American Hangman

John C. Woods, the US Army's hangman during World War II, is known for his role executing ten senior Nazis in 1946.

For the first time, learn about Woods's early life in Kansas and his dishonorable discharge before World War II. Discover how volunteering as a military executioner would lead Woods to his career as a hangman.

Award-winning author Colonel French MacClean separates fact from fiction of the enigmatic executioner, whose botched executions and mysterious death by electrocution have left him shrouded in mystery and infamy.