Crime and Punishment

In 1841 Joseph Misters, a 25 year old from Birmingham, was found guilty of attempted murder and sentenced to be hung. The crime took place seven months earlier in Ludlow where Misters had attempted to slit the throat of John Ludlow. Ludlow was a cattle salesman whose business meant that he often carried large sums of money with him.

Misters had been following Ludlow for some time and planned to murder him in the Angel Inn at Ludlow. John Ludlow always stayed in the same rooms when visiting the Angel and Misters was aware of this. On the night of the 19th August 1840 he hid in Ludlow's usual room and waited until he was asleep before attempting to murder him.

Unfortunately for Misters, Ludlow did not sleep in his usual room that night, which was instead occupied by William Mackreth, another travelling businessman. In the early hours of the morning Ludlow used a cut throat razor to try and slit Mackreth's throat, but failed when Mackreth felt the razor at his throat and leaped out of bed. Despite his quick reactions Mackreth's throat and face had been severely cut.

At first, it was thought that Mackreth had tried to take his own life. Thanks to his injuries he was unable to speak, but he used a piece of paper to indicate that he had been the victim of attempted murder.

Misters was apprehended the same night. Throughout his trial he proclaimed his innocence and seemed convinced that he would not be found guilty. He even planned to travel to Peru upon his release. However, the evidence against Misters was too strong. The dust underneath Mackreth's bed had been disturbed in such a way as to suggest that someone had been hiding there. Also, although no one had witnessed Misters leaving the room, blood stains were found leading directly to Misters' own room where bloodstained clothing was found. Finally, the suspected murder weapon, a black handled cut throat razor, matched a set of razors found in Misters' Birmingham home. One razor was missing from this set. It was good detective work that helped convict Joseph Misters. 

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A newspaper report from the time tells how Misters was crushed when he was found guilty and that "when his scattered senses returned...he saw the dignified and inflexible features of his harbinger of punishment and woe; and behind arose, in dim perspective - the gallows, darkness, and death!" Joseph Misters was executed in front of Salop County Prison.