September 2, 1895 - Joseph Francel
New York's official executioner for nearly fifteen years, Francel carried out his work methodically and without public profile — a figure defined less by ideology than by the institutional role he filled. His tenure at Sing Sing's electric chair spanned some of the most charged cases in mid-century American history, including the espionage convictions of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. The scale of his work, extending across multiple states, reflects how execution in this era was treated as a transferable technical function. That he ultimately quit over pay disputes and death threats offers a quietly unsettling coda to a career built on state-sanctioned finality.
From Wikipedia
Joseph Francel (September 2, 1895 – January 25, 1981) was an American electrician from Cairo, New York, who was the state of New York's executioner from October 12, 1939 until 1953.
Life and career
Francel was a father of two. Originally from St. Cloud, Minnesota, he was a World War I veteran, having served 16 months overseas as a sergeant in the United States Army.
His first execution was the triple electrocution of Anton Myslivec, Everett McDonald, and Theodore Maselkiewicz on December 21, 1939, in Sing Sing's death chamber. Among those he executed were Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. Like his predecessors, Francel also performed electrocutions in the neighboring states that used the electric chair as method of execution.
After the execution of William Draper, whom he had electrocuted in Sing Sing on July 23, 1953, Francel decided to quit his job.
At the time of his resignation in August 1953, The New York Times reported that Francel was dissatisfied with his pay of $150 per execution, and that he was particularly exasperated about threats to his life.
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