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John Lee is the most infamous Victorian criminal after Jack the Ripper. Found guilty of the murder of his employer, he was sent for execution but three times the trap failed to open. Released from gaol after 23 years, he married, then abandoned his family and disappeared. This text pieces together his story, reviewing and presenting new evidence.
James Berry's book, 'My Experiences as an Executioner,' delves into the dark and morbid world of capital punishment through the eyes of a seasoned executioner. Berry's writing is straightforward and devoid of unnecessary embellishment, reflecting the harsh realities of his profession. The book provides a glimpse into the psychological toll of taking human lives in the name of justice, offering a unique perspective on a controversial practice. Set against the backdrop of a time when public executions were common, Berry's narrative serves as a chilling reminder of the consequences of violence and the cost of administering justice. His stark prose and attention to detail create a haunting accou...
Who was Babbacombe Lee, and what is his final secret? In a backyard junk sale a young American poet finds some vintage recordings of John 'Babbacombe' Lee telling his story; he was known as ' the man they could not hang' throughout England, having survived execution. He claimed he was saved from death because he was innocent of the bloody crime. The poet must escape his own ghosts as he goes questing for the truth about Lee, and before the past can yield up all of its secrets, he must first go back to the original scene of the crime - that mysterious Devonshire beach the locals called Babbicam.
Using contemporary newspaper reports, letters and other documents, this book reveals the story of an horrific murder and the infamous attempts to hang John Lee for the crime. The book has a special focus on the letters of Stephen Bryan, who campaigned not only for the benefit of John Lee, but many others. Tragically, most of his activities have been forgotten, although his reputation lasted a long time after his death at the local level.
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On the night of November 29, 1988, near the impoverished Marlborough neighborhood in south Kansas City, an explosion at a construction site killed six of the city’s firefighters. It was a clear case of arson, and five people from Marlborough were duly convicted of the crime. But for veteran crime writer and crusading editor J. Patrick O’Connor, the facts—or a lack of them—didn’t add up. Justice on Fire is O’Connor’s detailed account of the terrible explosion that led to the firefighters’ deaths and the terrible injustice that followed. Justice on Fire describes a misguided eight-year investigation propelled by an overzealous Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives...
"It was Rebecca's son, Thomas, who first realized the victim's identity. His eyes were drawn to the victim's head, and aided by the flickering light of a candle, he 'clapt his hands and cryed out, Oh Lord, it is my mother.' James Moills, a servant of Cornell... described Rebecca 'lying on the floore, with fire about Her, from her Lower parts neare to the Armepits.' He recognized her only 'by her shoes.'"—from Killed Strangely On a winter's evening in 1673, tragedy descended on the respectable Rhode Island household of Thomas Cornell. His 73-year-old mother, Rebecca, was found close to her bedroom's large fireplace, dead and badly burned. The legal owner of the Cornells' hundred acres along...
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