Because André had been in disguise and not wearing his uniform, he was legally a spy and not only an enemy soldier. The punishment for being a spy was much worse. André was put on trial in Tappan, New York. Many of his friends wrote letters to George Washington to ask that he be allowed to live. Others asked that he be allowed to die by firing squad, which was the usual way soldiers were killed. On September 29, 1780, André was found guilty of being "under a feigned name and in a disguised habit." He was sentenced to die by hanging. André was hanged at noon on October 2, 1780.