English women hanged in the 20th-Century
Hownow
of North America is busy at home getting the kids ready for school so
for your true crime reading, here's a list I came across while cleaning
up old files today.
And some weeks back there was a discussion here sparked by a list of
executions of women in the U.S.
If I remember the gist of that U.S. list correctly, it, too, showed a
gap in executions that I thought might have reflected the political
pressure waged by the suffragette movement of the early 20th Century.
In the UK, no women were hanged between 1903 (when they hanged four)
and 1923 when two were hanged.
(There are some interesting surmisals of a different kind to be made
from the list of men hanged over the century but that's another post.)
- hm
The list:
Louisa Josephine Masset, 9 Jan 1900, at Newgate Prison for the murder of
her four-year-old son. Hangman: James Billington.
Ada Chard Williams, 9 March 1900, at Newgate Prison for drowning a child
which she had adopted for a small sum of money. Hangman: William
Billington.
Emily Swan, 29 Dec 1903, At Armley Gaol, Leeds, for the murder of her
husband. Hangman: William Billington.
Annie Walters and Amelia Sach, 3 Feb 1903. at Holloway Prison for the
joint murders of an unknown number of children of whom they had taken
charge for a fee. Hangman: William Billington.
Emily Swan, 29 Dec 1903, At Armley Gaol, Leeds, for the murder of her
husband. Hangman: William Billington.
Edith Jessie Thompson, 9 Jan 1923, at Holloway Prison, for the murder of
her husband. Hangman: John Ellis.
(The list of men hanged indicates her lover, a guy named Freddie
Bywaters hanged the same day at Pentonville.)
Susan Newell, 10 Oct 1923 at Duke Street Prison, Glasgow, for the
murderer of a newspaper boy. Hangman: John Ellis.
Louie (sic) Calvert, June 26 1926 at Strangeways Prison Manchester, for
the murder of her landlady. Hangman: Tom Pierrepoint.
Ethel Lillie Major, 19 Dec 1934 at Hull Prison, for the murder of her
husband. Hangman: Tom Pierrepoint.
Dorothea Nancy Waddingham, April 16 1936, at Winsom Green Prison
Birmingham, for the murder of a patient whom she was nursing. Hangman:
Tom and Albert Pierrepoint.
Charlotte Bryant, July 15 1936, at Exeter Gaol, for the murder of her
husband. Hangman: Tom and Albert Pierrepoint.
Margaret Allen, Jan 12 1949, at Strangeways Prison Manchester, for the
murder ofan elderly woman. Hangman: Albert Pierrepoint.
Louisa Merrifield, Sept 18 1953 at Strangeways Prison Manchester, for
the murder of her employer. Hangman: Albert Pierrepoint.
Styllou Christofi, Dec 13 1954 at Holloway Prison, for the murder of her
daughter in law. Hangman: Albert Pierrepoint.
Ruth Ellis July 13 1955, at Holloway Prison, for the murder of her
lover. Hangman: Albert Pierrepoint.
Lars Eighner
<030920020222418792%how...@cogeco.ca>,
the lovely and talented Hownow
broadcast on alt.true-crime:
> The list:
> Louisa Josephine Masset, 9 Jan 1900, at Newgate Prison for the murder of
> her four-year-old son. Hangman: James Billington.
They recorded the name of the hangman, too? How very,
very English.
--
Lars Eighner -finger for geek code- eig...@io.com http://www.io.com/~eighner/
"I believe in God and I believe in free markets,"
-Kenneth Lay, CEO for the now defunct Enron, whose loss of some 50
billion dollars represents the largest corporate bankruptcy in the
history of the US.
Hownow
<eig...@io.com> wrote:
> In our last episode,
> <030920020222418792%how...@cogeco.ca>,
> the lovely and talented Hownow
> broadcast on alt.true-crime:
>
>
> > The list:
>
> > Louisa Josephine Masset, 9 Jan 1900, at Newgate Prison for the murder of
> > her four-year-old son. Hangman: James Billington.
>
>
> They recorded the name of the hangman, too? How very,
> very English
We did that in Canada, too.
The name was an alias.
Aways Arthur Ellis during the period that I recall.
The fact of the same surname being used when two hangman attended a
single hanging (that also raises my curiosity) would lead me to surmise
the names of the British hangmen were also pseudonymous.
- hm
Lady Taker
"Hownow" <how...@cogeco.ca> wrote:
> The list:
Hangman: James Billington.
Hangman: William Billington.
Hangman: Tom and Albert Pierrepoint.
