The last public execution in Florida was here in Okaloosa County (panhandle FWB-Destin) on the courthouse lawn in the early 1900’s. Newspaper accounts of the day of the hanging said it was a carnival type atmosphere with people coming from far away (50 miles maybe?) and picnic lunches..............
Did they also mention the hymn singing before the trap door was sprung? This singing actually took place in Ft. Smith, Arkansas essentially as dramatized in Clint Eastwood's movie Hang 'Em High and the John Wayne movie True Grit.
While I thought this was a nice gesture on the part of the public before sending criminals to meet their maker, it would be even better to do it today . . . just to send the ACLU into a hissy fit.