If it’s 1888 and your name is John Swarthout, that is. The recipient of this invitation was granted access to the November 15, 1888, hanging of Charles Johnson, convicted of killing John Walters in January 1887. Walters, who worked as a maintenance man at the jail in Seneca County, N.Y., died from blows to the head when some prisoners–Johnson among them–tried to escape.

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A letter written by 19-year-old convicted killer Matthew Milat was brought forth as evidence during his sentencing hearing in New South Wales, Australia. Milat and co-defendant Cohen Klein both pleaded guilty and were convicted last week of the brutal axe murder of their friend, David Auchterlonie.

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