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The last public execution in America was carried out in Owensboro, Kentucky, in 1936 when Rainey Bethea was hanged. Hundreds of reporters and photographers -- some from as far away as New York and Chicago -- were sent to Owensboro to cover [the event]. At least 20,000 people descended on the town to witness the execution. Bethea walked toward the gallows shortly after sunrise and was pronounced dead at around 5:45 a.m. that same day.
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