“Maidstone, the 24th July, 1820“This is the truth, as I have God to meit it in the next world, let me Be Guilty or Not, none of my family, father or mother wife or Children or any Relation of mine knows whether I am Guilty or Not of the Crime that is laid to my Charge, that is the murder of Mr Parker and his House-keeper, or any other part of that Crime that is laid to my Charge, or any other crime that is laid to me, As God has my soul in his Charge this Day to try my Guilt that is the truth, and I hope no one will Cast it up to my wife or Children, for the Do not deservit. I sine this to be truth.“James nisbett.”
“Maidstone, the 24th July, 1820
“This is the truth, as I have God to meit it in the next world, let me Be Guilty or Not, none of my family, father or mother wife or Children or any Relation of mine knows whether I am Guilty or Not of the Crime that is laid to my Charge, that is the murder of Mr Parker and his House-keeper, or any other part of that Crime that is laid to my Charge, or any other crime that is laid to me, As God has my soul in his Charge this Day to try my Guilt that is the truth, and I hope no one will Cast it up to my wife or Children, for the Do not deservit. I sine this to be truth.
“James nisbett.”
Addressed for “Mr Hay, Barrick Master, Woolwich, Kent.”
Endorsed in the handwriting of Mr Hay, but the diction of the prisoner:—
“As I have this Bible in my hand, and God to meet, I declare the contents of this paper are true.James Nisbett”“Witness,Stephen Page, Turnkey.Maidstone Goal, 26th July, 1820,”
“As I have this Bible in my hand, and God to meet, I declare the contents of this paper are true.
James Nisbett”
“Witness,Stephen Page, Turnkey.
Maidstone Goal, 26th July, 1820,”
J. Catnach, Printer, Monmouth Court.
BEFORE
Justice Hall, Mr Baron Graham, Mr Justice Best, and Mr Justice Richardson, the Lord Mayor, Recorder, and Sheriffs of London, Mr Alderman Ansley, &c.
IN THE OLD BAILEY.
Richard Mitford, alias Captain Stracy, for forgery; William Adams for cutting and maiming; William Callaghue, for returning from transportation; Samuel Wilson, Isaac Knight, and James Simpson, for horse-stealing; Samuel Greenwood, John Bridgeman, Robert Ramsey, Thomas Gordon, William Milton, and John Levy, for highway robbery; Thomas Hayes, William Williams, Joseph Williams, Francis Waddel, Mary Gyngell, Daniel Coltrel, John Brown, Walter Blanchard, Alexander Brown, Frank Purdon, William Corbett, alias Watson, Charles Robinson, and Joseph Mackarell, for stealing in dwelling houses; William Reading, for burglary; Edmund Mustoe, James Gardner, William Bright, and George Vergenton, for robbing near the highway; and John Partier, John Roberts, and Stephen Tool, for burglary.
During the time the Recorder was passing sentence of death, the culprits behaved with great propriety. The prisoner, R. Mitford, alias Captain Stracey, for forgery, was attired in a very elegant manner, his youthful and very gentlemanly appearance interested every one present in his lamentable situation. He is the son of a Clergyman.
Holland, King, and North for an unnatural crime.
John Boyle, Cornelius Reading, Joseph Haybury, John Lewis, Thomas Trinder, William Smith, John Strange, and Thomas Harris,
Thomas Luby, T. L. Robinson.
William Garrard, Matthew Fennett, James Hicker, James Nicholas Moore, Eliza Davis, David Davis, otherwise Barnard, Rosina Davis, Thomas Long, James Moore, Julia Witherell, Mary Mushton, Christopher Gromer, Edward Fordem, Harriet Wyse, Thomas Jefts, William Needham, Edward Ford, Sarah West, James Harris, George King, Elizabeth Bool, Mary Smith, James Kellerin, William Tuck, John Mackay, George Hilsey, Luke Higgins, Joseph Hunt, George Wiggis, William Jupennan, John Williams, John Card, Hedges, and Willoughby.
—Imprisoned two years, and kept to hard labour.—Thomas Williams, John Pavey, Robert Wilson, John Bankes, and William Tuck, the two latter to be publicly whipped.——Imprisoned one year and kept to hard labour—John Haughton, Joseph Johnson, Joseph Moore, Thomas Letford, Eliza Godfrey, Bridget Callagan, Thomas Burke, and William Coulson,—imprisoned one year in Newgate.—Mary A. L. Butler,—imprisoned six months and kept to hard labour.——Thomas Best, Eleanor Jackson, Mary Barnes, John Hitchen, Sarah Jones, Thomas Griffiths, Eleanor Smith, P. H. Nielle, Ann Hay, Harriet Lee, Richard Spragg, Joseph Thirk, William Jones, James Sidebotham, Thomas Jones, Charles Askew, and James Easthill.
Catherine Rouke, John Gidling, John Wignal, and George Malsby, for felony, to be imprisoned for six months in the House of Correction, and kept to hard labour.—M. Gerard, W. Mayne and M. Pedlard for minor offences, to be fined one shilling and then discharged.—W. Smith and Ann Aldridge for felony, to be imprisoned two months in the House of Correction, and kept to hard labour during that period.—H. Browne, for a felony, to be publicly whipped, and kept to hard labour in the House of Correction for one year.—John Smith and Eliza Lewis, for felonies, to be imprisoned three months in the House of Correction, and kept to hard labour.—T. Worcester and John Jones, for felonies, to be publicly whipped and kept to hard labour for three months in the House of Correction.—Edmund Barber and William Burrell, for a misdemeanour, to be imprisoned six months and kept to hard labour during one month.
Judgment respited on John Parkes, James Hicker, James Nicholas Moore, (whose father is sentenced to transportation) and Thomas Wilbraham.
An immense number were sentenced to various minor periods of imprisonment, some to be publicly and some privately whipped.——A considerable number were discharged by proclamation.
The number of prisoners tried this Sessions has been between 400 and 500. Adjourned to the 23rd of October.
London: Printed by Charles Pigott, 52, Compton Street, Clerkenwell.
Who was barbarously and cruelly murdered by her sweetheart, W. JONES, near Wirksworth, in Derbyshire, July, 1823.
