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Show Man Who Spun Death Dials On 3000 Slayers Succumbs NEW YORK, Oct 10' Iff Robert G. Elliott 83, official executioner for five eastern states, died today at bis horn In Richmond H11L Queen. The cause ef death was given as coronary embolism. Among th parsons ha put to desth were Bruno Richard Haupt-mann, Haupt-mann, kidnaper of th Lindbergh baby; and Sacco and Vansetti, convicted con-victed In Massachusetts of murder and the central figure in a worldwide world-wide protest ' Elliott was aa outspoken foe ef the legalized) killing from which he derived his livelihood. "It doesn't do any good," he said repeatedly. "There Is a certain satisfaction the stats gets a sort of revenge. But we keep on getting these terrible terri-ble criminals just the same." Elliott had spun th rheostat diaki of death for mora than 300 murderers during his 13-year career, Including Ruth Snyder and her Illicit lover, Judd Gray, and "Two-Gun" Crowley, notorious bandit A taciturn man who kept bis calling a secret even from his children, chil-dren, Elliott or "Pop," as he was called., showed signs of fraying nerves in the months preceding his final Illness. In October, 1838, he complained to Massachusetts prison officials that th electric chair, th eldest In th nation, was dangerous snd that he "couldn't breath sail I y" for fear of death when he pulled the switch. A America's best known executionerperforming execu-tionerperforming his work In New York's Sing Sing. New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and iKOBEaVr O. ELLIOTT . It doesn't do any geed Connecticut prisons Elliott naa seen ail type U condemned prisoner pris-oner go to their death. Including five women. "It's hardest executing th women," wo-men," b said after throwing th switch on Ruth Snyder In 1928, snd a few weeks later he suffered a nervous breakdown. Appointed at Sing Sing In 1928, Elliott had a monopoly on death-chamber death-chamber executions in the east He never had an assistant or trained a successor In his highly-specialised highly-specialised task, always working alone since hs took over the grhue Job from John Hulbsrt who commuted com-muted suicide after resigning five, day before a scheduled execution. Elliott's horns tn Queens, where he lived with hi wife and two children, wss wrecked by a bomb In 1928, shortly after he had electrocuted elec-trocuted Sacco and Vanxettl In Mkauchusetts, and until his desth a police booth was erected In his yard with a policeman to guard him. Although described as sppearlng -shaky nerved and scared'' toward the dose of hi career, Elliott always al-ways insisted his Job was entirely impersonal Snd mechanical. -I 4oat order h deaths," hs said once. "That's something the judge snd the jury snd the state laws do. I only carry out orders." |