Crime and Punishment

Public Executions

During the early 1800s various crimes were punishable by death. These ranged from murder and rape to shop lifting. A good example of an execution in Shropshire can be seen by looking at the case of Joseph Misters.

Executions were originally carried out in public, often at the place where the crime was committed. However, this was not always the case. In Shrewsbury, executions were carried out either at Old Heath or in front of The Salop Prison.

Public executions were intended to work as a deterrent to would-be criminals and also to demonstrate the power of the state. Unfortunately they actually attracted petty criminals, particularly pickpockets, and became more of a spectator sport watched by large groups of people of all ages.

After "The Capital Punishment Within Prisons Act" of 1868 executions were no longer carried out in public and instead took place within the county prison.

Penny Dreadfuls

Executions provided people with money making opportunities, such as the sellers of 'penny dreadfuls'. These were a single sheet of paper with a dramatised account of the crimes committed by the condemned. They usually included an execution scene. Many of these accounts were printed in Shrewsbury by Waidson, the printers who were based in Doglane, which is now known as Claremont Street.

An example of a penny dreadful can be seen here. It tells how John Richards stole eight fat sheep from a farmer called John Wilson. He was later arrested for this crime whilst in bed with his wife. He had been married for just five days. After being found guilty he was executed at Shrewsbury. The fact that public executions were watched by large numbers of people can also be seen by looking at this account. It mentions that Richards was hung at around midday "in presence of a vast multitude of spectators".

Hanging

Hanging was the method used to execute prisoners. Up until the mid 1800s the "short drop" method was used in Britain, with prisoners being released by a trap mechanism built into the gallows.  This method usually led to death by strangulation and could take some time. For this reason, the "long drop" was introduced in Britain from 1874 onwards, to provide prisoners with a more humane death.

The long drop method was designed to break the prisoners' neck by calculating the length of drop in relation to their body weight. The heavier the prisoner, the shorter the rope. It took less than a second for a person to reach the end of the drop after the trap opened. The force produced by the prisoner's body weight multiplied by the length of fall and the position of the noose was designed to cause a rapid death.

Dissection

After death, the bodies of prisoners were often used to further the understanding of medical science. This tradition can be traced back to the reign of Henry VIII, but was cemented in 1752 with the passing of the Murder Act. This made the dissection of murderers bodies compulsory. During the nineteenth century many people believed that there was a 'criminal class' and it was hoped that dissection could lead to a better understanding of the criminal mind. The Murder Act remained in effect until 1834.