William Jones, a young man aged 20, has been fully committed to Derby gaol for the murder of his sweetheart, under circumstances of unheard of barbarity. The poor victim was a servant girl, whom under pretence of marriage he seduced. On her proving with child the villain formed the horrid design of murdering her, and carried his diabolical plan into execution on Monday evening last. The following verses are written upon the occasion, giving a complete detail of this shocking affair:—
Come all false hearted young menAnd listen to my song,’Tis of a cruel murder,That lately has been doneOn the body of a maiden fair.The truth I will unfold,The bare relation of this deedWill make your blood run cold.Near Wirksworth town in Derbyshire,Ann Williams she did dwell,In service she long time had lived,Till this to her befel.Her cheeks were like the blushing roseAll in the month of May,Which made this wicked young manThus unto her did say:Nancy, my charming creature,You have my heart ensnared,My love is such I am resolvedTo wed you I declare.Thus by his false deluding tonguePoor Nancy was beguil’d,And soon to her misfortune,By him she proved with child.Some days ago this damsel fairDid write to him with speed,Such tenderness she did expressWould make a heart to bleed.She said, my dearest William,I am with child by thee;Therefore, my dear, pray let me knowWhen you will marry me.The following day at evening,This young man did repair,Unto the town of Wirksworth,To meet his Nancy there.Saying, Nancy dear, come let us walk,Among the flowery fields,And then the secrets of my heartTo you I will reveal.O then this wicked young manA knife he did provide,And all unknown to his true loveConcealed it by his side.When to the fatal spot they came,These words to her did say:All on this very night I willYour precious life betray.On bended knees she then did fall,In sorrow and despair,Aloud for mercy she did call,Her cries did rend the air;With clasped hands and uplift eyesShe cried, Oh spare my life,I never more will ask youTo make me your wedded wife.O then this wicked young man said,No mercy will I show;He took the knife all from his side,And pierced her body through.But still she smiling said to him,While trembling with fear,Ah! William, William, spare my life;Think on your baby dear.Twice more then with the bloody knifeHe ran her body through,Her throat was cut from ear to ear,Most dreadful for to view;Her hands and arms and beauteous faceHe cut and mangled sore,While down upon her milk white breastThe crimson blood did pour.He took the shawl from off her neck,And round her body tied,With pebble stones he did it fill,Thinking the crime to hide.O then into the silver streamHe plunged her straightway,But with her precious blood was stained,Which soon did him betray.O then this young man taken was,And into prison sent,In ratling chains he is confin’d,His crime for to lament,Until the Assizes do come onWhen trembling he must stand,Reflecting on the deed he’s done;Waiting the dread command.Now all you thoughtless young menA timely warning take;Likewise ye fair young maidens,For this poor damsel’s sake.And Oh beware of flattering tongues,For they’ll your ruin prove;So may you crown your future day,In comfort, joy, and love.
Come all false hearted young menAnd listen to my song,’Tis of a cruel murder,That lately has been doneOn the body of a maiden fair.The truth I will unfold,The bare relation of this deedWill make your blood run cold.Near Wirksworth town in Derbyshire,Ann Williams she did dwell,In service she long time had lived,Till this to her befel.Her cheeks were like the blushing roseAll in the month of May,Which made this wicked young manThus unto her did say:Nancy, my charming creature,You have my heart ensnared,My love is such I am resolvedTo wed you I declare.Thus by his false deluding tonguePoor Nancy was beguil’d,And soon to her misfortune,By him she proved with child.Some days ago this damsel fairDid write to him with speed,Such tenderness she did expressWould make a heart to bleed.She said, my dearest William,I am with child by thee;Therefore, my dear, pray let me knowWhen you will marry me.The following day at evening,This young man did repair,Unto the town of Wirksworth,To meet his Nancy there.Saying, Nancy dear, come let us walk,Among the flowery fields,And then the secrets of my heartTo you I will reveal.O then this wicked young manA knife he did provide,And all unknown to his true loveConcealed it by his side.When to the fatal spot they came,These words to her did say:All on this very night I willYour precious life betray.On bended knees she then did fall,In sorrow and despair,Aloud for mercy she did call,Her cries did rend the air;With clasped hands and uplift eyesShe cried, Oh spare my life,I never more will ask youTo make me your wedded wife.O then this wicked young man said,No mercy will I show;He took the knife all from his side,And pierced her body through.But still she smiling said to him,While trembling with fear,Ah! William, William, spare my life;Think on your baby dear.Twice more then with the bloody knifeHe ran her body through,Her throat was cut from ear to ear,Most dreadful for to view;Her hands and arms and beauteous faceHe cut and mangled sore,While down upon her milk white breastThe crimson blood did pour.He took the shawl from off her neck,And round her body tied,With pebble stones he did it fill,Thinking the crime to hide.O then into the silver streamHe plunged her straightway,But with her precious blood was stained,Which soon did him betray.O then this young man taken was,And into prison sent,In ratling chains he is confin’d,His crime for to lament,Until the Assizes do come onWhen trembling he must stand,Reflecting on the deed he’s done;Waiting the dread command.Now all you thoughtless young menA timely warning take;Likewise ye fair young maidens,For this poor damsel’s sake.And Oh beware of flattering tongues,For they’ll your ruin prove;So may you crown your future day,In comfort, joy, and love.
Come all false hearted young menAnd listen to my song,’Tis of a cruel murder,That lately has been doneOn the body of a maiden fair.The truth I will unfold,The bare relation of this deedWill make your blood run cold.Near Wirksworth town in Derbyshire,Ann Williams she did dwell,In service she long time had lived,Till this to her befel.Her cheeks were like the blushing roseAll in the month of May,Which made this wicked young manThus unto her did say:Nancy, my charming creature,You have my heart ensnared,My love is such I am resolvedTo wed you I declare.Thus by his false deluding tonguePoor Nancy was beguil’d,And soon to her misfortune,By him she proved with child.Some days ago this damsel fairDid write to him with speed,Such tenderness she did expressWould make a heart to bleed.She said, my dearest William,I am with child by thee;Therefore, my dear, pray let me knowWhen you will marry me.The following day at evening,This young man did repair,Unto the town of Wirksworth,To meet his Nancy there.Saying, Nancy dear, come let us walk,Among the flowery fields,And then the secrets of my heartTo you I will reveal.O then this wicked young manA knife he did provide,And all unknown to his true loveConcealed it by his side.When to the fatal spot they came,These words to her did say:All on this very night I willYour precious life betray.On bended knees she then did fall,In sorrow and despair,Aloud for mercy she did call,Her cries did rend the air;With clasped hands and uplift eyesShe cried, Oh spare my life,I never more will ask youTo make me your wedded wife.O then this wicked young man said,No mercy will I show;He took the knife all from his side,And pierced her body through.But still she smiling said to him,While trembling with fear,Ah! William, William, spare my life;Think on your baby dear.Twice more then with the bloody knifeHe ran her body through,Her throat was cut from ear to ear,Most dreadful for to view;Her hands and arms and beauteous faceHe cut and mangled sore,While down upon her milk white breastThe crimson blood did pour.He took the shawl from off her neck,And round her body tied,With pebble stones he did it fill,Thinking the crime to hide.O then into the silver streamHe plunged her straightway,But with her precious blood was stained,Which soon did him betray.O then this young man taken was,And into prison sent,In ratling chains he is confin’d,His crime for to lament,Until the Assizes do come onWhen trembling he must stand,Reflecting on the deed he’s done;Waiting the dread command.Now all you thoughtless young menA timely warning take;Likewise ye fair young maidens,For this poor damsel’s sake.And Oh beware of flattering tongues,For they’ll your ruin prove;So may you crown your future day,In comfort, joy, and love.
