Quote of the day!

On January 1, 1924, Captain R. F. Coleman, warden of the Huntsville prison and therefore the legislatively designated executioner, submitted his letter of resignation to be effective January 15, 1924. The first scheduled electrocution were to take place on January 16, 1924. In an interview with reporters, Coleman gave as his response,

It just couldn't be done, boys. A Warden can't be a warden and a killer too. The penitentiary is a place to reform a man, not to kill him.

Source: The Rope, the Chair, and the Needle Capitol Punishment in Texas, 1923-1990. By Marquart, James W., Sheldon Ekland-Olsen, and Jonothan R. Sorensen. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1994. P14hair The Rope a