John C. Woods

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John Chris Woods (born 1903, San Antonio, Texas - died September 17, 1950 at Eniwetok, Marshall Islands) was an American Master Sergeant and the hangman for the Third United States Army at the Nuremberg Trials.

On October 16, 1946, Woods carried out the executions of the ten convicted German Main War Criminals, together with Joseph Malta. The executions took place in the gymnasium of Nuremberg Prison. Either Woods or his colleague Malta calculated wrong lengths for the ropes used for the executions, so that several convicts did not die quickly due to a broken neck as intended, but had to suffer a slow and painful death by suffocation.^[1][2] In addition to that mistake, the trapdoor was too small, so that several convicts suffered bloody head injuries when they hit the trapdoor.^[3]

Altogether he hanged 347 criminals in his 15-year career.

Contents 1 Famous convicts hanged by Woods 2 Death 3 See also 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Famous convicts hanged by Woods

• Hans Frank
• Wilhelm Frick
• Alfred Jodl
• Ernst Kaltenbrunner
• Wilhelm Keitel
• Joachim von Ribbentrop
• Alfred Rosenberg
• Fritz Sauckel
• Arthur Seyss-Inquart
• Julius Streicher

Martin Bormann was also sentenced in absentia to death by hanging. Hermann Goering was likewise sentenced to death at Nuremberg, but committed suicide in his cell.

Woods said after the Nuremberg executions:

"I hanged those ten Nazis... and I am proud of it... I wasn't nervous.... A fellow can't afford to have nerves in this business.... I want to put in a good word for those G.I.s who helped me... they all did swell.... I am trying to get [them] a promotion.... The way I look at this hanging job, somebody has to do it. I got into it kind of by accident, years ago in the States...."^[4]

[edit] Death

Woods was accidentally killed on Eniwetok Island while testing an electric chair. His grave and remains remain unknown.

[edit] See also

• Johann Reichhart

[edit] References

1. ^ TIME Magazine, October 28, 1946, p. 34
2. ^ Howard Kingsbury Smith: The Execution of Nazi War Criminals. Eyewitness Report.
3. ^ Spiegel Online, Nürnberger Prozesse: Der Tod durch den Strick dauerte 15 Minuten (German), 16. Januar 2007
4. ^ TIME Magazine, October 28, 1946, p. 34

[edit] External links

• Richard Clark: "Hanged by the neck until you are dead."

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