Come all false hearted young men
And listen to my song,
’Tis of a cruel murder,
That lately has been done
On the body of a maiden fair.
The truth I will unfold,
The bare relation of this deed
Will make your blood run cold.
Near Wirksworth town in Derbyshire,
Ann Williams she did dwell,
In service she long time had lived,
Till this to her befel.
Her cheeks were like the blushing rose
All in the month of May,
Which made this wicked young man
Thus unto her did say:
Nancy, my charming creature,
You have my heart ensnared,
My love is such I am resolved
To wed you I declare.
Thus by his false deluding tongue
Poor Nancy was beguil’d,
And soon to her misfortune,
By him she proved with child.
Some days ago this damsel fair
Did write to him with speed,
Such tenderness she did express
Would make a heart to bleed.
She said, my dearest William,
I am with child by thee;
Therefore, my dear, pray let me know
When you will marry me.
The following day at evening,
This young man did repair,
Unto the town of Wirksworth,
To meet his Nancy there.
Saying, Nancy dear, come let us walk,
Among the flowery fields,
And then the secrets of my heart
To you I will reveal.
O then this wicked young man
A knife he did provide,
And all unknown to his true love
Concealed it by his side.
When to the fatal spot they came,
These words to her did say:
All on this very night I will
Your precious life betray.
On bended knees she then did fall,
In sorrow and despair,
Aloud for mercy she did call,
Her cries did rend the air;
With clasped hands and uplift eyes
She cried, Oh spare my life,
I never more will ask you
To make me your wedded wife.
O then this wicked young man said,
No mercy will I show;
He took the knife all from his side,
And pierced her body through.
But still she smiling said to him,
While trembling with fear,
Ah! William, William, spare my life;
Think on your baby dear.
Twice more then with the bloody knife
He ran her body through,
Her throat was cut from ear to ear,
Most dreadful for to view;
Her hands and arms and beauteous face
He cut and mangled sore,
While down upon her milk white breast
The crimson blood did pour.
He took the shawl from off her neck,
And round her body tied,
With pebble stones he did it fill,
Thinking the crime to hide.
O then into the silver stream
He plunged her straightway,
But with her precious blood was stained,
Which soon did him betray.
O then this young man taken was,
And into prison sent,
In ratling chains he is confin’d,
His crime for to lament,
Until the Assizes do come on
When trembling he must stand,
Reflecting on the deed he’s done;
Waiting the dread command.
Now all you thoughtless young men
A timely warning take;
Likewise ye fair young maidens,
For this poor damsel’s sake.
And Oh beware of flattering tongues,
For they’ll your ruin prove;
So may you crown your future day,
In comfort, joy, and love.
Printed at J. Pitts, Wholesale Toy and Marble Warehouse, 6, Great St. Andrew Street, Seven Dials.
Hertford, half-past twelve o’clock.
This morning, at ten minutes before twelve, a bustle among the javelin-men stationed within the boarded enclosure on which the drop was erected, announced to the multitude without that the preparations for the execution were nearly concluded. The javelin-men proceeded to arrange themselves in the order usually observed upon these melancholy but necessary occurrences. They had scarcely finished their arrangements, when the opening of the gate of the prison gave an additional impulse to public anxiety.
When the clock was on the stroke of twelve, Mr Nicholson, the Under-Sheriff, and the executioner ascended the platform, followed on to it by Thurtell, who mounted the stairs with a slow but steady step. The principal turnkey of the gaol came next, and was followed by Mr Wilson and two officers. On the approach of the prisoner being intimated by those persons who, being in an elevated situation, obtained the first view of him, all the immense multitude present took off their hats.
Thurtell immediately placed himself under the fatal beam, and at that moment the chimes of a neighbouring clock began to strike twelve. The executioner then came forward with the rope, which he threw across it. Thurtell first lifted his eyes up to the drop, gazed at it for a few moments, and then took a calm but hurried survey of the multitude around him. He next fixed his eyes on a young gentleman in the crowd, whom he had frequently seen as a spectator at the commencement of the proceedings against him. Seeing that the individual was affected by the circumstance, he removed them to another quarter, and in so doing recognised an individual well known in the sporting circles, to whom he made a slight bow.
The prisoner was attired in a dark brown great coat, with a black velvet collar, white corduroy breeches, drab gaiters and shoes. His hands were confined with handcuffs, instead of being tied with cord, as is usually the case on such occasions, and, at his own request, his arms were not pinioned. He wore a pair of black kid gloves, and the wrists of his shirt were visible below the cuffs of his coat. As on the last day of his trial, he wore a white cravat. The irons, which were very heavy, and consisted of a succession of chain links, were still on his legs, and were held up in the middle by a Belcher handkerchief tied round his waist.
The executioner commenced his mournful duties by taking from the unhappy prisoner his cravat and collar. To obviate all difficulty in this stage of the proceedings, Thurtell flung back his head and neck, and so gave the executioner an opportunity of immediately divesting him of that part of his dress. After tying the rope round Thurtell’s neck, the executioner drew a white cotton cap over his countenance, which did not, however, conceal the contour of his face, or deprive him entirely of the view of surrounding objects.
