The Mother-Son Execution of 1934

A sister’s jealousy, deeply rooted, cast a shadow over her entire family for generations.

In Omar, Delaware, Robert R. Hitchens had led a prosperous life with lucrative results, but although the rest of his siblings lived in poverty, he was granted the bulk of his grocer father’s estate. His mother and two brothers passed away in the following years, leaving only he and his sister, May Carey, as the surviving members of the family. May fell on hard times. Burdened with raising three sons alone, she made ruthless decisions to suit her jealous temperament, even threatening her boys to carry out her callous plans.

Moral Fury

There is no better story to discuss the legacy or fruits a villain can bestow on their family than a simmering family feud that all started over family inheritance. The 1930 was an era where capital punishment was more deeply entrenched in the justice system than it is today. Capital punishment seemed to echo a societal consensus that viewed the death penalty as a means of preserving order and morality. Eugenics-driven ideologies, which promoted the belief in controlling…