Criminal Curiosities
When Frederick Parker and Albert Probert mounted the gallows at Wandsworth Prison, they died never knowing they'd taken a singular place in Britain's chronicles of crime. Theirs would be last execution in British prison to be witnessed by a gentleman (or lady) of the press. Until the Capital Punishment (Amendment) Act of 1868 executions were … Continue reading On This Day in 1934; The last British hanging witnessed by a journalist.
"Prisoner at the Bar, the sentence of this court is that you be taken from this place to a lawful prison and thence to a place of execution where you shall be hanged by the neck until you are dead. And that afterwards your body shall be cut down and buried within the precincts of … Continue reading Trial Watchers – A Strange Breed.
Most people know the name. Most who know the name, know the story. 'Doctor' Hawley Harvey Crippen (actually a salesman of quack remedies) unwittingly became one of criminal history's most infamous names. His wife Cora disappeared. Her remains were found beneath the coal cellar of their home, 39 Hilldrop Crescent. Crippen flees to Canada with … Continue reading ‘Doctor’ Crippen, Hanged Today In 1910. Innocent? Or Hanged For The Wrong Murder..?