At that moment the clock sounded the last stroke of twelve. During the whole of this appalling ceremony, there was not the slightest symptom of emotion discernible in his features; his demeanour was perfectly calm and tranquil, and he behaved like a man acquainted with the dreadful ordeal he was about to pass, but not unprepared to meet it. Though his fortitude was thus conspicuous, it was evident from his appearance that in the interval between his conviction and his execution he must have suffered much. He looked careworn; his countenance had assumed a cadaverous hue, and there was a haggardness and lankness about his cheeks and mouth, which could not fail to attract the notice of every spectator.
The executioner next proceeded to adjust the noose by which Thurtell was to be attached to the scaffold. After he had fastened it in such a manner as to satisfy his own mind, Thurtell looked up at it, and examined it with great attention. He then desired the executioner to let him have fall enough. The rope at this moment seemed as if it would only give a fall of two or three feet. The executioner assured him that the fall was quite sufficient. The principal turnkey then went up to Thurtell, shook hands with him, and turned away in tears. Mr Wilson, the governor of the gaol, next approached him. Thurtell said to him, “Do you think, Mr Wilson, I have got enough fall?” Mr Wilson replied, “I think you have, Sir. Yes, quite enough.” Mr Wilson then took hold of his hand, shook it, and said, “Good bye, Mr Thurtell, may God Almighty bless you.” Thurtell instantly replied, “God blessyou, Mr Wilson, God blessyou.” Mr Wilson next asked him whether he considered that the laws of his country had been dealt to him justly and fairly, upon which he said, “I admit that justice has been done me—I am perfectly satisfied.”
A few seconds then elapsed, during which every person seemed to be engaged in examining narrowly Thurtell’s deportment. His features, as well as they could be discerned, appeared to remain unmoved, and his hands, which were extremely prominent, continued perfectly steady, and were not affected by the slightest tremulous motion.
Exactly at two minutes past twelve the Under-Sheriff, with his wand, gave the dreadful signal—the drop suddenly and silently fell—and
John Thurtell was launched into Eternity.
Printed at J. Pitts, Wholesale Toy and Marble Warehouse, 6, Great St. Andrew Street, Seven Dials.
Yesterday morning, before 8 o’clock, an immense assemblage of spectators, in numbers equal to those who witnessed the fate of Fauntleroy, crowded the Old Bailey, from one end to the other, to witness the execution of Charles Thomas White, late a bookseller in Holborn, for the crime of arson, and Amelia Roberts, for an aggravated robbery. The unfortunate man White had excited an extraordinary interest.
The young woman, Roberts, who was convicted of robbing Mr Austin, of Red Lion-street, Clerkenwell, with whom she lived as cook, of property to the amount of £400 and upwards, and Patrick Riley, her sweetheart, was convicted of the same offence. The conduct of this unhappy creature has been such, during her confinement, as to excite the respect, pity, and commisseration of those who visited her. She has been extremely attentive to her religious duties, and the principal thing that engrossed her attention relative to this world was to exculpate Riley, and hear that he was converted from what she deemed Papistical errors. On the evening of Sunday she was amazingly cheerful, and said, as her punishment was just, she would rather undergo it than return into a world of temptation.
The conduct of White was very different, the bare contemplation of the awful moment of execution unmanned him. He totally disregarded religious exercises, and sat day after day brooding over his past life, and occasionally starting upon his feet, bitterly inveighing against his sentence. Immediately after his trial, and for a long time subsequent, the unfortunate young man persisted in his entire innocence, and strove to convince others of it, by that sort of sophistical reasoning of which his defence consisted. He has asked over and over again what could have been his motive to commit so flagrant a crime, when his circumstances were not embarrassed, and his prospects flattering?
At length, however, he confessed his guilt, but in excuse pleaded that he was of unsound mind at the time. Finding, at length, that in all probability the door of mercy would be closed against him, he had recourse to many ingenious measures to effect his escape; and it appears quite clear, that he must have some powerful auxiliaries, both among his fellow prisoners and outside of the prison.
When the warrant of death arrived, which included his name, the wretched man at first raved like a maniac, his fondly cherished hope being cut off, but when he regained composure, his thoughts and conversation were again engaged upon an attempt to escape. A few days before that fixed for his execution, he said, “I know that I am a sinner, but God is merciful, and I hope to go to Heaven. I know, too, that I must suffer, but I never allow myself to think of the day.”
White ascended the platform with an unsteady and tremulous step. Slark, the Sheriff’s attendant, with a black wand, accompanied him, and said something to the executioner, who called his assistant, and they immediately conducted White to the west end of the platform, and while one adjusted a rope through the chain attached to the beam, the other held his hands and arms. White trembled, and his agitation seemed to increase; he raised his arms, and extended his chest, as if desirous of bursting the cords, and by the effort loosened his wrists. The cap was drawn over his eyes, but the restlessness of the unhappy man seemed to increase; and, just as the woman was ascending the steps, he bent his head down, and pushed off the cap, accompanying this action by a violent movement of the body, as if to break or get his head out of the fatal noose. The action was made with so much strength and violence, and his struggling appearing to increase, that a dreadful yell, and cries of the utmost horror burst from the crowd. The two assistant executioners were called to ascend the platform, and they held the unhappy man while a handkerchief was tied over his eyes. They endeavoured to draw a cap over his face, but he struggled hard with the executioner, and repeatedly forced it off. The executioner seized the unhappy man with some violence, to induce him to desist from proceeding to loosen his hands, and the crowd renewed their former cries and yellings.
Amelia Roberts was then brought upon the scaffold, and a cord having been tied round her lower garments, the rope was adjusted round her neck. White again got the handkerchief off, and turning to the woman and crowd alternately, by his gestures, appeared as if desirous of exciting universal sympathy. The arrangements of the executioner being complete, he removed the woman to a position immediately under the fatal beam, and then placed White by her side; but the unhappy man gradually moved forward, until he gradually got his toes upon the ledge, where Mr Cotton and Mr. Baker were reading the Burial Service. The handkerchief was again placed over his eyes, but it was evident, from the fineness of its texture, and what occurred soon afterwards, that he must have seen through it. At the moment Mr Cotton drew a white handkerchief from under his surplice, he leaped upon the platform, and by sinking his head was able to grasp that part of the cord which was affixed round his neck under his chin. It appeared to be a desperate effort to prolong that life which he so fondly clung to. At this moment the spectacle was most horrifying—he was partly suspended, and partly standing on the platform. During the violence of his exertions, his tongue was forced out of his mouth, and the convulsions of his body and contortions of his face were truly appalling. The cries of displeasure from the crowd were again renewed, and they continued till the executioner had forced the wretched man’s hands from the cord, and moved his feet from the platform, when in an instant the rope had its full tension; and, by pulling the man’s legs, he ceased struggling, and in a few minutes was dead. It is thought, that if his arms had not been fastened by a cord, the handkerchief would have given way, and the most painful consequences would have resulted. As it was, his sufferings were considerably protracted. The distortions of his countenance, in the agonies of death, could be seen by the crowd; and, as he remained suspended without any covering to his face, the horrible spectacle was most terrific. The shrieks of the women, and the cries of the men, rendered the scene more painful than any one we had ever witnessed before; and but for the wise precaution of erecting extra barriers across the street, much mischief would have been done in the confusion.
