Examine individual changes

'{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}} {{Infobox person | name = Albert Pierrepoint | image = Albert-Pierrepoint.jpg | image_size = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date|1905|3|30|df=y}}<ref name=albertdeath>[[General Register Office for England and Wales|GRO]] death index: Albert Pierrepoint, born 30 March 1905, died July 1992, district: Sefton North, reference 37 323.</ref> | birth_place = [[Clayton, West Yorkshire|Clayton]], [[Bradford]],<ref name=northbierley>[http://www.ukbmd.org.uk/genuki/REG/districts/north%20bierley.html North Bierley Registration District], including Clayton. ''[[GENUKI]]''.</ref><ref name=GRObirth1905>[[General Register Office for England and Wales|GRO]] birth index: Albert Pierrepoint; quarter & year: Apr/May/Jun 1905; district: North Bierley; volume: 9b; page: 167.</ref> [[West Riding of Yorkshire]], England | death_date = {{death date and age|1992|7|10|1905|3|30|df=y}}<ref name="albertdeath"/> | death_place = [[Southport]], Merseyside, England | death_cause = | employer = [[Her Majesty's Prison Service|HM Prison Service]] | occupation = [[Executioner]], [[Public House|publican]] | spouse = Annie Pierrepoint, née Fletcher<br />(1905–1998, aged 93)<ref name=annedeath>[[General Register Office for England and Wales|GRO]] death index: Annie Pierrepoint, born 24 April 1905, died October 1998, district: Sefton North, reference 0341B 104.</ref> | parents = [[Henry Pierrepoint|Henry Albert Pierrepoint]] and Mary Pierrepoint (née Buxton) | relatives = Annie Fletcher Pierrepoint (wife); [[Thomas Pierrepoint]] (uncle)}} '''Albert Pierrepoint''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|ɪər|p|ɔɪ|n|t}}; 30 March 1905&nbsp;– 10 July 1992) was a long-serving [[Executioner|hangman]] in England. He executed at least 400 people, including [[William Joyce]] ("[[Lord Haw-Haw]]") and [[John Amery]]. In Germany and Austria, after the [[World War II|Second World War]], he executed some 200 people who had been convicted of war crimes. In England, Pierrepoint hanged [[Timothy Evans]] for a crime committed by his neighbour [[John Christie (murderer)|John Christie]], who was also hanged by Pierrepoint. He was often dubbed the Official Executioner, despite there being no such job or title. In England, executions were the responsibility of the local sheriff; however, instead of officiating themselves, sheriffs used to delegate the job to a person of suitable character who was employed and paid only when required. Pierrepoint continued to work for years in a grocery near Bradford after qualifying as an Assistant Executioner in 1932 and a Chief Executioner in 1941, following in the footsteps of his father and uncle. Following his resignation in 1956, the [[Home Office]] acknowledged Pierrepoint as the most efficient executioner in British history.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Osborne|first1=Hannah|title=50th Anniversary of last execution in Britain|url=http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/50th-anniversary-last-execution-britain-how-hangman-albert-pierrepoint-did-his-job-1460839|accessdate=23 November 2015|agency=IBT|work=International Business Times|date=13 August 2014}}</ref> He subsequently became a pub owner in Lancashire and wrote his memoirs, in which he concluded that capital punishment was not a deterrent. There is no official count of the number of people he executed, which some have estimated at more than 600; the most commonly accepted figure is 435.<ref name=PtLH>{{cite web|title=Pierrepoint - the Last Hangman (2005, UK)|url=http://www.prisonmovies.net/pierrepoint-the-last-hangman-2005-uk|website=Prison Movies|accessdate=23 November 2015|date=12 July 2012}}</ref> ==Early life== [[File:Pierrepoints.jpg|thumb|right|Albert Pierrepoint (standing) with his uncle and fellow executioner, [[Thomas Pierrepoint]]]] Albert Pierrepoint was the middle child and eldest son of [[Henry Pierrepoint|Henry]] and Mary Pierrepoint. He was influenced by the side-occupation (executioner) of his father and uncle [[Thomas Pierrepoint|Thomas]]; as an 11-year-old he wrote, in response to a school "When I grow up&nbsp;..." writing exercise, "When I leave school I should like to be the Official Executioner".