Jean Lee -
The last woman to hang in Australia
 
She was heavily sedated as she shuffled under escort to a double cell near the gallows.
Sheriff William Daly was required to read the death warrant to her. But she collapsed on seeing the hangman and his assistant - both goggled and wearing felt hats - a strange Australian practice. A doctor examined her and found she was unconscious. However the execution had to proceed so Daly continued to read out the details of her conviction and sentence  although she would not have heard a word of it - if she had, she would have spotted a mistake (the date on which she had been sentenced)

Because of her state of collapse, the executioner pinioned her arms in front of rather than behind her back as was normal. His assistant then pinioned her legs with a strap whilst he put the white hood on her head and they carried her from the cell the few yards to the gallows, where she had to be placed on a chair on the trap. Her head drooped to her chest and the executioner had to pull it back in order to adjust the noose correctly.

The flap of the hood which was to cover her face had been left open. At a signal from the sheriff the executioner dropped the flap to obscure her face, stood back from the trap and pulled the lever.
The trap fell and both she and the chair plummeted through. The chair had been secured to the gallows by a cord and although it fell with her the two parted company at the end of the drop leaving her suspended normally.

Aus Richard Clarks "A brief history of Hanging in Britain"

Zurück

Hosted by www.Geocities.ws

1