The sufferings of the poor woman were momentary.—When she was brought into the dock, at the bottom of the stairs leading to the scaffold, she took a seat on a bench. Mr. Baker attended her, while Mr. Cotton attended White on the scaffold. Her eyes were closed, and her resignation was surprising. She ejaculated, “Into thy hands, oh Lord! I commit my soul;” and just before she ascended the scaffold, she said, “God have mercy, save my soul! and pity and pardon my poor friend Patrick” (alluding to Riley). Whilst on the scaffold, she continued praying, in which she was in some degree disturbed by the extraordinary conduct of her fellow culprit.
The crowd were greatly affected by the horrid sight which they had witnessed, and we trust that this example will have its due effect upon the minds of the thoughtless and wicked.
J. Catnach, Printer, 2 and 3, Monmouth Court.
Since the tragical affair between Thurtell and Weare, no event has occurred connected with the criminal annals of our country which has excited so much interest as the trial of Corder, who was justly convicted of the murder of Maria Marten on Friday last.
“Bury Gaol, August 10th, 1828.—Condemned cell.
“Sunday evening, half-past Eleven.
“I acknowledge being guilty of the death of poor Maria Marten, by shooting her with a pistol. The particulars are as follows:—When we left her father’s house, we began quarrelling about the burial of the child: she apprehended the place wherein it was deposited would be found out. The quarrel continued about three quarters of an hour upon this sad and about other subjects. A scuffle ensued, and during the scuffle, and at the time I think that she had hold of me, I took the pistol from the side pocket of my velveteen jacket and fired. She fell, and died in an instant. I never saw her even struggle. I was overwhelmed with agitation and dismay:—the body fell near the front doors on the floor of the barn. A vast quantity of blood issued from the wound, and ran on to the floor and through the crevices. Having determined to bury the body in the barn (about two hours after she was dead. I went and borrowed a spade of Mrs Stow, but before I went there I dragged the body from the barn into the chaff-house, and locked the barn. I returned again to the barn, and began to dig a hole, but the spade being a bad one, and the earth firm and hard, I was obliged to go home for a pickaxe and a better spade, with which I dug the hole, and then buried the body. I think I dragged the body by the handkerchief that was tied round her neck. It was dark when I finished covering up the body. I went the next day, and washed the blood from off the barn-floor. I declare to Almighty God I had no sharp instrument about me, and no other wound but the one made by the pistol was inflicted by me. I have been guilty of great idleness, and at times led a dissolute life, but I hope through the mercy of God to be forgiven.William Corder.”
Witness to the signing by the said William Corder,John Orridge.
Condemned cell, Eleven o’clock, Monday morning, August 11th, 1828.
The above confession was read over carefully to the prisoner in our presence, who stated most solemnly it was true, and that he had nothing to add to or retract from it.—W. Stocking, chaplain;Timothy R. Holmes, Under-Shertff.
At ten minutes before twelve o’clock the prisoner was brought from his cell and pinioned by the hangman, who was brought from London for the purpose. He appeared resigned, but was so weak as to be unable to stand without support; when his cravat was removed he groaned heavily, and appeared to be labouring under great mental agony. When his wrists and arms were made fast, he was led round twards the scaffold, and as he passed the different yards in which the prisoners were confined, he shook hands with them, and speaking to two of them by name, he said, “Good bye, God bless you.” They appeared considerably affected by the wretched appearance which he made, and “God bless you!” “May God receive your soul!” were frequently uttered as he passed along. The chaplain walked before the prisoner, reading the usual Burial Service, and the Governor and Officers walking immediately after him. The prisoner was supported to the steps which led to the scaffold; he looked somewhat wildly around, and a constable was obliged to support him while the hangman was adjusting the fatal cord. There was a barrier to keep off the crowd, amounting to upwards of 7,000 persons, who at this time had stationed themselves in the adjoining fields, on the hedges, the tops of houses, and at every point from which a view of the execution could be best obtained. The prisoner, a few moments before the drop fell, groaned heavily, and would have fallen, had not a second constable caught hold of him. Everything having been made ready, the signal was given, the fatal drop fell, and the unfortunate man was launched into eternity. Just before he was turned off, he said in a feeble tone, “I am justly sentenced, and may God forgive me.”
Come all you thoughtless young men, a warning take by me,And think upon my unhappy fate to be hanged upon a tree;My name is William Corder, to you I do declare,I courted Maria Marten, most beautiful and fair.I promised I would marry her upon a certain day,Instead of that, I was resolved to take her life away.I went into her father’s house the 18th day of May,Saying, my dear Maria, we will fix the wedding day.If you will meet me at the Red-barn, as sure as I have life,I will take you to Ipswich town, and there make you my wife;I then went home and fetched my gun, my pickaxe and my spade,I went into the Red-barn, and there I dug her grave.With heart so light, she thought no harm, to meet him she did goHe murdered her all in the barn, and laid her body low:After the horrible deed was done, she lay weltering in her gore,Her bleeding mangled body he buried beneath the Red-barn floor.Now all things being silent, her spirit could not rest,She appeared unto her mother, who suckled her at her breast;For many a long month or more, her mind being sore oppress’d,Neither night or day she could not take any rest.Her mother’s mind being so disturbed, she dreamt three nights o’er,Her daughter she lay murdered beneath the Red-barn floor;She sent the father to the barn, when he the ground did thrust,And there he found his daughter mingling with the dust.My trial is hard, I could not stand, most woeful was the sight,When her jaw-bone was brought to prove, which pierced my heart quite;Her aged father standing by, likewise his loving wife,And in her grief her hair she tore, she scarcely could keep life.Adieu, adieu, my loving friends, my glass is almost run,On Monday next will be my last, when I am to be hang’d;So you, young men, who do pass by, with pity look on me,For murdering Maria Marten, I was hang’d upon the tree.