<ref>{{Harvnb|Fielding|2008a|p=127}}</ref> He spent his school summer holidays at the home of his uncle and Aunt Lizzie in [[Clayton, West Yorkshire]], his own family having moved to [[Huddersfield]] when Henry ceased to be an executioner, and he became very close to his uncle. While Tom was away on business, his aunt would allow the boy to read the diary Tom kept of his executions. In 1917, at the age of twelve, he began work at the Marlborough Mills in [[Failsworth]], near [[Oldham]], earning six [[shilling]]s a week. Following Henry's death in 1922 he took charge of Henry's papers and diaries, which he studied at length. Towards the end of the 1920s he changed his career, becoming a [[drayman]] for a wholesale grocer, delivering goods ordered through a travelling salesman. In 1930 he learned to drive a car and a [[truck|lorry]] to make his deliveries, earning two pounds five shillings ([[£]]2.25) a week. On 19 April 1931, Pierrepoint wrote to the [[Prison Commission (England and Wales)|Prison Commissioners]] offering his services as an assistant executioner to his uncle, should he or any other executioner retire. Within a few days he received a reply that there were currently no vacancies.<ref>{{Harvnb|Fielding|2008a|p=126}}</ref> ==Career== Lionel Mann, an assistant executioner of five years' experience, resigned in late 1931 when his employers informed him that his sideline was affecting his promotion prospects,<ref name=FieldingbPP175-176>{{Harvnb|Fielding|2008b|pp=175–176}}</ref> and Pierrepoint duly received an official envelope inviting him to an interview at [[HM Prison Manchester|Strangeways Prison]] in Manchester. His mother Mary, having seen many such envelopes in Henry's time as an executioner, was not happy at her son's choice of career. After a week-long course at [[HM Prison Pentonville|Pentonville Prison]] in London, Pierrepoint's name was added to the List of Assistant Executioners on 26 September 1932. At that time, the assistant's fee was 1½ [[Guinea (British coin)|guineas]] (£{{inflation|UK|1.575|1932}} when adjusted for inflation)<ref group=note>At this time in the United Kingdom, those providing professional services{{snd}} such as lawyers, doctors, architects and, apparently, assistant executioners{{snd}} normally charged their fees in guineas rather than pounds, shillings and pence.</ref> per execution, with another 1½ guineas paid two weeks later if his conduct and behaviour were satisfactory. Executioners and their assistants were required to be extremely discreet and to conduct themselves in a respectable manner, especially avoiding contact with the press. There were few executions in Britain in 1932, and the first execution Pierrepoint attended was in [[Mountjoy Prison]], Dublin, on 29 December 1932,<ref>{{Harvnb|Fielding|2008a|pp=137–141}}</ref> when his uncle Thomas was chief executioner at the hanging of Patrick McDermott, a young Irish farmer who had murdered his brother. Thomas engaged his nephew as assistant executioner, even though Pierrepoint had not yet observed a hanging in England and thus, despite being on the Home Office list of approved Assistant Executioners, was not allowed to officiate in England. Pierrepoint's first execution after his promotion (although he still acted as assistant until 1945 at Shepton Mallet) was that of nightclub owner and gangster Antonio "Babe" Mancini, at Pentonville Prison on 17 October 1941; Mancini said "Cheerio!" before the trapdoor was sprung.<ref>{{cite news|last=Milmo|first=Cahal|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/capital-punishment-in-britain-the-hangmans-story-473138.html|title=Capital punishment in Britain: The hangman's story|work=The Independent|date=7 April 2006|accessdate=16 September 2013|location=London, UK}}</ref> On 10 December 1941, Pierrepoint executed German spy [[Karel Richard Richter|Karel Richter]] at [[Wandsworth Prison]]. Writing about the execution in his memoirs, in which he changed Richter's name to Otto Schmidt, Pierrepoint called it a "terrible mess". When Pierrepoint entered the condemned man's cell that morning he saw that something was wrong. Richter should have been sitting at the table with his back to the door. Pierrepoint could then easily approach the man as he stood up and pinion his wrists behind him. Instead, Richter was seated at the table facing the door. As Pierrepoint entered, Richter