I see that the job of "Hangman" is a family affair. How nice.
Volfie ("What do you want to be when you grow up, little boy?")
Lady Taker
"Hownow" <how...@cogeco.ca> wrote:
> We did that in Canada, too.
> The name was an alias.
> Aways Arthur Ellis during the period that I recall.
> The fact of the same surname being used when two hangman attended a
> single hanging (that also raises my curiosity) would lead me to surmise
> the names of the British hangmen were also pseudonymous.
>
> - hm
Ah, I wish I had read this before I posted that the hangman seemed to keep
it in the family.
But why would they bother to list a name for the hangman if it was just
going to be a pseudonym anyway? Seems like a waste of time and effort.
Volfie (I figured it a case of Junior going into the family business)
Michael Snyder
Lars Eighner wrote in message ...
>In our last episode,
><030920020222418792%how...@cogeco.ca>,
>the lovely and talented Hownow
>broadcast on alt.true-crime:
>
>
>> The list:
>
>> Louisa Josephine Masset, 9 Jan 1900, at Newgate Prison for the murder of
>> her four-year-old son. Hangman: James Billington.
>
>
> They recorded the name of the hangman, too? How very,
> very English.
Probably because there were only a few of them. Makes it
possible to compare them, maybe even have fan clubs. I've
read, for instance, where this hangman was noted for being
efficient and even merciful, where that one was regarded as
particularly cruel (eg. didn't get the knots right, so that the
"client" slowly strangled, rather than dying quickly from a
broken neck.
When Mary Ann Cotton (the famous poisoner) was hanged,
she took so long to die that the hangman grabbed her legs
and pulled on them, to increase the force on the rope.
Hownow
<msn...@redhat.com> wrote:
In 1936 a woman was hanged at Montreal's Bordeaux jail for murdering
her husband in an insurance plot.
The hangman did not personally examine the woman and relied on the
weight measurements on her jail record.
She had, though, gained considerable weight
The force of the fall tore her head from the body.
A subsequent public inquiry into hanging as a method of execution
revealed that hers was not the first in which a head had torn away in a
hanging... and that slow strangulation occurred often.
Hanging continued in Canada up until the last two were executed in
December 1963 (in Toronto) with the cabinet communting all death
sentences until the death penalty was abolished in 1976.
- hm
Cricket
Lady Taker <Vol...@aol.comBV1> wrote in message
news:un9nlrk...@corp.supernews.com...
Probably the prison officials knew who was who, so could keep track of
performance?
Alan Hope
>"Hownow" <how...@cogeco.ca> wrote:
>> We did that in Canada, too.
>> The name was an alias.
>> Aways Arthur Ellis during the period that I recall.
>> The fact of the same surname being used when two hangman attended a
>> single hanging (that also raises my curiosity) would lead me to surmise
>> the names of the British hangmen were also pseudonymous.
>Ah, I wish I had read this before I posted that the hangman seemed to keep
>it in the family.
>But why would they bother to list a name for the hangman if it was just
>going to be a pseudonym anyway? Seems like a waste of time and effort.
>Volfie (I figured it a case of Junior going into the family business)
Can't speak for the others, but the Pierrepoints were a hanging
family. The name is very much not a pseudonym. Albert Pierrepoint was
Britain's last hangman, and he wrote an autobiography about his
lengthy time in the job that's a testament to his conscientious
approach to his job. Tom was his father, whose apprentice he was, so
you're absolutely spot-on about Junior.
As the book explains, the job of a hangman is one that requires
training and science. Not just anyone can do it. The short list of
names on Howard's list illustrates this.
--
AH
Hownow
<ah...@skynet.be> wrote:
That might explain my other question:
The 1936 hangings Dorothy Waffington and Charlotte Bryant, the Dorset
Poisoner are credited to Tom and Albert.
Likely the apprenticeship.
- hm
Michael Snyder
Hownow wrote in message <030920021359180446%how...@cogeco.ca>...
Yes, the same thing happened in Arizona in 1930 (also to a woman).
She was the first woman ever executed in Arizona, and thanks to the
public outcry, she was also the last.
Michael Snyder
Alan Hope wrote in message ...
There is a lot of specialized knowledge in hanging. The rope, for
instance, is stretched for more than a year before being used,
so that it will not stretch when the 'client' reaches the end of it.
Also the knot must be placed just so, in relation to the client's
head, to insure that the neck is broken instantly.
Hanging became a lost art in the US, since by the end of the hiatus
following the Furman act in 1967, there was no one left who posessed
these special skills.