Come all you thoughtless young men, a warning take by me,And think upon my unhappy fate to be hanged upon a tree;My name is William Corder, to you I do declare,I courted Maria Marten, most beautiful and fair.I promised I would marry her upon a certain day,Instead of that, I was resolved to take her life away.I went into her father’s house the 18th day of May,Saying, my dear Maria, we will fix the wedding day.If you will meet me at the Red-barn, as sure as I have life,I will take you to Ipswich town, and there make you my wife;I then went home and fetched my gun, my pickaxe and my spade,I went into the Red-barn, and there I dug her grave.With heart so light, she thought no harm, to meet him she did goHe murdered her all in the barn, and laid her body low:After the horrible deed was done, she lay weltering in her gore,Her bleeding mangled body he buried beneath the Red-barn floor.Now all things being silent, her spirit could not rest,She appeared unto her mother, who suckled her at her breast;For many a long month or more, her mind being sore oppress’d,Neither night or day she could not take any rest.Her mother’s mind being so disturbed, she dreamt three nights o’er,Her daughter she lay murdered beneath the Red-barn floor;She sent the father to the barn, when he the ground did thrust,And there he found his daughter mingling with the dust.My trial is hard, I could not stand, most woeful was the sight,When her jaw-bone was brought to prove, which pierced my heart quite;Her aged father standing by, likewise his loving wife,And in her grief her hair she tore, she scarcely could keep life.Adieu, adieu, my loving friends, my glass is almost run,On Monday next will be my last, when I am to be hang’d;So you, young men, who do pass by, with pity look on me,For murdering Maria Marten, I was hang’d upon the tree.
Come all you thoughtless young men, a warning take by me,And think upon my unhappy fate to be hanged upon a tree;My name is William Corder, to you I do declare,I courted Maria Marten, most beautiful and fair.
Come all you thoughtless young men, a warning take by me,
And think upon my unhappy fate to be hanged upon a tree;
My name is William Corder, to you I do declare,
I courted Maria Marten, most beautiful and fair.
I promised I would marry her upon a certain day,Instead of that, I was resolved to take her life away.I went into her father’s house the 18th day of May,Saying, my dear Maria, we will fix the wedding day.
I promised I would marry her upon a certain day,
Instead of that, I was resolved to take her life away.
I went into her father’s house the 18th day of May,
Saying, my dear Maria, we will fix the wedding day.
If you will meet me at the Red-barn, as sure as I have life,I will take you to Ipswich town, and there make you my wife;I then went home and fetched my gun, my pickaxe and my spade,I went into the Red-barn, and there I dug her grave.
If you will meet me at the Red-barn, as sure as I have life,
I will take you to Ipswich town, and there make you my wife;
I then went home and fetched my gun, my pickaxe and my spade,
I went into the Red-barn, and there I dug her grave.
With heart so light, she thought no harm, to meet him she did goHe murdered her all in the barn, and laid her body low:After the horrible deed was done, she lay weltering in her gore,Her bleeding mangled body he buried beneath the Red-barn floor.
With heart so light, she thought no harm, to meet him she did go
He murdered her all in the barn, and laid her body low:
After the horrible deed was done, she lay weltering in her gore,
Her bleeding mangled body he buried beneath the Red-barn floor.
Now all things being silent, her spirit could not rest,She appeared unto her mother, who suckled her at her breast;For many a long month or more, her mind being sore oppress’d,Neither night or day she could not take any rest.
Now all things being silent, her spirit could not rest,
She appeared unto her mother, who suckled her at her breast;
For many a long month or more, her mind being sore oppress’d,
Neither night or day she could not take any rest.
Her mother’s mind being so disturbed, she dreamt three nights o’er,Her daughter she lay murdered beneath the Red-barn floor;She sent the father to the barn, when he the ground did thrust,And there he found his daughter mingling with the dust.
Her mother’s mind being so disturbed, she dreamt three nights o’er,
Her daughter she lay murdered beneath the Red-barn floor;
She sent the father to the barn, when he the ground did thrust,
And there he found his daughter mingling with the dust.
My trial is hard, I could not stand, most woeful was the sight,When her jaw-bone was brought to prove, which pierced my heart quite;Her aged father standing by, likewise his loving wife,And in her grief her hair she tore, she scarcely could keep life.
My trial is hard, I could not stand, most woeful was the sight,
When her jaw-bone was brought to prove, which pierced my heart quite;
Her aged father standing by, likewise his loving wife,
And in her grief her hair she tore, she scarcely could keep life.
Adieu, adieu, my loving friends, my glass is almost run,On Monday next will be my last, when I am to be hang’d;So you, young men, who do pass by, with pity look on me,For murdering Maria Marten, I was hang’d upon the tree.
Adieu, adieu, my loving friends, my glass is almost run,
On Monday next will be my last, when I am to be hang’d;
So you, young men, who do pass by, with pity look on me,
For murdering Maria Marten, I was hang’d upon the tree.
Printed by J. Catnach, 2 and 3, Monmouth Court.—Cards, &c., Printed Cheap.
The month of November, 1831, will be recorded in the annals of crimes and cruelties as particularly preeminent, for it will prove to posterity that other wretches could be found base enough to follow the horrid example of Burke and his accomplice Hare, to entice the unprotected and friendless to the den of death for sordid gain.
The horrible crime of “Burking,” or murdering the unwary with the intention of selling their bodies at a high price to the anatomical schools, for the purpose of dissection, has unfortunately obtained a notoriety which will not be soon or easily forgotten. It took its horrifying appellation from the circumstances which were disclosed on the trial of the inhuman wretch Burke, who was executed at Edinburgh in 1829, for having wilfully and deliberately murdered several persons for the sole purpose of profiting by the sale of their dead bodies.
On Tuesday, November 8th, four persons, viz., John Bishop, Thomas Williams, James May, and Michael Shield, were examined at Bow Street Police Office on the charge of being concerned in the wilful murder of an unknown Italian boy. From the evidence adduced, it appeared that May,aliasJack Stirabout, a known resurrection-man, and Bishop, a body-snatcher, offered at King’s College a subject for sale, Shield and Williams having charge of the body in a hamper, for which they demanded twelve guineas. Mr Partridge, demonstrator of anatomy, who, although not in absolute want of a subject, offered nine guineas, but being struck with its freshness sent a messenger to the police station, and the fellows were then taken into custody, examined before the magistrates, when Shield was discharged and the others ultimately committed for trial.
