Now! Then! Henry Warrass (14) dies like his fellow-Sheffielder, the infanticide Alfred Warrington

21 February 1853: Henry Warrass (14) dies like his fellow-Sheffielder, the infanticide Alfred Warrington

Times. 1853/02/25. Amateur Hanging. London. Get it:

Excerpt

Within the last few weeks several suicides have occurred in Sheffield, chiefly of boys, which might be clearly traced to the morbid feeling which often comes over the minds of those who have been witnesses or have heard descriptions of public executions. Henry Warrass was committed to the Wakefield House of Correction on the 25th of January last as a rogue and vagabond. Shortly before half-past 7 o’clock this lad hung himself to the handle of the bell in his cell with a small piece of cocoa fibre about the thickness of a drawing pencil. He was discovered at half-past 7, the usual messing time, by a turnkey, suspended, but not quite dead. He was immediately taken down, and he moved afterwards, but soon expired. It appears that Warrass went to York to witness the execution of the murderer Waddington. He had also seen the woman for whose murder Waddington paid the forfeit of his life. Warrass was also an acquaintance of a lad who hung himself a short time since the execution in the workhouse at Sheffield. It cannot be known whether the lad really intended to destroy himself. It is supposed that he was merely trying an experiment, as he had not given any evidence of a vicious temper since his reception within the prison walls. Deceased was confined in a separate cell, and with the exception of three hours, employed each afternoon in instruction, his confinement was solitary.

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To facilitate reading, the spelling and punctuation of elderly excerpts have generally been modernised, and distracting excision scars concealed. My selections, translations, and editions are copyright.

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Original

AMATEUR HANGING. – Within the last few weeks several suicides have occurred in Sheffield, chiefly of boys, which might be clearly traced to the morbid feeling which often comes over the minds of those who have been witnesses or have heard descriptions of public executions. Another suicide occurred in this town on Monday night which may be traced to the same cause, and in this case, also, it is a lad who has become the victim. The lad who has put an end to his existence in this instance is named Henry Warrass; he is 14 years of age, and was committed to the Wakefield House of Correction on the 25th of January last as a rogue and vagabond. Shortly before half-past 7 o’clock this lad hung himself to the handle of the bell in his cell with a small piece of cocoa fibre about the thickness of a drawing pencil. He was discovered at half-past 7, the usual messing time, by a turnkey, suspended, but not quite dead. He was immediately taken down, and he moved afterwards, but soon expired. It appears that Warrass went to York to witness the execution of the murderer Waddington; he had also seen the woman for whose murder Waddington paid the forfeit of his life. Warrass was also an acquaintance of a lad who hung himself a short time since the execution in the workhouse at Sheffield. It cannot be known whether the lad really intended to destroy himself; it is supposed that he was merely trying an experiment, as he had not given any evidence of a vicious temper since his reception within the prison walls. Deceased was confined in a separate cell, and with the exception of three hours, employed each afternoon in instruction, his confinement was solitary.

296 words.