glowered and clenched his fists. He stood up, threw aside one of the guards and charged headfirst at the stone wall. Stunned momentarily, Richter rose and shook his head. Two guards threw themselves on him, joined by two more from the corridor. After a struggle, Pierrepoint managed to get the leather strap around Richter's wrists. As the guards pulled Richter to his feet, Pierrepoint was called back, for Richter had burst the leather strap from eye-hole to eye-hole and was free again. After another struggle, the strap was wrapped tightly around Richter's wrists. He was brought to the scaffold where a strap was wrapped around his ankles, followed by a cap and noose. Just as Pierrepoint pulled the lever, Richter jumped up with bound feet. As he plummeted through the trap door, Pierrepoint could see that the noose was slipping but it became stuck under Richter's nose. The prison medical officer determined, however, that it was an instantaneous, clean death.<ref>{{Harvnb|Hayward|2013|p=253}}</ref> On 29 August 1943,<ref name="albert+annie">[[General Register Office for England and Wales|GRO]] marriage index: Albert Pierrepoint and Annie Fletcher, quarter & year: Jul–Aug–Sep 1943, district: Manchester, reference: 8d 412.</ref> Pierrepoint married Annie Fletcher, who had run a sweet shop and [[tobacconist]] two doors from the grocery where he worked. They set up home at East Street, [[Newton Heath]], Manchester. At some point, and unknown to Albert, Annie learned of his "other career", but for many months she did not ask him about it, waiting for him to raise the topic. The couple first discussed the matter after he returned from [[Gibraltar]] in January 1944, where he had conducted a double execution. Following the [[World War II|Second World War]], the British occupation authorities conducted a series of trials of [[Nazi concentration camp]] staff, and from the initial [[Belsen Trial]] 11 [[death sentence]]s were handed down in November 1945. It was agreed that Pierrepoint would conduct the executions, and on 11 December he flew to Germany for the first time to execute the 11, plus two other [[German people|Germans]] convicted of murdering an [[RAF]] pilot in the Netherlands in March 1945. Over the next four years, he travelled to Germany and Austria 25 times to execute 200 war criminals. The press discovered his identity and he became a celebrity, hailed as a sort of war hero, meting out justice to the [[Nazis]]. The boost in income provided by the German executions allowed Pierrepoint to leave the grocery business, and he and Annie took over a [[public house|pub]] on [[A62 road|Manchester Road]], [[Hollinwood, Greater Manchester|Hollinwood]], between [[Oldham]] and [[Failsworth]], named Help the Poor Struggler.<ref name="Albert Pierrepoint, Groves & Whitnall Licensee">{{cite web|url=http://britishbottleforum.co.uk/grovesandwhitnall/relatedpages/pierrepoint.html|accessdate=2014-09-12 |title=Albert Pierrepoint, Groves & Whitnall Licensee |publisher=britishbottleforum.co.uk}}</ref> He later moved to another pub, the Rose and Crown at [[Much Hoole]], near [[Preston, Lancashire|Preston]]. ==Resignation== Pierrepoint resigned in 1956, over a disagreement with the [[Home Office]] about his fees. In January 1956, he had gone to [[Strangeways]] Prison, [[Manchester]], to [[officiate]] at the execution of Thomas Bancroft, who was [[Clemency#Related concepts|reprieved]] less than 12 hours before his scheduled execution, when Pierrepoint was already present making his preparations{{snd}} the first time in his career that this had happened in England. He claimed his full fee of £15 (£{{inflation|UK|15|1956}} when adjusted for inflation) <!-- Fielding says £25 -->but the under-sheriff of [[Lancashire]] offered only £1 (£{{inflation|UK|1|1956}}), as the rule in England was that the executioner was paid only for executions carried out{{snd}} in Scotland he would have been paid in full. Pierrepoint appealed to his employers, the Prison Commission, who refused to get involved. The under-sheriff sent him a cheque for £4 in full and final settlement of his incidental travel and hotel expenses, as he had been unable to return home that day because of heavy snow. The official story is that Pierrepoint's pride in his position as Britain's Chief Executioner was insulted, and he resigned. There is, however, evidence that Pierrepoint had already decided to resign, and had previously been in discussion with the editor of the ''[[Empire News|Empire News and Sunday Chronicle]]'' for a series called "The Hangman's Own Story", revealing the last moments of many of the notorious criminals he executed, for "a fee believed to be in [2008] money the equivalent of £500,000".