capital punishment--Ohio--History; Electrocution; Death row; Ohio Penitentiary (Columbus, Ohio)
Places: Pickaway County (Ohio); Columbus (Ohio)
 

Description: Before the Ohio Penitentiary’s closing in 1979, the execution chamber within the facility housed and displayed photographs of many of the prisoners sentenced to death throughout the state’s history. This portrait of Henry Loudermilk is one of them. Loudermilk was the leader and organizer of a small, ragtag gang of Columbus residents. He was the mastermind behind the robbery and murder of John M. Kidney, a 75-year-old farmer and blacksmith from Monroe Township. He coordinated this violent crime with the intention of stealing roughly $60,000, which was rumored to be hidden somewhere on Kidney’s property. On December 10, 1931 Loudermilk’s gang invaded Kidney’s home where they viciously beat and tortured the residents inside, Kidney himself and his elderly sister, Sarah. They scoured the house in search of the hidden money but were only able to find $446, a small fraction of the sum they had originally anticipated. Disappointed, the assailants fled the crime scene, leaving the Kidney siblings to die. The Kidneys were later discovered and assisted by a visiting neighbor. However, John’s injuries were too severe and he died while in the care of his neighbor and the county sheriff. Sarah, on the other hand, was eventually able to recover. And she later testified against her attackers in court. Loudermilk was the second person involved in Kidney’s murder to be executed. The caption at the bottom of his photograph reads, “No. 166, Henry Loudermilk of Pickaway County, Electrocuted June 3rd, 1932, for the murder of John Kidney of Pickaway County, Ohio.” Loudermilk was married with six children and worked as an interior decorator in Columbus before his conviction and subsequent execution. He was electrocuted at the age of 47. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL08225
Subjects: Ohio History--State and Local Government--Law; Ohio History--State and Local Government--Corrections; Capital punishment--Ohio--History; Electrocution; Death row; Ohio Penitentiary (Columbus, Ohio)
Places: Pickaway County (Ohio); Columbus (Ohio)
 

Description: Before the Ohio Penitentiary’s closing in 1979, the execution chamber within the facility housed and displayed photographs of many of the prisoners sentenced to death throughout the state’s history. This portrait of Lacey Adams is one of them. Adams was a member of a motley gang of Columbus residents led by an interior decorator named Henry Loudermilk. Adams was Loudermilk’s first recruit and was responsible for the subsequent recruitment of new gang members. He even hosted meetings at his house where the gang conspired and planned out future crimes. Adams, himself, was not a typical gangster. He was a father and had previously been a worker at his church. It was not until his wife’s recent death that he started involving himself in criminal activities. On December 10, 1931, Adams participated in the violent robbery and beating of an elderly farmer and blacksmith named John Kidney and his sister, Sarah. Adams and his fellow gang members entered Kidney’s home in Monroe Township with the intention of stealing a vast sum of $60,000 that was rumored to be hidden inside. In actuality the assailants were only able to find $446. Disappointed, they fled the crime scene, leaving the Kidney siblings completely incapacitated by their injuries. The Kidneys were later discovered by a visiting neighbor and were aided by the county sheriff. However, John’s injuries were fatal and he died while being assisted by the sheriff and his deputy. Sarah, on the other hand, eventually recovered and testified against her attackers in court. Lacey Adams was the third person involved in the Kidney murder to be executed. The caption at the bottom of his photograph reads, “No. 167, Lacey Adams of Pickaway County, electrocuted June 10th, 1932, for the murder of John Kidney of Pickaway County, Ohio.” View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL08226
Subjects: Ohio History--State and Local Government--Law; Ohio History--State and Local Government--Corrections; Capital punishment--Ohio--History; Electrocution; Death row; Ohio Penitentiary (Columbus, Ohio)
 

