100 Facts About British Executions (4 page)

George Chapman

97
–
As late as the 18
^th
century, women who murdered their husbands were found guilty of Petty Treason and burned at the stake.  Usually, however, they were strangled before the flames could reach them.  On Monday, May 9
^th
, 1726, Catherine Hayes was to be executed in this manner but the flames prevented the executioner from carrying out the strangulation.  As a result, Catherine was burned alive.

98 – A total of 33 women were executed in London in the 19
^th
century.  The first was Ann Hurle, hanged for forgery on February 8
^th
, 1804.  The last was Amelia Dyer, hanged for murder on June 10
^th
, 1896.

99 – Throughout the entire
UK, a total of 197 women were executed between 1800 and 1955 when Ruth Ellis became the final female to be executed.

100 – The first year, from 1800 onwards, which saw no woman executed was 1824.  There were, however, 59 men hanged in that same year, but only 15 were executed for murder.

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Also available on Amazon, for Kindle – “
And May The Lord Have Mercy On Your Soul
...”  The story of the execution of John Alexander Dickman, in Newcastle, in 1910, for the murder of John Innes Nisbet on a train.  Dickman was convicted of murder on purely circumstantial evidence and went to the gallows protesting his innocence.  This book re-examines the evidence and comes to the conclusion that Dickman’s conviction was unsafe.  More than that, it goes on to name the real killer after more than 100 years.

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