<ref>{{Harvnb|Fielding|2008a|p=272}}</ref> He was the only executioner in British history whose notice of resignation prompted the Home Office to write to him asking him to reconsider, such was the reputation he had established as the most efficient and swiftest executioner in British history. On learning of the proposed newspaper series, the [[Home Office]] considered prosecuting Pierrepoint under the [[Official Secrets Act]] before deciding it would be counterproductive; they applied pressure upon the newspaper publishers and as a consequence the series was eventually terminated.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Milmo|first1=Cahal|title=The real story of Britain's most famous hangman|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/the-real-story-of-britains-most-famous-hangman-1643092.html|accessdate=23 November 2015|work=The Independent|date=22 October 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Walsh|first1=Robert|title=The Brits who fought for Hitler|url=http://sabotagetimes.com/life/the-brits-who-fought-for-hitler|website=The Sabotage Times|accessdate=23 November 2015|date=5 November 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Fielding|2008a|p=274}}</ref> Albert and Annie Pierrepoint retired to the seaside town of [[Southport]], where he died on 10 July 1992, in a nursing home where he had lived for the last four years of his life.<ref>{{cite web|author1=Probate Service|title=Wills and Probate 1858–1996|url=https://probatesearch.service.gov.uk/Calendar?surname=pierrepoint&yearOfDeath=1992#calendar|website=Find a will|publisher=GOV.UK|accessdate=6 July 2016|quote=PIERREPOINT, Albert of 1 Westbourne Rd Southport died 10 July 1992 Probate Liverpool 7 September [1992] Not exceeding £125000.}}</ref> ==Legacy== It is believed that Pierrepoint executed at least 433 men and 17 women, including six US soldiers at [[Shepton Mallet (HM Prison)|Shepton Mallet]] and some 200 [[Nazi Germany|Nazi]] [[war crime|war criminals]] after the [[Second World War]]. In his autobiography, he wrote that he specified the number of his executions in evidence to the Royal Commission on Capital Punishment of 1949, but requested that it should appear in the printed report only as "some hundreds." A figure of 608 people was given in the credits at the end of the film ''[[Pierrepoint (film)|Pierrepoint]]'' (2005), without reference.<ref name="PtLH"/> Steve Fielding lists (in Appendix 2 of his book<ref>{{Harvnb|Fielding|2008a|pp=285–303}}</ref>) 435 executions performed by Albert Pierrepoint, a list for which he claims to have examined the Prison Execution Books (National Archives LPC4) for the majority of prisons in Great Britain, and which includes the German executions. These carry all details on hangmen and assistants. In the absence of an official number, Fielding's total appears to be the best available figure. Because of the film's North American release title ''Pierrepoint: The Last Hangman'', Albert Pierrepoint is often referred to as Britain's last hangman, but this is incorrect. The last executions in Britain took place on 13 August 1964, when [[Gwynne Owen Evans]] was hanged at 8.00&nbsp;am at [[Strangeways Prison]] by [[Harry Allen (executioner)|Harry Allen]] with his assistant Royston Rickard, while [[Peter Anthony Allen]] was hanged simultaneously at [[Liverpool (HM Prison)|Walton Prison]], Liverpool by [[Robert Leslie Stewart]] with his assistant Harry Robinson, both for the murder in a robbery of [[John Alan West]]. Pierrepoint has also been incorrectly called the last official Chief Hangman for the United Kingdom (and, for a time, the unofficial one for the [[Republic of Ireland]], along with his uncle, Thomas). However, the United Kingdom has never had an Official Executioner, as right up until 1964 all such appointments were made by the Sheriff of the county in which the crime had taken place. After 1900 the Sheriffs would hire only men on