Emeline Lucy Meaker (sometimes reported as Lucy Emeline Meaker) (June 1838 – March 30, 1883) was the first woman who was legally executed by

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

. In 1883, Meaker was convicted of and

hanged Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging in ...

for the

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

of her husband's niece Alice in

Duxbury, Vermont Duxbury () is a town in Washington County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,413 at the 2020 census. It claims to be the only municipality in the United States that has an elected position of dogcatcher. History In 1880, Emeline Meak ...

The crime

Sometime in the spring of 1879, a child welfare worker approached Meaker and her husband to ask if they would consider taking Mr. Meaker's eight-year-old

niece In the lineal kinship system used in the English-speaking world, a niece or nephew is a child of the subject's sibling or sibling-in-law. The converse relationship, the relationship from the niece or nephew's perspective, is that of an ...

, Alice and her brother, Henry, into their home, as the children were living in an overcrowded

orphanage An orphanage is a Residential education, residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the Childcare, care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parent ...

.Hearn, Daniel Allen, ''Legal Executions in New England: A comprehensive reference, 1623–1960'' (Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1999) pp. 273–274."Mrs. Lucy E. Meaker Still Claims Innocence and Reproaches the Boy Almon", ''Burlington Free Press and Times'', March 30, 1883. Mr. Meaker was offered a stipend of to care for Alice, and so he agreed. Emeline Meaker was not pleased with the arrangement and beat, starved, and otherwise mistreated Alice. Meaker decided to kill Alice, and ordered her son Almon to get a lethal dose of

strychnine Strychnine (, , US chiefly ) is a highly toxic, colorless, bitter, crystalline alkaloid used as a pesticide, particularly for killing small vertebrates such as birds and rodents. Strychnine, when inhaled, swallowed, or absorbed through the eye ...

from an

apothecary ''Apothecary'' () is a mostly archaic term for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses '' materia medica'' (medicine) to physicians, surgeons, and patients. The modern chemist (British English) or pharmacist (British and North Ameri ...

. On April 23, 1880, Meaker and Almon seized Alice, placed a sack over the girl's head, and took her to a remote area outside

Waterbury, Vermont Waterbury is a town in Washington County in central Vermont, United States. Although the town is still home to the Waterbury Village Historic District, the village sharing the name of the town officially dissolved as a municipality in 2018. As o ...

, near what is now Little River State Park. When they arrived at a clearing by a stream, Almon handed the poison to his mother and she poured it into a drink which she gave to Alice. While Alice thrashed about in reaction to the strychnine poisoning, Meaker forcibly held her hand over Alice's mouth to keep the girl from crying out, keeping it there until Alice was dead, and then Almon and his mother buried Alice's body.

Investigation and trial

Alice's disappearance was investigated, and Almon confessed to the local

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

. At trial, both he and Emeline were sentenced to death; however, Almon's sentence was commuted by the

Vermont Legislature The Vermont General Assembly is the legislative body of the state of Vermont, in the United States. The Legislature is formally known as the "General Assembly," but the style of "Legislature" is commonly used, including by the body itself. The G ...

because it was believed that he was dominated by his mother. Almon's confession was published in the newspaper on the date set for Emeline's execution. It was reported that Emeline acted violently while in jail, but calmed as her execution date drew nearer.

Execution

On March 30, 1883, the morning of her scheduled execution, Meaker ate a large beefsteak, three potatoes, a slice of bread and butter, a piece of meat pie, and a cup of coffee. Then, at her request, she went to view the

gallows A gallows (or scaffold) is a frame or elevated beam, typically wooden, from which objects can be suspended (i.e., hung) or "weighed". Gallows were thus widely used to suspend public weighing scales for large and heavy objects such as sacks ...

, remarking that it was not half as bad as she thought it would be. She sent a message to her husband through the sheriff, and then ate a lunch consisting of two boiled eggs, two slices of toast, one potato, one doughnut, and a cup of coffee."A Life for a Life, Hanging of Mrs. Emeline Lucy Meaker at Windsor Prison", ''Burlington Free Press and Times''. March 31, 1883. Over 125 spectators gathered in the prison guardroom at the Vermont State Prison in Windsor County, and it was reported that the sheriff was besieged with requests for passes to witness the hanging. When Meaker was finally led to the gallows, and asked (by slip of paper as she was deaf) if she had anything to say, Emeline said in a low voice, “May God forgive you all for hanging me, an innocent woman. I am as innocent as that man standing here,” indicating a deputy. None of her family was present at the execution and her husband and children did not accept her body for burial after the execution.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meaker, Emeline 1880 murders in the United States 1838 births 1883 deaths 19th-century executions by the United States 19th-century executions of American people American female murderers American murderers of children executed American women people convicted of murder by Vermont people executed by Vermont by hanging people executed for murder people from Burlington, Vermont poisoners American deaf people