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Picture Snatchers

November 2023
1min read

You have done us a good turn by presenting Tom Howard’s classic photo of the electrocution of Ruth Snyder in its original form (“The Picture Snatchers,” October). Though no one can deny the impact of that long-ago New York Daily News front page, the uncropped image tells a bigger story. In the group of spectators on the right, a woman turns away from the gruesome scene while her male counterparts continue to watch. Only their legs are seen, but they complete the picture of the execution.

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