Mary Mabel Bennett Rogers (March 9, 1883 – December 8, 1905) was the last woman legally executed by Vermont.
When the child was six months old, Rogers ran into a neighbor's home crying that she had dropped the baby, who later died of a fractured skull.
[2] Marcus Rogers found work as a laborer in Hoosick Falls, New York, while Mary lived in Bennington, Vermont.
[8] The resolution stated that if it should appear that Rogers either at the time she committed the crime or at present was mentally or physically unsound, that a reprieve should be requested and her execution delayed until after the 1906 Vermont Legislative Session.
A large portion of the commission's investigation focused on allegations of inappropriate sexual relations between Rogers and two other prisoners.
[10][11] Evidence of issues at the prison included the fact that a child was born to Rogers after she had been incarcerated for over a year.
[13] Rogers inquired on December 7 whether the gallows were being erected, despite efforts having been made to muffle the construction noise.
[13] Governor Bell granted leave to hear an appeal from Rogers's counsel at 8 a.m. on her scheduled execution day; however, he found no reason to commute her sentence.
With no new evidence, he declined to stay the execution and Rogers was hanged at the Vermont State Prison later that day.
[12] The executioner reportedly used a rope that stretched when Rogers was dropped from the gallows, causing her to strangle as her feet scraped the floor.
[12] After several minutes, sheriff's deputies pulled on the end of the rope until Rogers was suspended, then held it in place until she finally died.
[12] The Augustinian fathers who managed the site refused to allow it, citing a family request that no memorial mark Rogers' grave.