the Home Office list, but the lists do not refer to "Chiefs" or "Assistants", merely that they were "competent" for the Office of Executioner or Assistant; therefore, [[Stephen Wade (executioner)|Stephen Wade]] was nearly always chosen as the principal for Leeds and Durham prisons, even after Pierrepoint was well established throughout the rest of the country. Legally, the status of hangman was a position "unknown to the law", as the execution was officially carried out by the Sheriff, who after 1800 would always delegate it to the hangman. ==Media adaptations== ===In film=== * He is portrayed (briefly) by [[Edwin Brown (actor)|Edwin Brown]] executing [[Timothy Evans]] (as played by [[John Hurt]]) in the 1971 film ''[[10 Rillington Place]]''. Pierrepoint served as an uncredited technical advisor on this film, to ensure the authenticity of the hanging scene.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/3094270/10-Rillington-Place.html |title=10 Rillington Place |publisher=TCM |accessdate=22 January 2014 }}{{dead link|date=October 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> * In the 1991 film ''[[Let Him Have It]]'', Pierrepoint is very briefly played by [[Clive Revill]] executing [[Derek Bentley case|Derek Bentley]] ([[Christopher Eccleston]]). * [[Timothy Spall]] played him in ''[[Pierrepoint (film)|Pierrepoint]]'' (2005; US: ''Pierrepoint: The Last Hangman''). ===In literature and publications=== * ''Murder at Wrotham Hill'' (2012), [[Diana Souhami]]'s account of the 1946 murder of Dagmar Petrzywalski, includes Pierrepoint, contrasting his role as executioner of Petrzywalski's murderer with his work hanging Nazi war criminals in the same period. * The short story "Tish and Tosh's Curtain Call", from the collection ''The Night Chicago Died'' by Tom Wessex, deals with Pierrepoint's discomfort as he recalls executing [[James Corbitt]]. ===In music=== Pierrepoint is referenced indirectly in the song "Let Him Dangle" by Elvis Costello on his album ''[[Spike (Elvis Costello album)|Spike]]''. The line "As the hangman shook Bentley's hand to calculate his weight", implies that Pierrepoint could work out his victim's weight (and therefore the force needed to hang him) just by shaking his hand. In addition, the British band Hotel Lux, based in Portsmouth, wrote the song "The Last Hangman" as a ode to him, in which they continually reference his executions and work. <ref>{{cite web|last1=Santino|first1=Robbie|title=Try living with the guilt of executing 400 people – Albert Pierrepoint did, and Hotel Lux’s new track is about it|url=https://www.loudandquiet.com/listening-post/try-living-guilt-executing-400-people-albert-pierrepoint-hotel-luxs-new-track/|website=Loud and Quiet|accessdate=8 January 2018}}</ref> ===Onstage=== * The story of Albert Pierrepoint and the execution of [[Ruth Ellis]] are retold in the stage play ''Follow Me'', written by Ross Gurney-Randall and Dave Mounfield and directed by Guy Masterson. It premiered at the [[Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh]] at the [[2007 Edinburgh Festival Fringe]].<ref>{{cite web|title=THE LAST WOMAN TO BE HANGED IN ENGLAND – RUTH ELLIS 13 JULY 1955 |url=https://crimethroughtimecollection.wordpress.com/2014/07/14/the-last-woman-to-be-hanged-in-england-ruth-ellis-13th-july-1955/ |website=Crime Through Time |accessdate=23 November 2015 |date=14 July 2014 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20151125024842/https://crimethroughtimecollection.wordpress.com/2014/07/14/the-last-woman-to-be-hanged-in-england-ruth-ellis-13th-july-1955/ |archivedate=25 November 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Gardner|first1=Lyn|title=Follow Me - Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh|url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2007/aug/13/theatre.edinburghfestival20076|accessdate=23 November 2015|work=The Guardian|date=13 August 2007}}</ref> * ''The Hangman's Tale'', a play by the Café Society and starring Martin Oldfield, debuted at the Fringe in Edinburgh in July 2012.