The New Newgate Calendar

As I hit the home stretch with dissertation revisions, here’s a window into my findings from Jail America: The Reformist Origins of the Carceral... read more »

The licences of parole for female convicts – which are available to access online with Ancestry – are a great resource, not just for finding... read more »

AMMAN, Jordan, Feb. 29 — Two Jordanians, an army sergeant and a civilian, were publicly hanged at dawn today after having been convicted by a military... read more »

On the last day of February in 1975, seven men from among a gang who authored one of Singapore’s signature murders were hanged at Changi Prison.... read more »

This fine old red brick building is located in the Bridge Street school grounds and was the headmasters residence as well as the schoolhouse. The Principal... read more »

(Thanks to Meaghan Good of the Charley Project for the guest post. -ed.) On this date in 1874, Christopher Rafferty was hanged for the murder of Chicago... read more »

(Thanks to Meaghan Good of the Charley Project for the guest post. -ed.) On this day in 1786, Joseph Rickards was executed in Kentish Town, London for... read more »

On this date in 1765, the Pangasinan rebel Juan de la Cruz Palaris was hanged by the Spanish authorities. Palaris — the nickname by which history... read more »

From the New York Times, Feb. 26, 1881: WINDSOR, Vt., Feb. 25. — This was the day set for the hanging of Edwin C. Hayden, after a delay of four years,... read more »

In the early 1990s I had the privilege of studying with David Garland, then teaching and researching in Edinburgh University’s Law School. He had... read more »

When I was researching Gloucester Murder & Crime, it was noticeable how many times public houses and inns played a part in... read more »

In the March issue of Your Family History magazine, which is out now, I wrote a brief review of Joan Kavanagh and Dianne Snowden’s book Van Diemen’s... read more »

The Hamilton Council Chambers consist of a couple of buildings, one which was constructed in the period 1833 to 1835 and the main, central building around... read more »

From the Morning Chronicle of Feb. 25, 1823, via Rictor Norton. (Spaces added for readability.) EXECUTION. — Yesterday morning, at an early hour,... read more »

On this date in 1554, Tudor nobleman Henry Grey — who for nine days had been the father of the queen — was beheaded at Queen Mary’s command.... read more »

James Littleton’s Conduct Record from 1842 (TAS CON33-1-17) In 1832, James Littleton was indicted for theft. This, according to a series of records... read more »

On this date in 1864, four Philippines Spaniards and a Greek Ottoman who once numbered among the crew of the Flowery Land hanged together in London as... read more »

Continuing last week’s revelations… the commutation of both women’s sentences [Sommer and Harris] caused press and public disgust scarcely... read more »

The London Lives Petitions project is exploring approximately 10,000 petitions (and petitioning letters) addressed to magistrates which survive in the... read more »

The Last Speeches of Patrick Carraghar, Nephew to the great Collmore, and Two Arthur Quinns who were Executed on Saturday the 21st of this Instant February... read more »

White's Store Complex, comprises a group of buildings on two adjacent lots. The property is protected under the Tasmanian Historic Cultural Heritage Act... read more »

On this date in 1810, Tyrolean hero Andreas Hofer was shot in Mantua. Andreas Hofer monument at Bergisel, where Hofer fought four battles in 1809. (cc)... read more »

According to an AFP report, 50-year-old music teacher Abdullah Fareivar was hanged on this date in 2009 for “illicit relations” with a 17-year-old... read more »

The Last Speech and Dying Words of Charles Calahar alias Collmore who was Try’d on Tuesday the 17th Inst. Feb. 1718/19 at the Sessions of Dundalk,... read more »

For this month’s brief but quite graphic Corpses Strewn series (pair, really) concerning Irish outlaws who were hanged and cut apart in 1719, we... read more »

The Prince Of Wales Hotel was originally constructed by William Sidebottom in 1836. It was one of the earliest Inns to be constructed in the new township... read more »

Though none of the crowd that thronged Edinburgh’s Grassmarket this day in 1688 could know it, that date’s execution of minister James Renwick... read more »

On this date in 1943, the Milwaukee-born translator and historian Mildred Fish-Harnack was beheaded at Plotzensee Prison — the only American woman... read more »

After last week’s post, and the timely, tragic discovery of a baby’s body in the drains of a Grimsby garden, here as promised is Dymond’s... read more »

On this date in 1926, Weimar Germany beheaded Josef Jakubowski for a murder he did not commit. Though a notorious miscarriage of justice in Germany, it... read more »

This house was built in 1843 to house the medical officers responsible for the outlying probation stations. Later, the officer in charge of the commissariat... read more »

On this date in 1873, John Gaffney hanged in Buffalo — the last of two executions conducted by future U.S. President Grover Cleveland. The man whom... read more »

New York Times, Feb. 14, 1945 59 Are Executed in Bulgaria ISTANBUL, Turkey, Feb. 13 (U.P.) — The People’s Court at Philippopolis, Bulgaria,... read more »

In 1895, it was noted, with concern, that a substantial proportion of the population of Canterbury Prison was made up of repeat offenders. During that... read more »

On this date in 1661, 62-year-old Maeyken de Smet was strangled and burned in Olsene Implicated a sorceress by the last “witch” they tortured... read more »

Iveton is taken, is condemned to death, is refused pardon, is beheaded. This man said and proved that he did not seek anyone’s death, but we, we... read more »

From Robert Jones’s petition, 1792 (TNA HO47/15/32, findmypast.co.uk) Robert Jones was convicted at the Old Bailey in February 1792 of stealing a... read more »

  by Lorraine M. Paterson Map showing the location of French Guiana and Trinidad in relation to each other. In 1923 in the British colony of Trinidad,... read more »

I’m thrilled to announce that my first book, Wayward Women, inspired by this blog, has been published by Pen and Sword books. From child-strippers,... read more »

(Thanks to guest writer Victor Hugo, who having haunted these pages in many a post kindly permits us to republish the open letter he wrote on February... read more »

This fine two storey sandstone mansion was originally constructed for Robert Hutchinson in 1890. Hutchinson was a native of Buckingham, England and had... read more »

Female offenders were nothing if not inventive. The crimes of women in Victorian England could be both ordinary and extraordinary, from child-stripping,... read more »

One year ago today, Chinese billionaire Liu Han was executed in Hubei province, along with his younger brother Liu Wei and thee other associates. One... read more »

English courts during the Bloody Code were strewn with all manner of weird pre-modern juridical relics, among which one must surely number the peine forte... read more »

David Cameron’s call for an urgent review into imprisoning mothers has its precedent in the Victorian crime and insanity debates. In fact, few... read more »

While one might suppose that the plague of school shootings is a strictly recent phenomenon for our degenerated times, Benjamin Ratcliff hanged in Canon... read more »

The George Town Hotel is the oldest continually licensed hotel in George Town. The double storey brick building with its iron lace veranda h is one of... read more »

On this date in 1557,* the long-dead bones of the Protestant theologians Martin Bucer and Paulus Phagius (Fagius) were sent to the stake during the Tudor... read more »

(Thanks to Meaghan Good of the Charley Project for the guest post. -ed.) On this date in 1886, 37-­year­-old Dennis W. Dilda was hanged at the... read more »

This date in 1784 was the last occasion Edinburgh’s Grassmarket hosted a public execution. One of 15 marketplaces in Edinburgh by 15th century royal... read more »