Thomas Edward "Blackjack" Ketchum was executed in Clayton, NM, on April 26, 1901. Officials there were inexperienced with the practice of hanging criminals because there, Ketchum was the first one to be sentenced to death by hanging. The night before the hanging was scheduled, an official tested the rope with a 200-pound sandbag, but he forgot to remove it and its weight made the rope as rigid as wire. This caused an immediate decapitation, with Black Jack's headless body landing on its feet, remaining upright for some time. Prior to burial, his head was sutured back onto his body and he was buried at Clayton's Boot Hill.