issued threats adding he would ‘do’ for one of them. On 12 November, four of the poachers were walking home when Jeffries passed them. As they reached the alleyway close to Jeffries’ home they found him standing with his wife. As they passed, Barkersaid, ‘Good night, Arthur’, but instead of returning the greeting, his friend swore at him and then a fight broke out. They stumbled into the alley, where Barker fell to the ground, a stab wound in his side. He was carried to a friend’s house, but died within minutes.
Unfortunately for the accused, the trial judge was Mr Justice Grantham, a country squire with a hatred of poachers. His summing up sided heavily with the prosecution and the jury needed just a few minutes to find Jeffries guilty of murder. On the morning of his execution, he walked firmly to the gallows. His last words were, ‘Lord, receive my spirit.’
1905 to be a pivotal year for Harry Pierrepoint. On 28 February 1905, a week before the birth of his son Albert, he travelled down to Wandsworth to assist John Billington in the execution of Edward Harrison, a brutal bully who had slit the throat of his married daughter when she refused to reveal the whereabouts of his wife after she had left him. Hanged barely a month after committing the crime, Harrison’s last words on the drop were, ‘I did it!’
Two months later it was back to London again, this time to Pentonville, where again he assisted John Billington. John was now the only member of the Billington family officially on the list, with William having had to retire following personal problems and trouble with the courts. However, he did carry out one last job: he travelled to Cork to hang a former policeman for the murder of an American soldier. John Billington was offered the engagement but he had already accepted the Pentonville job, as had Harry Pierrepoint. The only other man on the list at the time was John Ellis and he had yet to carry out an execution as a number one. The authorities therefore decided to ask Williamto come out of his retirement for one last execution and, accompanied by Ellis, he carried out the execution on the same morning that Harry and John Billington travelled down by train to Pentonville.
The man they were to execute in London was Alfred Bridgeman, a former soldier who had been convicted of the murder of his fiancée’s mother. Bridgeman and his fiancée had broken off their engagement at Christmas 1904, but they remained friends. He was not, however, on good terms with her mother and while very drunk he called at her house, battered her with a poker then cut her throat. Bridgeman was executed less than eight weeks after committing the crime he had been condemned to die for.
When Harry travelled again down to London in May, he was about to come face to face with a pair of criminals whose names would pass into infamy as the first men convicted on fingerprint evidence in an English court.
William Jones arrived for work at a Deptford hardware store one morning in March, and was surprised to find the door locked. Gaining entry through a window he discovered the battered bodies of the proprietors Thomas Farrow and his wife Ann. Thomas lay dead in the parlour of the shop, while his wife Ann lay upstairs in bed. She had also been badly beaten but was still alive at the time, though she was to die four days later. Both had been battered with a piece of rope with a lead ball attached to it.
A cash box had been forced open and its contents, over £10 in coins, had been taken. Importantly, a clear, bloody fingerprint was found on one side of the box. Although fingerprint technology was still in the early stages of development, police knew if they could match the print, they would find their killer. Witnesses came forward to say they had seen a pair of local thieves, the Stratton brothers, on themorning of the murder; Alfred, the older of the brothers, had seemed to be hiding something under his coat. He was picked up in
Unfortunately for the accused, the trial judge was Mr Justice Grantham, a country squire with a hatred of poachers. His summing up sided heavily with the prosecution and the jury needed just a few minutes to find Jeffries guilty of murder. On the morning of his execution, he walked firmly to the gallows. His last words were, ‘Lord, receive my spirit.’
1905 to be a pivotal year for Harry Pierrepoint. On 28 February 1905, a week before the birth of his son Albert, he travelled down to Wandsworth to assist John Billington in the execution of Edward Harrison, a brutal bully who had slit the throat of his married daughter when she refused to reveal the whereabouts of his wife after she had left him. Hanged barely a month after committing the crime, Harrison’s last words on the drop were, ‘I did it!’
Two months later it was back to London again, this time to Pentonville, where again he assisted John Billington. John was now the only member of the Billington family officially on the list, with William having had to retire following personal problems and trouble with the courts. However, he did carry out one last job: he travelled to Cork to hang a former policeman for the murder of an American soldier. John Billington was offered the engagement but he had already accepted the Pentonville job, as had Harry Pierrepoint. The only other man on the list at the time was John Ellis and he had yet to carry out an execution as a number one. The authorities therefore decided to ask Williamto come out of his retirement for one last execution and, accompanied by Ellis, he carried out the execution on the same morning that Harry and John Billington travelled down by train to Pentonville.
The man they were to execute in London was Alfred Bridgeman, a former soldier who had been convicted of the murder of his fiancée’s mother. Bridgeman and his fiancée had broken off their engagement at Christmas 1904, but they remained friends. He was not, however, on good terms with her mother and while very drunk he called at her house, battered her with a poker then cut her throat. Bridgeman was executed less than eight weeks after committing the crime he had been condemned to die for.
When Harry travelled again down to London in May, he was about to come face to face with a pair of criminals whose names would pass into infamy as the first men convicted on fingerprint evidence in an English court.
William Jones arrived for work at a Deptford hardware store one morning in March, and was surprised to find the door locked. Gaining entry through a window he discovered the battered bodies of the proprietors Thomas Farrow and his wife Ann. Thomas lay dead in the parlour of the shop, while his wife Ann lay upstairs in bed. She had also been badly beaten but was still alive at the time, though she was to die four days later. Both had been battered with a piece of rope with a lead ball attached to it.
A cash box had been forced open and its contents, over £10 in coins, had been taken. Importantly, a clear, bloody fingerprint was found on one side of the box. Although fingerprint technology was still in the early stages of development, police knew if they could match the print, they would find their killer. Witnesses came forward to say they had seen a pair of local thieves, the Stratton brothers, on themorning of the murder; Alfred, the older of the brothers, had seemed to be hiding something under his coat. He was picked up in
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