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THE ROANOIN THE DEATH CHAIR.R, W. Cobb Electrocuted for TheMurder of Thaa. Shew—Makes a f ull Confession of the Crime.R, W. Cobb walked nimbly to ilie electric chair Friday morning at Central Prison, in Raleigh, and paid the full penalty of the law for the slaying of Thomas Shaw on the night of May 3, 1913.Before going to the death chair Cobb wrote a letter to the Governor making a full confession of the crime. The confession in full was as follows ;Wednesday, Mu’ch 4. 1011. Hun. Governor Locke Craig,Ualmgh. N.lt;\“I, II. W. Cobb, do oonfe.Nfi to tin kill iug qf Ml-. Thomas Hhaw on the night of May 3, 1913. Henry Htirkiu and myself left Hose maty, S, t , at *'J p. in.May 3, 19(3, tor the purpose of robbing Mr. Thomas Shaw We arrived at Iiir store Hotneliate later, I don't know the time, we went to the hack of the store and stayed there until a few minutes before it wm cloned. Mr. Shaw's little hoy H»id “I believe I will fro to the lioune.” His father said, “Wait on a minute and we will both go.” t.urkin and I left the hack of the store then, and went to the dwelling (or hetween the two dwellings) Mr. Shaw's old and new home, to consult as to the best way to hold him up. I lurk in said it would not do for him todo it, for Mr. Khaw knew him and w ould recognize his voice, so it was decided that I should do the holding up and t.urkin was to come up behind and search him for his money t.urkin gave me his revolver, I not having one. I then concealed myself in an angle of the porch of the new house. t.urkin some place about the old one. Pretty soon Mr. lt;baw and Ins son came up from the store. I *waitcd until they weie iti In or IT. feet of me before 1 step pod out of I lie shadow of the porch. I told him to hold up Uh hands, he stopped, and then came toward me again, and said, ‘Stop your foolishness. ” !told him to stop, hut he continued to advance, removing his hand from his pocket, 1 thought t saw the gleam of steel 01 some weapon. It frightened me, and in :i frenzy of fear I shot at his legs, but the gun being a cheap “Iver Johnson'1 jumped and causing the Indict to strike a mortal spot.I at once ran from tin* scene, by-iTTe Jam* which leads to the road, ami down the road to the place where we had concealed the bicycles, t.urkin, by running across a Held, arrived at them tirst, and was gone before I could get the one 1 was riding, so I did nut see him any more until Monday morning, May th, l!M.‘l He then proposed that wo should say that we went to Weldon, in ease we were suspected. I agreed, hut we never went to Weldon on that night, am! were not live minutes separated from s Jo p. in. tilt 9: f t p. in. I had the bicycle borrowed lYuin Heavy t’ullom,uud t hi i kin used l he one 1 1 to trowed from dvde Taylor. After leaving the seeno ot the crime, ami getting on the bievcle I rode straight into Koseinary by the comity road, und did not go through the woods as was tostilU’d at my trial. I was never nearer Horner’s gin than the depot, audit was all a mistake about my going or reluming that way. J only write this in reference tu circumstantial evidence which shows how easily one can be mistaken, although it convicted me of u crime of which ! am guilty, it is always best to know positively, for Jesus says in John .'I. 11, “We speak that we do know, and testify tlmt we have seen.” Now 1 aut not trying to exonerate myself, for I am guilty, hut 1 have great hopes of my soul being saved, even though my life is taken I have had eight months and eighteen flays eonllnement in one little cell, which gave me much food for thought, and ! have prayed to our Father in Heaven for the forgiveness of my sins, not only mine, hut those of my friends and enemies alike, and I hold ao malice in my heart against anyone, not even those who circulated the petition to have /mo electrocuted. 1 prayed constantly for the soul of the man whom I slew. Also for his wife and children. May Hod bless and bo.merciful to them all the days of their life.I can truthfully say I am hilly as sorry to have deprived them of their dear husbund and paieut us they are at losing him, und I trust they will forgive me this great trcspasH upon their aflec-tiou and love.It has been a long wait, but 1 have lost, as all evil doers are sure to do in the end, but our Lord and Saviour gives us blessed conscience in Homans 10.9, “That if thou shall confess with Thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thine heart that (iod has raised hi m from the dead, thou shalt be saved;' ’ and iu Matthew b:U-15, “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your lleav only Father will also forgive you; but if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses, and thank Hod 1 have forgiven them every one,”K. W. COBH.■
Newspaper Details
Weldon Roanoke News
Weldon, North Carolina, US
Thu, Mar 12, 1914
Page 5
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
USA 30 Nov 2022
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