T. J. Hampton (born Thomas J. Hampton; died December 6, 1901) was a 19th-century American serial killer who was hanged in 1901 for the murders of two men in Fort White, Florida. On the day of his execution, Hampton confessed to a further three murders committed in Georgia and South Carolina years prior.[1]
T. J. Hampton | |
|---|---|
| Born | Thomas J. Hampton |
| Died | December 6, 1901 Lake City, Florida, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Execution by hanging |
| Conviction(s) | First degree murder (2 counts) |
| Criminal penalty | Death |
| Details | |
| Victims | 5 |
Span of crimes | 1887–1893 |
| Country | United States |
| State(s) | Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina |
Date apprehended | 1893 |
Biography edit
Little to nothing is known about Hampton's childhood. According to his confession, he committed his first murder in 1887, that of a train conductor while aboard a freight train in Lexington County, South Carolina.[1] Being a drifter, Hampton had left the state not long after, successfully evading capture and not becoming a suspect.
During the years after, Hampton moved to Georgia, where he committed two more murders, but would not elaborate on the victims.[2] By 1893, Hampton was working at a turpentine camp in Fort White, Florida. On March 25 of that year, Hampton shot at three Caucasian men; Sessom Calhoun and John Bell were killed while J. W. Holliday, the third man, was wounded but survived.[3] Shortly after, Hampton was arrested and charged with the two murders. Subsequently, he was tried and convicted on two counts of first degree murder, and was sentenced to hang.[3]
Due to an outcry of threats, governor William Sherman Jennings assigned state troopers to protect Hampton, who was African American, from a possible lynching.[4] On December 2, 1901, governor Jennings signed a death warrant which scheduled Hampton to be execution on December 6. On that day, Hampton was hanged at Lake City.[5] Shortly before his execution, Hampton, who was smoking a cigarette, made a statement in which he confessed to the previous three murders.[6]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ a b "Confessed Five Murders". Piqua Daily Call. December 7, 1901.
- ^ "FIVE TIMES MURDERER". The Bamberg Herald. December 12, 1901.
- ^ a b "Hampton Will Be Hanged". Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. December 5, 1901.
- ^ "TROOPS GUARD MURDERER". The Bamberg Herald. July 18, 1901.
- ^ "Smoked On the Gallows". Lebanon Daily News. December 13, 1901.
- ^ "SHOWED REMARKABLE NERVE". Greenville Journal. December 13, 1901.