… was the last person to be executed by public hanging in Illinois. And he’s in the news (no pun intended) again:
BENTON, Ill. - Folks in this hardscrabble town still cling to the legend of Charlie Birger, the bootlegging gangster who moments before meeting his maker on the gallows flippantly remarked how lovely the world was.
Nearly eight decades later, the noose used in Illinois’ last public hanging has taken on an ugly life of its own.
Rebecca Cocke, granddaughter of the sheriff who supervised the 1928 execution, says the rope is a family heirloom her mother lent to the downtown jail museum 10 years ago. With her mother now suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, Cocke — her legal guardian — is suing to get the rope back.
Not so fast, says the local preservation society chief.
Legal flap brews in Illinois over noose (AP)
This Ghosts of the Prairie page actually looks pretty comprehensive, and if you want to know where to find the man’s tombstone, you’re in luck: War in Illinois: Charlie Birger, the Shelton Gang and the Prohibition War of Southern Illinois
“The Hanging of Charles Birger” is a ballad that was written soon after his death. Listen to a contemporary version by “trashcan Americana” band Woodbox Gang.
“The first mute witness to law and order in Herrin was a human hand which reached stiffly for the sky, emerging from the shallows of the Big Saline river near Equality, Ill.” Kippered Herrin (Time, 8 November 1926)
Birger & his boys (Evansville Courier & Press, 1999)
Outlaw Associations: Dancin’ and Dates at Shady Rest (a family history)
It’s the Charlie Birger Fun Trail! (With map and tourist info.)
The Legend of Charlie Birger is a WSIU documentary. This page has information about the video, a bulletin board, and some cool photos.
Here are some interesting-looking books:
The Picture of Birger and his gang and the one of him being hung were taken by my Grandfather Jack Mitchell. I remember my grandmother having them but I never knew what she had done with them. I had heard they were given to Southern Illinois University. Would you have any info on the pictures or others my grandfather took?