Criminal Curiosities
So, it's to London's notorious Pentonville Prison we go for an historic event in British penal history. Hangings in themselves were nothing unusual, although by 1954 (only a year or so after the wrongful execution of Derek Bentley at Wandsworth) they were becoming increasingly rare events. Double hangings were becoming especially unusual, the days when … Continue reading On This Day in 1954 – Ian Grant and Kenneth Gilbert, the last double hanging in Britain.
Michael Manning was the last prisoner executed in the Republic of Ireland, ending a centuries-old tradition of executions in the Emerald Isle and another tradition of their being performed almost entirely by British executioners. Michael Manning’s case was the last time a group of officials would assemble at Dublin’s Mountjoy Prison at 8am in the … Continue reading Michael Manning – Last to hang in the Irish Republic.
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.
All in all, a sorry fate for a man who'[d once shown such promise.
.Public Executioner. It’s not what you’d call an everyday profession. Unusual? Certainly. Skilled? Absolutely. Dark and scary? Well, it depends on why you fancy the job, really. But it’s certainly not the sort of work that most people would consider a life’s ambition or the family business unless you happen to be Albert Pierrepoint. Albert … Continue reading Albert Pierrepoint – Master Hangman.
Today we've got an unusual double anniversary involving a well-known, but curious, character, Ronnie Biggs. Biggs helped carry out the Great Train Robbery on August 8, 1963, 38 years ago today. August 8, 1963 was also his 34th birthday.. A lot of people also persist in thinking that he was some sort of master criminal … Continue reading Ronnie Biggs – Master Criminal..?