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Willie Francis
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This undated file photo shows Willie Francis holding a calendar
with the date of May 9 circled.
A first attempt to execute Willie
Francis in 1946 by electrocution in Louisiana did not work.
Francis was executed by electric chair in Louisiana in 1947, a year after
the first attempt
didn't work, following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling
that said a second try was constitutional.
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Willie Francis
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Willie Francis
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Willie Francis
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Willie Francis
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Bertrand DeBlanc agreed to take Willie’s case, despite the fact
that the victim,
Andrew Thomas, was one of DeBlanc’s best friends
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Judge James Dudley Simon presided over the twelve Cajun jurors
who convicted Willie
of murder after a deliberation of just fifteen
minutes. Simon is pictured here
with the actress Delores Del Rio
during the filming of Evangeline.
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District Attorney L.O. Pecot and Sheriff E.L. Resweber
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The only black lawyer in Louisiana, A. P. Tureaud
helped bring
national attention to Willie’s case
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Tortured by his vote to allow Louisiana to send Willie to the
chair a second time,
Felix Frankfurter worked behind the scenes to
save Willie’s life
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St. Martinville Jail: On May 3, 1946, townsfolk climbed the trees
and perched on the fence,
hoping to get
a final glimpse at Willie
Francis. In a room not much larger than a “tennis
table” on the
second floor,
witnesses watched as Willie was strapped into Gruesome
Gertie for what he thought would be his last day on earth.
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Gruesome Gertie: Louisiana’s portable electric chair, gasoline
engine and switchboard.
Transported from
parish to parish in this
truck, Gruesome Gertie ended the lives
of eighty-six men and one
woman
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