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CONTACT:
Dean Dixon
Historical Resources Assistant
(941) 749-1800 ext. 4070
February 2003 Article
Introduction: The Manatee
County Historical Records Library is a wealth
of information about our local past. Documents from
as early as the 1850's describe the life and times
of Manatee County residents and weave many an interesting
tale. Each month, we will post a new story for you
based on documents in our library. We invite all of
you to come to the library, located
at 1405 4th Avenue West, to see these documents
for yourself and to touch, feel and experience our
heritage.
Early Manatee Capital Punishment
Click here to
see the Manatee County Courthouse circa 1920
The history of crime and punishment in Manatee County presents
an interesting view into our pioneer past. There was a time
when the state was not responsible for the executions of capital
offenders and those executions were carried out by the counties.
Manatee County only executed three men and all were put to
death by hanging in the Manatee County courthouse in downtown
Bradenton.
The first to be hanged was Edward Lamb on October 27,1905.
Lamb had approached David Kennedy, angry that Kennedy's child
had taunted his own at school, and demanded that Kennedy punish
his child. Kennedy said that it would not happen again, but
the argument became heated and Lamb pulled a knife on Kennedy.
Kennedy was a larger man than Lamb and was able to knock Lamb
to the ground and disarm him. He made Lamb promise to drop
this argument before he would let him up. Lamb promised, but
went home and got a shotgun. Then he found Kennedy at a sawmill
near the Braden River and shot him while several men watched.
He then reloaded and shot him again at such close range that
Kennedy's clothes caught fire. Lamb tried to run, but was
brought to justice. On January 28, 1904 he was found guilty
of murder. Lamb tried to get a change of venue, but was denied
and his sentence was finally carried out in October.
He was hanged in the jail, which was on the 3rd floor of the
old wooden courthouse. He dressed nicely for his hanging and
had his picture taken in the moments before he departed this
world. He did not express remorse for his crime; in fact his
last words were simply good-byes to his family. The hood was
placed over his head and the trap was sprung. All did not
go well and the noose slipped off after the initial snap of
the rope. Not dead, but unconscious, Lamb was brought back
up the gallows and hanged again. This time the hanging was
successful and Lamb expired. The Tampa paper claimed that
Lamb was the first white man hanged for murder in the state
of Florida.
Will Miles was the last to be hanged by the County. Miles'
crime was so heinous that he had to be jailed in Jacksonville
so that he would live to be put on trial. Miles confessed
that he and another robbed the home of the Palmer family while
Mrs. Palmer was in the house. Mrs. Palmer and her infant daughter
were both murdered. Miles tried to blame the murders on his
friend, but later confessed that he was alone. He claimed
that Mrs. Palmer came at him with a knife and he took it from
her. She then got a shotgun and they struggled over that until
she was shot in the face. He then killed the child because
he was worried that her screams might alert someone who might
be around. The coroner's jury found evidence that it was far
more gruesome than that and that Miles' act of murder was
in fact the result of bloodlust. Miles was escorted from Jacksonville
to Bradenton by a contingent troops. The courthouse, now the
courthouse that currently stands on Manatee Ave., was guarded
by machine guns during the trial and execution. The entire
Bradenton Bar was appointed to defend Miles. Miles was convicted
and faced hanging on July 11, 1917. This time scaffolding
was built on the roof of the new courthouse. Miles was to
drop through a skylight in the roof into the jail's kitchen.
Spectators gathered on the roofs of some of the taller local
buildings that surrounded the courthouse to watch the spectacle.
After a slight rain delay, Miles once again confessed to his
crime and expressed remorse, then was dropped to his death.
The coroner said that his neck did not break and death did
not come quickly.
In 1923, the Florida State legislature decreed that it would
administer all executions and the electrocution would be the
method. It is important to note that in that time the convicted
were usually executed within days of the conviction.
Dean Dixon, Historical Resources Assistant, Manatee County
Clerk of Courts
Sources: Manatee River Banner, July, 11 1917, Manatee River
Banner, October 27, 1905, Manatee County court records, "Florida
Executions List" by Driggs
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