Friday, December 2nd, having been fixed for the trial of the prisoners charged with the murder of the Italian boy, the Court was crowded to excess so early as eight o’clock in the morning.
At nine o’clock the Deputy Recorder, Mr Serjeant Arabin, came into the court, when the prisoners severally pleaded “Not Guilty.”
The Jury were then sworn, and at ten o’clock Chief Justice Tindal, Mr Baron Vaughan, and Mr Justice Littledale entered the Court, with the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs.
The Bench was crowded with persons of rank, amongst whom was the Duke of Sussex.
Mr Bodkin having opened the case, Mr Adolphus proceeded to state to the Jury the leading facts, as they were afterwards stated in the evidence produced. The case for the prosecution having closed, the prisoners were called upon for their defence.
The prisoner Bishop in his defence stated that he was thirty-three years of age, and had followed the occupation of carrier till the last five years, during which he had occasionally obtained a livelihood by supplying surgeons with subjects. He most solemnly declared that he had never disposed of any body that had not died a natural death.
Williams’ defence briefly stated that he had never been engaged in the calling of a resurrectionist, but had only by accident accompanied Bishop on the sale of the Italian boy’s body.
May, in his defence, admitted that for the last six years he had followed the occupation of supplying the medical schools with anatomical subjects, but disclaimed ever having had anything to do with the sale of bodies which had not died a natural death. That he had accidentally met with Bishop at the Fortune of War public house on the Friday on which the body was taken for sale to Guy’s Hospital.
At eight o’clock the jury retired to consider their verdict, and on their return they found the prisoners were Guilty of Murder.
The Recorder then passed the awful sentence upon them, “That each of them be hanged on Monday morning, and their bodies be delivered over for dissection and anatomization.”
The prisoners heard the sentence as they had the verdict, without any visible alteration. May raised his voice, and in a firm tone said, “I am a murdered man, gentlemen.”
On Saturday morning Williams addressed a note to Mr Wontner, stating that he and Bishop wanted particularly to see him and Dr. Cotton, the Ordinary. In the course of the interview which immediately followed, both prisoners made a full confession of their guilt, both exculpating May altogether from being party to any of the murders. Having received the confessions, Mr Wontner immediately waited upon Mr Justice Littledale and Baron Vaughan, and upon communicating to them the statements, they said they would at once see the Home Secretary on the subject.
On Sunday morning the Sheriffs visited all three of the prisoners in succession, and with the Under-Sheriffs were engaged between three and four hours in taking down the statements of the convicts. The result of all these investigations was that the same afternoon a respite during his Majesty’s pleasure arrived at Newgate for May, and his sentence will be commuted to transportation for life.
During the whole of Sunday crowds of persons congregated in the Old Bailey, and the spot on which the scaffold was to be erected was covered with individuals conversing on the horrid crimes of the convicts, and in the course of the day strong posts were erected in the Old Bailey and at the ends of Newgate street, Giltspur street, and Skinner street, for the purpose of forming barriers to break the pressure of the crowd.
At half-past twelve o’clock the gallows was brought out from the yard, and drawn to its usual station opposite the Debtor’s door. The crowd, as early as one o’clock amounting to several thousand persons, continued rapidly increasing.
By some oversight three chains had been suspended from the fatal beam, and this led the crowd to suppose that May had not been respited. Mr. Wontnor, on hearing of the mistake, directed that one of the chains should be removed. The moment this was done an exclamation of “May is respited,” ran through the crowd, and, contrary to the expected tokens of indignation, distinct cheers were heard amongst the crowd on witnessing this token that mercy had been shown to May.
At half-past seven the Sheriffs arrived in their carriage, and in a short time the press-yard was thronged with gentlemen. The unhappy convicts were now led from their cells. Bishop came out first, and after he was pinioned he was conducted to a seat, and the Rev. Mr. Williams sat alongside of him, and they conversed together in a low tone of voice.
Williams was next introduced, and the wonderful alteration two days had effected in his appearance astonished everyone who was present at the trial. All the bold confidence he exhibited then had completely forsaken him, and he looked the most miserable wretch it is possible to conceive. He entered the room with a very faltering step, and when the ceremony of pinioning him commenced, he was so weak as to be scarcely able to stand.
Everything being ready, the melancholy procession moved forward. Bishop was then conducted to the scaffold, and the moment he made his appearance the most dreadful yells and hootings were heard among the crowd. The executioner proceeded at once to the performance of his duty, and having put the rope round his neck and affixed it to a chain, placed him under the fatal beam. Williams was then taken out, and the groans and hisses were renewed. The dreadful preparations were soon completed, and in less than five minutes after the wretched men appeared on the scaffold the usual signal was given, the drop fell, and they were launched into eternity. Bishop appeared to die very soon, but Williams struggled hard. Thus died
THE DREADFUL BURKERS OF 1831.
Printed in London for the Vendors.
On the 22nd of April, James Greenacre was found guilty of the wilful murder of Hannah Brown, and Sarah Gale with being accessary after the fact. A long and connected chain of evidence was produced, which showed, that the sack in which the body was found was the property of Mr. Ward; that it was usually deposited in a part of the premises which led to the workshop, and could without observation have been carried away by him; that the said sack contained several fragments of shavings of mahogany, such as were made in the course of business by Ward; and that it contained some pieces of linen cloth, which had been patched with nankeen; that this linen cloth matched exactly with a frock which was found on Greenacre’s premises, and which belonged to the female prisoner. Feltham, a police-officer, deposed, that on the 25th of March he apprehended the prisoners at the lodgings of Greenacre; that on searching the trowsers pockets of that person, he took therefrom a pawnbroker’s duplicate for two silk gowns, and from the fingers of the female prisoner two rings, and also a similar duplicate for two veils, and an old-fashioned silver watch, which she was endeavouring to conceal; and it was further proved that these articles were pledged by the prisoners, and that they had been the property of the deceased woman.—Two surgeons were examined, whose evidence was most important, and whose depositions were of the greatest consequence in throwing a clear light on the manner in which the female, Hannah Brown, met with her death. Mr. Birtwhistle deposed, that he had carefully examined the head; that the right eye had been knocked out by a blow inflicted while the person was living; there was also a cut on the cheek, and the jaw was fractured, these two last wounds were, in his opinion, produced after death; there was also a bruise on the head, which had occurred after death; the head had been separated by cutting, and thebone sawed nearly through, and then broken off; there were the marks of a saw, which fitted with a saw which was found in Greenacre’s box. Mr. Girdwood, a surgeon, very minutely and skilfully described the appearances presented on the head, and showed incontestibly, that the head had been severed from the bodywhile the person was yet alive; that this was proved by the retraction, or drawing back, of the muscles at the parts where they were separated by the knife, and further, by the blood-vessels being empty, the body was drained of blood. This part of the evidence produced a thrill of horror throughout the court, but Greenacre remained quite unmoved.
