Rarely Wordless

An Execution At Sing Sing

  I was at work this afternoon and we were discussing death penalties and I remembered the image that was secretly taken of Ruth Snyder in 1928.  She was the first woman to be electrocuted since 1899.  She was accused of murdering her husband for insurance money.  Photographers weren’t allowed to take pictures of these gruesome events, so the New York Daily News hired Chicago Tribune photographer Tom Howard.  Howard posed as a writer and came to Sing Sing early to set up a vantage point for the shot.  A miniature camera was strapped to his left ankle, the shutter release button was concealed within his jacket. As Snyder’s body shook from the jolt, Howard hoisted his pant leg and secretly snapped with a one-use camera.  TIME- Life called it “the most famous tabloid photo of the decade.”

Posted at 7:24pm and tagged with: An Execution At Sing Sing, Sing Sing Prison, Ruth Snyder, Ruthless Ruth, New York Daily News, Chicago Tribune, Photography, Photographer, Execution, Electrocution, Death Penalty, Sing Sing,.