Albert W. Hicks
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Albert W. Hicks (d. July 13, 1860) also known as William Johnson and 'Pirate Hicks', was the name of the last person executed for piracy in the United States (though the execution of the slaver Nathaniel Gordon in 1862 was under the terms of the Piracy Law).
He confessed to murdering his three companions, the crew of the oyster sloop A.E. Johnson, throwing the bodies overboard. He then took all the money on board and abandoned ship in a yawl.
He also claimed to have killed 93 others in California gold camps.
He had a wife and a child, residing in Providence, Rhode Island, where he was arrested.
He gave his reason as "...the devil took possession of me."
He was executed by hanging, on Bedloe's Island, now known as Liberty Island. Ten thousand people viewed the event from boats in New York Bay.
His last wish was to see the steamship Great Eastern, which was docked in New York at the time.
[edit] In fiction
He was a character in The Twilight Zone espisode "The New Exhibit" in 1963.
[edit] References
- The July 14, 1860 edition of the New York Herald
- James Dugan, The Great Iron Ship, 1953 (regularly reprinted) ISBN 0-7509-3447-6 , pgs 70-71
- Lorenzo Fowler, The Life, Trial, Confession and Execution of Albert W. Hicks, The Pirate and Murderer, Executed on Bedloe’s Island, New York Bay…. (New York: Robert M. De Witt, Publisher, 1860?)
[edit] External links
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