The Execution
FAMILY'S FINAL VISIT - MARCH 14, 1957
On March 14, 1957, Burton Abbott's mother, aunt and brother visit him at San Quentin for the last time.
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March 15, 1957 (page one) March 15, 1957 (page two) March 15, 1957 (page three)
CROWD GATHERS TO WATCH EXECUTION - MARCH 15, 1957
Burton Abbott's execution in San Quentin's gas chamber was set for the morning of March 15. Fifty-eight people attended.
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March 12, 1957 (page one) March 12, 1957 (page two)
CALL FROM GOVERNOR COMES TOO LATE - MARCH 15, 1957
On the morning of Burton Abbott's execution, his attorneys scrambled to delay the execution, trying every legal avenue at their disposal. They were denied by the U.S. Court of Appeals and the State Supreme Court. Governor Goodwin Knight was aboard a navy carrier ship, and lawyer George T. Davis said he had difficulty reaching the governor. By the time Davis got through and Governor Knight's secretary reached the warden, it was too late. At 11:18 a.m., sixteen cyanide pellets fell and deadly gas began to rise.
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March 14, 1957 (page one) March 14, 1957 (page two)
LEAVING SAN QUENTIN - MARCH 15, 1957
Within hours of his death, Burton Abbott's body was taken to the University of California Medical Center. Abbott had requested that his body be used for medical research. He had been an accounting student at the University of California before his arrest. No memorial services were held.
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March 17, 1957 (page one) March 17, 1957 (page two)