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Rudden|first1=Liam|title=Spotlight on: Pierrepoint - The Hangman’s Tale|url=http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/culture/theatre/spotlight-on-pierrepoint-the-hangman-s-tale-win-a-three-month-premium-spotify-package-1-2394992|accessdate=23 November 2015|work=The Scotsman|date=5 July 2012}}</ref> * A characterisation of Pierrepoint also appears in Martin McDonagh's play ''Hangmen'', which follows the fictional second-best executioner in England, Harry Wade, after the abolition of capital punishment. ===In television=== * In November 2006, a documentary ''Executioner Pierrepoint'' aired on the [[Crime and Investigation Network]]. The film examines Albert Pierrepoint's life and delves into the psyche of the man himself. It is regularly shown on both the Crime and Investigation Network and the [[History (U.S. TV channel)|History Channel]] in the UK and other countries. ==Notable executions== ===Second World War=== * A total of 202 German [[war criminal]]s executed between 1945 and 1949, following a series of war trials e.g. the [[Hamburg Ravensbrück Trials]] (16 executions between 1947 and 1949) and the [[Stalag Luft III murders|Stalag Luft III murder trials]], which resulted in 13 executions on 27 February 1948. The list of condemned includes [[Juana Bormann]] (Auschwitz); [[Irma Grese]], the youngest concentration camp guard to be executed for crimes at [[Bergen-Belsen concentration camp]] and [[Auschwitz]] (aged 22); and [[Elisabeth Volkenrath]] (Bergen-Belsen and Auschwitz); plus another ten men including [[Josef Kramer]] (Camp Commandant at Belsen) and [[Fritz Klein (Nazi)|Fritz Klein]], plus Georg Otto Sandrock and Ludwig Schweinberger, who had both been condemned for murdering [[Pilot Officer]] Gerald Hood of the [[RAF]]<ref>http://www.lancaster-lm658.co.uk/the-hood-story/#.U3McDnZLpVI</ref><ref>http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2820357/HOOD,%20GERALD</ref> (while Hood was a [[Prisoner of War|POW]]) at [[Almelo]], [[Netherlands]], on 21 March 1945. Of the 13, 11 were condemned at the [[Belsen Trial]] and two others (Sandrock and Schweinberger) at a separate trial in Almelo. All were subsequently executed on the [[gallows]] in a purpose-built room at [[Hamelin]] Prison on 13 December 1945 at roughly half-hour intervals. The women were hanged individually, the men in pairs. The first execution started at 9.34&nbsp;am and the last was completed by 4.17&nbsp;pm. Executing a large number of war criminals in a single day was not unusual for Pierrepoint. For example, he performed the following eleven executions at Hamelin Prison on 8 October 1946,<ref>[http://www.axishistory.com/index.php?id=360 Axishistory.com]</ref> which resulted from the [[Neuengamme concentration camp|Neuengamme War Crimes Trial]] earlier the same year: * Adolf Speck * [[Alfred Trzebinski]] * Andreas Brems * [[Anton Thumann]] * Bruno Kitt * Heinrich Ruge * Johann Reese * [[Max Pauly]] * Wilhelm Dreimann * Wilhem Bahr * Willy Warnke ===Others=== * [[Gordon Cummins]], the "Blackout Ripper": Executed at [[Wandsworth (HM Prison)|Wandsworth Prison]] on 25 June 1942. * [[August Sangret]], the "Wigwam Murderer": Also executed at Wandsworth Prison on 29 April 1943.<ref>[http://www.britishexecutions.co.uk/execution-content.php?key=654 britishexecutions.co.uk]</ref> * [[John Amery]], son of wartime [[Secretary of State for India]] [[Leopold Stennett Amery|Leopold Amery]], and the first person to plead guilty to [[treason]] in an English court since [[Summerset Fox]] in May 1654. He was described by Pierrepoint as "the bravest man I ever hanged". According to the official prison record of the execution, later released and now stored in the National Archives, Amery greeted his executioner with the words "Oh! Pierrepoint", but the executioner took the proffered hand only to put the pinioning strap on, making no reply. However, this account is disputed, as Pierrepoint himself later stated in interview that the two men spoke at length and he felt that he had known Amery "all his life", and there is a story that Amery greeted Pierrepoint with, "Mr. Pierrepoint, I've always wanted to meet you. Though not, of course, under these circumstances!" Hanged at [[Wandsworth (HM Prison)|Wandsworth Prison]], London, 19 December 1945.