Eva's Noose

This is the noose used to hang Eva Dugan.

When the trap door opened and the rope tightened, her head popped off her body and rolled into a corner at the feet of the spectators. The grisly scene caused five witnesses - two of them women - to faint.

Knowing nothing about Eva, I thought the noose would make an interesting Blip. With guidance from a Docent at the Pinal County Historical Museum I learned more about Eva. It turned into a remarkable story.

A former Alaskan cabaret performer, Dugan relocated to warmer climes, took a job keeping house for a reclusive, wealthy rancher. After he axed her position, she axed the rancher. She also left behind five husbands that were never found.

To quote Time Magazine of March 3, 1930, "In the execution chamber of the State Prison at Florence, Ariz., hangs a row of 16 pictures of murderers executed there. Around each picture is looped the noose in which the criminal died. Last week prison attendants added a 17th picture and a 17th rope, thereby memorializing the picture of Mrs. Eva Dugan, 52, first woman executed in Arizona." Title of the article was "Cheerful Eva".

She charged one dollar for interviews and sold embroidered handwork so she could pay for her coffin. She also had two memorable one-liners.

After her conviction, in her final statement, she told the jurors, "Wal, I'll die with my boots on, an' in full health. An' that's more'n most of you old coots'll be able to boast on."

As she ascended to the gallows she told the guards, "Don't hold my arms so tight, the people will think I'm afraid."

The spectacle of her decapitation influenced the state of Arizona to replace hanging with the lethal gas chamber as a method of execution.