Six Miles to Charleston by Bruce Orr

condemned was dead. If a message was being sent to the community, they were often left hanging longer so more people would have the opportunity to view them.
    There were also several knots used, but the most used was the hangman’s knot or noose knot. It was considered the most efficient because the manner in which it was tied made the knot very large. The standard was to place the knot under the left ear and as the condemned reached the end of the drop the jerk against the large knot was sufficient to break the neck. If the hangman was sadistic or held a grudge, he could position the knot a little to the left or right and the neck would not break. The condemned would die a slow death of strangulation. This would be a good reason not to say anything that might anger your executioner. You may literally come to the end of your rope and find the knot in the wrong place.
    In White’s recollection of the execution, it is quite obvious that the hangman had been quite the experienced executioner. By the amount of alcohol he craved, it was obvious the weight of those many executions did not rest well upon him. Regardless, this was obviously not his first execution.
    White also noted that as John Fisher was making his proclamation of innocence and claims against those who condemned him, the hangman was on the ladder engaged in working with the ropes.
    In the account of the execution in the Charleston Courier , it states in regard to Lavinia that “She died without a struggle or a groan.” Obviously the hangman showed mercy on Lavinia and the standard drop and hangman’s knot sufficiently broke her neck.

    The noose traditionally has thirteen twists. If a person was “lucky,” he may get nine, one twist for each life, just like a cat. Courtesy of Kayla Orr.
    The Charleston Courier account in regards to John Fisher’s death was not as “pleasant”: “it was some minutes before he expired and ceased to struggle.” For whatever the reason, John Fisher’s neck did not break. Some accounts say he struggled for up to seventeen minutes before dying. Obviously the hangman did not position the knot appropriately. Lavinia suffered a quick and immediate execution with the snap of her neck; John slowly suffered and died of strangulation at the end of a rope.
    Maybe it was something in the words he said. Remember, in the end, he swore his innocence and accused others. “I swear, I am innocent. May the Redeemer of the World plead for those who have sworn away my life.”
    Lavinia Fisher is said to have been the first woman executed in this country. Actually many women were executed in the Salem Witch trials. This is where the confusion of Lavinia having been a witch came from. There are no indications that she was.
    Many have stated that the fact that she used oleander to poison her victims points to the fact she was Wiccan and therefore a witch since Wiccans use herbs and flowers in their “potions.” There are several problems with that theory. First of all, as we have found, there is no documentation that she used oleander as a poison on anyone. That is a complete fabrication. Second, practically everyone used herbs back then as remedies, making the entire country Wiccan in one form or another. Third, and most important, the Wiccan Code says to harm no one. The Wiccan Rede states, “These Eight words the Rede fulfill: An Ye Harm None, Do what ye Will.” That excludes anyone who would use oleander to murder another person. There is no proof Lavinia Fisher was Wiccan or a witch.
    Lavinia Fisher is also said to have been the first woman hanged for murder within the United States. Actually, Margaret Hatch was hanged on June 24, 1633, for murdering her own child in Virginia. Mrs. Hatch tried to avoid her hanging by claiming pregnancy. A group of midwives was gathered together and a “Jury of Matrons” was organized. The defendant was determined not to be pregnant and