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I saw this info on another site, but don't recall ever seeing it here...
Executed by a levergun -- and he wasn't a whitetail deer with big antlers...
Info and pix below...
Enjoy?!?!
I found it pretty interesting anyhow...
Old No7
Executed in 1913: Andriza Mircovich, by a Shooting-Machine
103 years ago, a Serbian immigrant was shot for murder in Carson City, Nevada. It was an ordinary murder, by an ordinary man; his cousin died in a mining fire in 1911, and Andriza (or Andrija) Mircovich, feeling he got stiffed on the resulting inheritance, stabbed to death the probate attorney (a fellow South Slav named Gregorovich).
The execution, however, was extraordinary — and has never in history been repeated. The march of science had lately made possible whole new methods of execution heretofore uncontemplated — like electricity and poison gas. At the same time, mechanical engineering had improved old standbys like beheading and hanging from slipshod, error-prone affairs to efficient operations worthy of an age of industry.
Somewhere between those categories lies the firing squad. Firearms, of course, were new technology relative to the noose and a big ol’ axe, but we do find executions by shooting back to the 17th century at least. Though the guns themselves had been updated, Nevada was forced by circumstances to do for firing squads what Dr. Guillotin had done for headsmen. Nevada law at the time allowed inmates to choose between hanging and shooting. The state had all the accoutrement for the former, but it hadn’t ever conducted one of the latter. When Mircovich insisted on being shot, and prison officials couldn’t find people willing to pull the trigger, so Nevada actually built a “shooting gallery of steel” — an entire contraption to automate the lethal fusillade.
Shooting Machine 01.jpg
And here is another vesion, which includes more details on the leverguns used:
On May 14, 1913, Serbian Andrija Mircovich was executed for the stabbing death of John Gregovich at the Tonopah & Goldfield Railway depot. Mircovich believed that Gregovich cheated him when handling the distribution of Andrija’s cousin Chris Mircovich’s estate. A recent arrival to the country, 33-year-old Andrija spoke little English and had little understanding of the probate system in Nevada. Mircovich preferred the firing squad to the noose, claiming it would be quicker. Warden George Cowing tried to talk Mircovich out of the firing squad but failed. This prompted Cowing to order a 1,000- pound execution machine or “shooting gallery of steel.” The equipment included a steel cage with three Maxim silencers and three Model 1899 .30-.30 Savage rifles. After the machine arrived at the prison, Cowing wanted nothing more to do with the execution and resigned. Denver Dickerson, a former Lieutenant Governor and warden, was appointed warden.
The three guards, selected by drawing names out of a hat, entered the firing chamber and then 12 witnesses were admitted to a roped-off area in the yard.
At about 11:30 a.m., guards marched Mircovich to the yard, where he was strapped to the chair bolted to a platform. He refused a black cap or blindfold, stating he wanted to see. Prison Doctor McLean pinned a heart-shaped target on his chest. Mircovich kept his head up high as instructed.
The guns were secured on stationary stands inside the firing chamber shed. Two rifles were loaded with soft-nosed ball cartridges and one gun was loaded with a blank. All the distances had been carefully measured and tested for accuracy. Each guard checked the aim on the rifle to be sighted on the defendant’s heart.
The command to fire was given and the bullets met their mark. Doctor McLean declared the death instantaneous. The autopsy showed the two balls within 2/3 inches of each other in Mircovich’s heart. The design of the shooting cage prevented the witnesses from knowing who fired the fatal shots and the guards from seeing Mircovich die. The cage was never used again. Mircovich was the last murderer to be executed at the prison – until the gas chamber was installed.
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Hey Hey Hey not all wannabe's need to be shot there buddy! From fordWANNABE. I knew this was a tough place but man o man, I haven't offended anybody on here in weeks and he wants to televise somebody shootin me.
a Pennsylvanian who has been accused of clinging to my religion and my guns......Good assessment skills.
I believe that Utah used levers at least in the Gilmore case in the 70s. Utah used the firing squad for two others since Gilmore but Gilmore's was the most sensationalized due to it being the first in a long time. I remember the papers and tv showing the who and how of the process. Good thing there was no CNN then or we would have had to put up with it for a month.
fordwannabe wrote:Hey Hey Hey not all wannabe's need to be shot there buddy! From fordWANNABE. I knew this was a tough place but man o man, I haven't offended anybody on here in weeks and he wants to televise somebody shootin me.
Are you a wannabe criminal like that murderer mentioned? If not, this doesn't apply to you, so rest easy.
Ok......since it sounds like each gun was only going to be fired once.......why do you think the guy chose a lever-action....?
And other than ' to be different', why a Savage 99...?
Because lack of a tubular mag made it easier to thread for a suppressor...? Of so why not just get a half or button magazine in a cheaper rifle...? Why not a bolt action...? Or a breakdown...?
Doctors for Sensible Gun Laws "first do no harm" - gun control LAWS lead to far more deaths than 'easy access' ever could.
I would like to see the return of hanging. Not the "sterile", modern type where everything is hidden and secret, but done on the town square at noon. Effective and a good deterrent.
Mike
Vocatus atque non vocatus, Deus aderit...
I've learned how to stand on my own two knees...
mikld wrote:I would like to see the return of hanging. Not the "sterile", modern type where everything is hidden and secret, but done on the town square at noon. Effective and a good deterrent.