Description: Before the closing of the Ohio Penitentiary in 1979, the execution chamber within the facility housed and displayed photographs of many of the prisoners sentenced to death throughout the state’s history. This portrait of Arthur Little is one of them. Little, a World War I veteran, was one of the members of a small, ragtag gang of Columbus residents led by Henry Loudermilk. Desperate for money after recently being laid off from his job, Little conspired with his fellow gang members to rob $60,000 from John M. Kidney, an elderly farmer from Monroe Township in Pickaway County. The gang had heard rumors that this vast sum of money was hidden somewhere on Kidney’s property. So on December 10, 1931 they invaded Kidney’s home where they beat and tortured the residents inside: Kidney himself and his infirm sister, Sarah. They then scoured the house in search of the hidden money but were only able to find $446, a small fraction of the sum they had originally anticipated. Disappointed, the assailants fled the crime scene, leaving the Kidney siblings to die. The victims were later discovered and assisted by a visiting neighbor. However, John’s injuries were fatal and he died while in the care of the county sheriff. Sarah, on the other hand, was eventually able to recover. And she later testified against her attackers in court. Little fled from Ohio after learning that John Kidney had died from his injuries. He first went to Indiana and then to North Carolina where he was eventually captured. Little was the fourth and final member of the gang to be executed. The caption at the bottom of his photograph reads, “No. 168, Arthur Little of Pickaway County, Electrocuted July 22, 1932, for the murder of John Kidney of Pickaway County, Ohio.” He was electrocuted at the age of 39. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL08227
Subjects: Ohio History--State and Local Government--Law; Ohio History--State and Local Government--Corrections; Capital punishment--Ohio--History; Electrocution; Death row; Ohio Penitentiary (Columbus, Ohio)
Places: Pickaway County (Ohio); Columbus (Ohio)
 

Description: Before the closure of the Ohio Penitentiary in 1979, the execution chamber within the facility housed and displayed photographs of many of the prisoners sentenced to death throughout the state’s history. This portrait of William Enzulus is one of them. On October 14, 1931 while serving a 10 to 25 year prison sentence for robbery, Enzulus managed to escape from the Ohio State Reformatory. On August 6, 1932 Detective John S. Buettner and his partner of the Cleveland City Police became suspicious of Enzulus who fit the profile of the suspect of a recent holdup and attempted to question him. Upon the officers’ approach, Enzulus unexpectedly pulled a handgun out from his waistband and shot Detective Buettner in the stomach. Buettner died three days later. The caption at the bottom of this photograph reads, “No. 169, William Enzulus of Cuyahoga County, electrocuted January 7th, 1933, for the murder of Detective Buettner of Cuyahoga County, Ohio. He was executed at the age of 23. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL08228
Subjects: Ohio History--State and Local Government--Law; Ohio History--State and Local Government--Corrections; Capital punishment--Ohio--History; Electrocution; Death row; Ohio Penitentiary (Columbus, Ohio)
Places: Cuyahoga County (Ohio); Cleveland (Ohio); Columbus (Ohio)
 

Description: This portrait of John Downing was housed in the death chamber at the Ohio Penitentiary alongside the photographs of hundreds of other prisoners who were executed in the state of Ohio. These pictures were displayed at the penitentiary until its closure in 1979. The caption at the bottom of the photograph reads, “No. 170, John Downing of Franklin County, electrocuted March 10th, 1933 for the Murder of Mrs. Mauree Bonzo of Franklin County, Ohio.” On October 25, 1932 Downing visited the home of Daniel J. Bonzo, the Parole and Record Clerk at the Ohio Penitentiary. Once inside Downing struck Bonzo’s wife, Mauree, over the head with a bottle, killing her. Later, during his confession, Downing stated that he and Mrs. Bonzo had been very good friends and that she was like a mother to him; he said that he did not know why he killed her. Years earlier Downing had plead guilty to the murder and attempted robbery of another woman, a Cincinnati resident named Allean Williams. He had been sentenced to life in prison for this murder but had been pardoned and released on parole after serving just seven years of his sentence. The circumstances behind this pardon were hotly investigated and contested after Downing committed his second murder. Before his convictions, prison term, and execution, he had worked as a carpenter. He was electrocuted at the age of 43. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL08229
Subjects: Ohio History--State and Local Government--Law; Ohio History--State and Local Government--Corrections; Capital punishment--Ohio--History; Electrocution; Death row; Ohio Penitentiary (Columbus, Ohio)
Places: Franklin County (Ohio); Columbus (Ohio)