John Hulbert (executioner)
Encyclopedia
John Hulbert was the executioner
for the states of New York
, New Jersey
and Massachusetts
from 1913 to 1926. Hulbert was trained as "state electrician
" by his predecessor, Edwin F. Davis, and oversaw 140 executions during his tenure.
According to his colleague, Sing Sing
prison physician Amos Squire, Hulbert became significantly depressed about his job, but performed the duty for the good salary of $150 per execution. Hulbert went to lengths to maintain his privacy, never allowed the press to obtain a photograph, and was described in newspapers as "the man who walks alone." Following a nervous breakdown in 1926, Hulbert retired as executioner. He said, "I got tired of killing people."
In 1929, Hulbert became further depressed over the death of his wife and, at the age of 59, committed suicide by shooting himself.
Executioner
A judicial executioner is a person who carries out a death sentence ordered by the state or other legal authority, which was known in feudal terminology as high justice.-Scope and job:...
for the states of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
and Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
from 1913 to 1926. Hulbert was trained as "state electrician
State Electrician
"State Electrician" was the euphemistic title given to some American state executioners in states using the electric chair during the early twentieth century....
" by his predecessor, Edwin F. Davis, and oversaw 140 executions during his tenure.
According to his colleague, Sing Sing
Sing Sing
Sing Sing Correctional Facility is a maximum security prison operated by the New York State Department of Correctional Services in the town of Ossining, New York...
prison physician Amos Squire, Hulbert became significantly depressed about his job, but performed the duty for the good salary of $150 per execution. Hulbert went to lengths to maintain his privacy, never allowed the press to obtain a photograph, and was described in newspapers as "the man who walks alone." Following a nervous breakdown in 1926, Hulbert retired as executioner. He said, "I got tired of killing people."
In 1929, Hulbert became further depressed over the death of his wife and, at the age of 59, committed suicide by shooting himself.