Clarence Richeson
| Clarence Virgil Thompson Richeson | |
|---|---|
| Born |
February 15, 1876 Amherst, VA |
| Died | May 12, 1912 (aged 36) Massachusetts |
| Cause of death | Electrocution by electric chair |
| Criminal charge | Murder |
| Criminal penalty | Death by electrocution |
| Criminal status | Executed |
| Spouse(s) | Violet Edmands (fiance) |
Reverend Clarence Virgil Thompson Richeson (February 15, 1876 – May 21, 1912) was executed for the murder of his fiancee Avis Willard Linnell. Avis Linnell died on October 14, 1911 at the YWCA in Boston.
Richeson was born in Amherst, Virginia, the son of a tobacco farmer and his first wife of three. Richeson left home at age 13, moved to Lynchburg, Virginia, and worked at several jobs. Throughout much of his life he worked at a variety of jobs. Early on, he was ambitious and wanted to be a clergyman. He began to prepare for college at Amherst Academy.
From 1892 to 1895 he worked for his cousin W. J. Richeson and continued his studies at the academy in Carrollton, Missouri. He joined the Trotter Baptist Church of Carroll County. At age 17, he went into an unconscious state and was in bed for one or two days after a nocturnal emission. He saw a Dr. Cooper who gave him medication that caused an allergic skin reaction. Throughout his life he had a history of similar attacks many of which he attributed to nocturnal emissions and he was inordinately obsessive about his own sexuality. Before he was 18 he was engaged to two girls at the same time. They broke off the engagements when they learned of a third fiancee in Kansas City.
In 1895, at the age of 19, he was affiliated with the Third Baptist Church in Saint Louis. In 1896 he took a brief "vacation" in southern Missouri where met a girl and again became engaged. This engagement was soon broken off. He grew quite ill one time in 1896 and went to stay with a cousin in Potosi, Missouri. One night he became quite delirious and was walking around outside. A doctor was sent for and stayed through the night. He gave Richeson some sedatives and declared him insane. On the advice of the doctor, the cousin took Richeson to Missouri Baptist Sanitarium (now Missouri Baptist Medical Center) where he remained for several weeks. There are no medical records of his stay there except that "he apparently had some kind of mental derangement." He then returned home to Virginia and stayed there for three years.
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