Famous Last Words
Matilda Carter
North Carolina
January 13, 1882

“Folks, hear me, as I’se to be hanged. I’se free from any guilt about Nash Carter. I had a child by another man, but was smart enough to keep my husband from knowing it.”

Carter (22-year-old mother of 6, mostly with different fathers) and 3 of her lovers attacked her husband Nash (40) in his sleep. They tied a noose around his neck, dragged him across the room, and pulled the rope so tight his neck was cut. Carter used a bucket to collect her husband’s blood before stomping on his body to ensure no breath remained. She and 2 of her co-murderers were hanged together; the fate of the third is unknown.