Alan Hope
They could do worse than get hold of Pierrepoint's book, in which he
explains his techniques. The man was scrupulous to a fault in his
preparations, precisely to avoid the sort of fuck-up that's been
mentioned.
I've only read excerpts, but even on that slim basis I now feel
confident about executing anyone who needs it. Sorry I don't remember
the name of the book, but Pierrepoint isn't too common a name, and he
should be googleable with little effort.
--
AH
Hownow
<ah...@skynet.be> wrote:
Here's a splendid page on English hangmen of the 19th and 20th century
-- who they were, how many they did, some of the famous they did and
why one (who eventually committed suicide) hated to do women.
http://www.richard.clark32.btinternet.co.uk/hangmen.html
- hm
Lars Eighner
<040920021940341034%how...@cogeco.ca>,
broadcast on alt.true-crime:
> Here's a splendid page on English hangmen of the 19th and 20th century
> -- who they were, how many they did, some of the famous they did and
> why one (who eventually committed suicide) hated to do women.
> http://www.richard.clark32.btinternet.co.uk/hangmen.html
I notice a number of the women were hanged for killing
infants that had, for a sum of money, been entrusted to
their care. This seemed to be a regular business for at
least one of the women.
Am I correct in supposing that the mothers knew or had
every reason to suspect exactly what kind of care the
infants would receive for the money?
--
Lars Eighner -finger for geek code- eig...@io.com http://www.io.com/~eighner/
Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek,
but a means by which we arrive at that goal.
- Martin Luther King, Jr.
Lady Taker
"Alan Hope" <ah...@skynet.be> wrote in message
news:k81dnu4v8ldulifvp...@4ax.com...
> I've only read excerpts, but even on that slim basis I now feel
> confident about executing anyone who needs it. Sorry I don't remember
> the name of the book, but Pierrepoint isn't too common a name, and he
> should be googleable with little effort.
Ah, so many candidates, so little time...
Volfie (do you take bribes?)
THREAT ARCHIVED lol!
Phoenix
<slrnandbtd....@dumpster.io.com>,
eig...@io.com says...
> In our last episode,
> <040920021940341034%how...@cogeco.ca>,
> the lovely and talented Hownow
> broadcast on alt.true-crime:
>
>
> > Here's a splendid page on English hangmen of the 19th and 20th century
> > -- who they were, how many they did, some of the famous they did and
> > why one (who eventually committed suicide) hated to do women.
>
> > http://www.richard.clark32.btinternet.co.uk/hangmen.html
>
>
> I notice a number of the women were hanged for killing
> infants that had, for a sum of money, been entrusted to
> their care. This seemed to be a regular business for at
> least one of the women.
> Am I correct in supposing that the mothers knew or had
> every reason to suspect exactly what kind of care the
> infants would receive for the money?
Yes, according to some life in Victorian times
I read too long ago to remember the title.
Unwanted infants, the chronically infirm, and
the elderly were often handed over to paid
"nurses" who would ease their passing to the
next world with opiates, or a conk on the
head, or starvation. There's a famous
character in Dickens, called Marcy Gamp I
think, who is employed thus.
Infants of the destitute were shuttled through
a slot into over-run foundling homes where
they were expected to die on little food or
care. Another harsh truth from a world
without birth control and safe abortions.
bel
>
>
>
Hownow
<Vol...@aol.comBV1> wrote:
Another of my favorite Canadian crime stories is the hanging of
Florence Lassandro.
http://home.cogeco.ca/~hownow/cancrime/Lassandro.html
- hm
Michael Snyder
Lars Eighner wrote in message ...
><040920021940341034%how...@cogeco.ca>,
>the lovely and talented Hownow
>broadcast on alt.true-crime:
>
>
>> Here's a splendid page on English hangmen of the 19th and 20th century
>> -- who they were, how many they did, some of the famous they did and
>> why one (who eventually committed suicide) hated to do women.
>
>> http://www.richard.clark32.btinternet.co.uk/hangmen.html
>
>
> I notice a number of the women were hanged for killing
> infants that had, for a sum of money, been entrusted to
> their care. This seemed to be a regular business for at
> least one of the women.
> Am I correct in supposing that the mothers knew or had
> every reason to suspect exactly what kind of care the
> infants would receive for the money?
No. The practice you refer to was called "baby farming". The
baby farmer was supposed to find a home for the child, not kill it.
There have been any number of similar cases. Look up the
"butterbox babies" for a case in Canada.