Tom Ketchum - who had become known as "Black Jack" when misidentified with another hombre he resembled - was the last man to hang in America for attempting to rob a train. Given the way the authorities in Clayton, N.M., conducted the job, that's probably for the best.
During his execution, when the body dropped through the trap the half-inch rope severed the head as cleanly as if a knife had cut it. The body pitched forward with blood spurting from the headless trunk. The head remained in the black sack and flew down into the pit. The drop of the body was seven feet and the noose was made so it slipped easily. Ketchum was a heavy man, and the weight of the body, with the easy-running noose, caused the rope to cut the head cleanly off. Dr. Slack pronounced life extinct a little over five minutes from the time the body dropped through the trap. It is stated too much of a drop was given for so heavy a man.