Mary Mabel Rogers, a 21-year-old white housewife, walked unaided to the gallows for the murder of her estranged husband, Marcus Rogers, committed on August 12, 1902.
She made legal history as the last woman legally executed by hanging in the State of Vermont.
The Crime: Murder on the Walloomsac River
Mary wanted to be rid of Marcus so she could be with another man, Morris Knapp, and collect Marcus’ $400 life insurance policy.
She persuaded Marcus to go on a picnic in Bennington, Vermont, accompanied by 17-year-old Leon Perham.
There, they tried out a Houdini rope trick that Mary claimed to have learned.
After demonstrating on herself how easy it was to slip free from loose bonds, Mary persuaded Marcus to let Perham tie him up.
Once Marcus was securely bound, Mary removed a bottle of chloroform concealed in her garments, saturated a cloth, and held it over his face until he lost consciousness.
She then rolled his unconscious body down the embankment into the Walloomsac River, where he drowned.
The body was discovered floating in the river the following day.
Because Marcus’ hands were still tightly bound behind his back, authorities quickly established that he had not died by accidental drowning or suicide.
Trial and Sentencing
Mary went to trial on December 9, 1903, at the Bennington County Court and pleaded not guilty.
Leon Perham turned state’s evidence and served as the key prosecution witness, admitting under oath that he had assisted Mary in tying up Marcus and luring him to the river.
Mary was convicted of first-degree murder on December 22, 1903, and was sentenced to death a week later, on December 29.
Leon Perham received a sentence of life imprisonment for his part in the crime.
Appeals and Clemency Battle
Her conviction initiated extensive but ultimately unsuccessful legal maneuvering by her defence counsel.
An appeal was carried to the Supreme Court of the United States, but the petition was dismissed on November 27, 1905.
Following the dismissal of her final appeal, Governor Charles J. Bell signed her death warrant and scheduled the execution for December 8, 1905.
Governor Bell received over 7,000 letters and petitions from across the United States pleading for a reprieve, with many petitioners expressing horror at the prospect of hanging a young woman.
While confined awaiting sentence, it was widely alleged in contemporary press reports that Mary had managed to engage in sexual relations inside the prison with a convicted rapist, presumably in the hope of becoming pregnant and thereby securing a mandatory stay of execution under the common law plea of pregnancy.
The Execution at Windsor State Prison (08/12/1905)
The hanging took place just after 1:00 p.m. on Friday, December 8, 1905, at Windsor Prison in Vermont, on a gallows erected inside an enclosed prison courtyard.
The drop was calculated to be sufficient to break her neck, following the principles of the evolution of the long drop in the 20th century.
At 12:45 p.m., Mary changed into a specially made long black dress provided for her execution.
She walked unaided from her cell to the gallows enclosure and climbed the scaffold steps without assistance.
Upon reaching the platform, she was permitted to sit on a chair for a brief moment.
When asked by the presiding officials if she had any last words to offer, she simply replied:
“No.”
She asked that her eyeglasses be given to her sister following her death.
Deputies pinioned her arms behind her back and bound her legs with a cord around the lower hem of her dress to preserve decorum.
A long black execution hood covering her head and shoulders was placed over her, followed by the noose.
Thus pinioned, hooded, and noosed, Deputy Sheriff Spafford addressed her from the scaffold:
“I now proceed to execute the sentence of the law and may God have mercy on your soul.”
The drop fell immediately after he had finished speaking, at 1:13 p.m.
The drop threw her downward, and after suspension on the rope, she was officially pronounced dead 14½ minutes later by attending physicians.
Only a small number of authorized witnesses were permitted inside the courtyard, including three newspaper reporters.
Eyewitnesses reported that Mary was the calmest person present on the scaffold.
Public Reaction and Cultural Aftermath
Such was the intense public fascination with the case and her composure on the scaffold that a cinematic dramatization of the hanging was produced just one week later and exhibited in movie theatres.
Her execution was front-page news in major newspapers across the United States, standing alongside other sensational female capital executions of the era, such as Minnie Dean in New Zealand, Cordelia Poirier in Canada, and Jean Lee in Australia.
Mary Mabel Rogers remains the last woman legally executed by the State of Vermont.
Vermont subsequently retained the death penalty under statutory execution methods for limited categories before effectively abolishing capital punishment in 1965, prior to the national legal developments seen in the execution of Gary Gilmore and Charlie Brooks Jr..
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was Mary Mabel Rogers?
Mary Mabel Rogers was a 21-year-old Vermont housewife convicted of the August 1902 premeditated murder of her husband, Marcus Rogers, by chloroform poisoning and drowning in the Walloomsac River.
Why did Mary Rogers murder her husband?
Mary murdered Marcus Rogers to collect a $400 life insurance policy and to free herself to marry another man, Morris Knapp.
How was the murder carried out?
Mary lured Marcus to a picnic along the Walloomsac River with 17-year-old accomplice Leon Perham. After demonstrating a rope trick, she persuaded Marcus to be tied up, rendered him unconscious with chloroform, and rolled him into the river to drown.
What sentence did accomplice Leon Perham receive?
Leon Perham confessed to his role, cooperated as the state’s star witness during Mary’s trial, and was sentenced to life imprisonment at hard labor.
Why is the execution of Mary Mabel Rogers historically significant?
Executed on December 8, 1905, at Windsor State Prison, Mary Mabel Rogers was the last woman ever executed by the State of Vermont.
Support the Archive
If you have found this article useful and would like to help preserve and maintain this historical archive, please consider supporting the site.
1 thought on “Mary Mabel Rogers – Executed for the Murder of Her Husband”
Comments are closed.