After a most impressive and impartial summing up by the learned Judge, the jury retired, and, after the absence of a quarter of an hour, returned into court, and pronounced a verdict of “Guilty” against both the prisoners.
The prisoners heard the verdict without evincing the least emotion, or the slightest change of countenance. After an awful silence of a few minutes, the Lord Chief Justice said they might retire, as they would be remanded until the end of the session.
They were then conducted from the bar, and on going down the steps, the unfortunate female prisoner kissed Greenacre with every mark of tenderness and affection.
The crowd outside the court on this day was even greater than on either of the preceding; and when the result of the trial was made known in the street, a sudden and general shout succeeded, and continued huzzas were heard for several minutes.
At half past seven the sheriff arrived in his carriage, and in a short time the press-yard was thronged with gentlemen who had been admitted by tickets. The unhappy convict was now led from his cell. When he arrived in the press-yard, his whole appearance pourtrayed the utmost misery and spirit-broken dejection; his countenance haggard, and his whole frame agitated; all that self-possesion and fortitude which he displayed in the early part of his imprisonment, had utterly forsaken him, and had left him a victim of hopelessness and despair. He requested the executioner to give him as little pain as posiible in the process of pinioning his arms and wrists; he uttered not a word in allusion to his crime; neither did he make any dying request, except that his spectacles might be given to Sarah Gale; he exhibited no sign of hope; he showed no symptom of reconciliation with his offended God! When the venerable ordinary preceded him in the solemn procession through the vaulted passage to the fatal drop, he was so overcome and unmanned, that he could not support himself without the aid of the assistant executioner. At the moment he ascended the faithless floor, from which he was to be launched into eternity, the most terrific yells, groans, and cheers were vociferated by the immense multitude surrounding the place of execution. Greenacre bowed to the sheriff, and begged he might not be allowed to remain long in the concourse; and almost immediately the fatal bolt was withdrawn, and, without a struggle, he became a lifeless corse.—Thus ended the days of Greenacre, a man endowed with more than ordinary talents, respectably connected, and desirably placed in society; but a want of probity, an absolute dearth of principle, led him on from one crime to another, until at length he perpetrated the sanguinary deed which brought his career to an awful and disgraceful period, and which has enrolled his name among the most notorious of those who have expiated their crime on the gallows.
On hearing the death-bell toll, Gale became dreadfully agitated; and when she heard the brutal shouts of the crowd of spectators, she fainted, and remained in a state of alternate mental agony and insensibility throughout the whole day.
After having been suspended the usual time, his body was cut down, and buried in a hole dug in one of the passages of the prison, near the spot where Thistlewood and his associates were deposited.
T. Catnach, Printer, 2 and 3, Monmouth Court.
Old Bailey, Saturday Evening,June 20th, 1840.
After the jury had been absent for an hour and twenty minutes, they returned into court, and the prisoner was again placed at the bar.
The names of the jury were then called over, and the clerk of the court said—“How say you, gentlemen, have you agreed on your verdict? Do you find the prisoner Guilty or Not Guilty of the felony of murder with which he stands charged?”
The foreman of the jury, in a low voice, said—“We find him GUILTY!”
The Clerk of the Court then said: François Benjamin Courvoisier, you have been found Guilty of the wilful murder of William Russell, Esq., commonly called Lord William Russell; what have you to say why the court should not give you sentence to die according to law?
The prisoner made no reply. The usual proclamation for silence was then made.
TheLord Chief Justice Tindal, having put on the black cap, said: François Benjamin Courvoisier, you have been found guilty by an intelligent, patient, and impartial jury of the crime of wilful murder. That crime has been established against you, not indeed by the testimony of eye-witnesses as to the fact, but by a chain of circumstances no less unerring, which have left no doubt of your guilt in the minds of the jury, and all those who heard the trial. It is ordained by divine authority that the murderer shall not escape justice, and this ordination has been exemplified in your case, in the course of this trial, by the disclosure of evidence which has brought the facts to bear against you in a conclusive manner. The murder, although committed in the dark and silent hour of night, has nevertheless been brought clearly to light by Divine interposition. The precise motive which induced you to commit this guilty act can only be known to your own conscience; but it now only remains for me to recommend you most earnestly to employ the short time you have to live in prayer and repentance, and in endeavouring to make your peace with that Almighty Being whose law you have broken, and before whom you must shortly appear. The Learned Judge then passed sentence on the prisoner in the usual form.
The court was very much crowded to the last.
After the Learned Judge had passed sentence on the convict, he was removed from the bar, and immediately made a full confession of his guilt.
At eight o’clock this morning, Courvoisier ascended the steps leading to the gallows, and advanced, without looking round him, to the centre of the platform, followed by the executioner and the ordinary of the prison, the Rev. Mr Carver. On his appearance a few yells of execration escaped from a portion of the crowd; but the general body of the people, great as must have been their abhorrence of his atrocious crime, remained silent spectators of the scene which was passing before their eyes. The prisoner’s manner was marked by an extraordinary appearance of firmness. His step was steady and collected, and his movements free from the slightest agitation or indecision. His countenance indeed was pale, and bore the trace of much dejection, but it was at the same time calm and unmoved. While the executioner was placing him on the drop he slightly moved his hands (which were tied in front of him, and strongly clasped one within the other) up and down two or three times; and this was the only visible symptom of any emotion or mental anguish which the wretched man endured. His face was then covered with the cap, fitting so closely as not to conceal the outlines of his countenance, the noose was then adjusted. During this operation he lifted up his head and raised his hands to his breast, as if in the action of fervent prayer. In a moment the fatal bolt was withdrawn, the drop fell, and in this attitude the murderer perished. He died without any violent struggle. In two minutes after he had fallen his legs were twice slightly convulsed, but no further motion was observable, excepting that his raised arms, gradually losing their vitality, sank down from their own lifeless weight.
After hanging one hour, the body was cut down and removed within the prison.