<ref>{{Harvnb|Fielding|2008a|pp=193–194}}</ref> * "[[Lord Haw-Haw]]", [[William Joyce]], convicted as a traitor and executed at Wandsworth, 3 January 1946. * [[Bruno Tesch (chemist)|Bruno Tesch]], co-inventor of the insecticide [[Zyklon B]] used in the [[Holocaust]]. Convicted of the crime of complicity in the murder of interned allied civilians by means of poison gas by a British military tribunal at the Curiohaus in [[Rotherbaum]], Hamburg. Executed on 16 May 1946 in Hamelin Prison. * [[Neville Heath]], the "Lady killer" executed at Pentonville on 16 October 1946. * [[John George Haigh]], the "Acid-bath murderer" executed at Wandsworth on 10 August 1949. * [[Timothy John Evans]], hanged at [[HM Prison Pentonville|Pentonville Prison]] on 9 March 1950 for the murder of his daughter (he was also suspected of having murdered his wife). Timothy Evans received a posthumous pardon in 1966 for the murder of his daughter. It was subsequently discovered that the perpetrator was Evans' neighbour, [[John Reginald Christie]], who turned out to be a [[serial killer]]. He was executed by Pierrepoint on 15 July 1953 at Pentonville. This wrongful execution is acknowledged as a major miscarriage of justice and was a contributing factor for the suspension of the death penalty in Britain in 1965 and its eventual abolition. * [[James Inglis]], on 8 May 1951, the fastest hanging on record{{snd}} a total of seven seconds elapsed from the time that Inglis left the Condemned Cell. * [[Derek Bentley]], executed at Wandsworth on 28 January 1953 for his part in the death of Police Constable Sidney Miles. The execution was carried out despite pleas for clemency by large numbers of people, including 200 members of parliament, the widow of Miles, and the jury's recommendation in the trial. After a 45-year-long campaign, Bentley received a posthumous [[pardon]] in July 1998, when the Court of Appeal ruled that Bentley's conviction was "unsafe" and quashed it. An article written by Pierrepoint for ''[[The Guardian]]'', but withheld until the pardon was granted, dispelled the myth that Bentley had cried on his way to the scaffold. To the last, he believed he would be reprieved. * [[Michael Manning (carter)|Michael Manning]], Irish rapist and murderer, last person to be executed in the [[Republic of Ireland]], and one of four condemned men the Irish government had hired Pierrepoint to execute after having failed to train its own hangman. Executed at [[Mountjoy Prison]] in Dublin on 20 April 1954.<ref>[http://crime.ie/20121016/irelands-last-execution/ Ireland's Last Execution] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140525221223/http://crime.ie/20121016/irelands-last-execution/ |date=25 May 2014 }}</ref> * [[Ruth Ellis]], the last woman to be executed in Britain, for the murder of her lover. Executed at [[Holloway Prison]] on 13 July 1955. Pierrepoint had no regrets about her execution; it was one of the few times he spoke publicly about one of his charges and he made it clear he felt she deserved no less.<ref>Howse, G., [https://books.google.com/books?id=UIZiBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA128&dq=Albert+Pierrepoint+ellis&hl=en&sa=X&ei=QDCDVeGvH83Y7AbKq5DgDQ&ved=0CCcQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=Albert%20Pierrepoint%20ellis&f=false ''Murder and Mayhem in North London''], Wharncliffe, 2010, ch. 8.</ref> * [[Charlie Kerins]], Chief of Staff of the [[Irish Republican Army (1922–69)|Irish Republican Army]], for the murder of [[Garda Síochána]] policeman [[Denis O'Brien (police officer)|Dennis O'Brien]]. ==Views on capital punishment== Pierrepoint allegedly became an opponent of [[capital punishment in the United Kingdom|capital punishment]]. The reason for this seems to be a combination of the experiences of his father, his uncle, and himself, whereupon reprieves were granted in accordance with political expediency or public fancy, and had little to do with the merits of the case in question. He had also hanged a slight acquaintance, [[James Corbitt]], on 28 November 1950; Corbitt was a regular in his pub, and had sung "[[Danny Boy]]" as a duet with Pierrepoint on the night he murdered his girlfriend in a fit of jealousy because she would not give up a second boyfriend. This incident, in particular, made Pierrepoint feel that hanging was no deterrent, particularly when most of the people he was executing had killed in the heat of the moment rather than with premeditation or in furtherance of a robbery. Pierrepoint kept his opinions to himself on the topic until his 1974 autobiography, ''Executioner: Pierrepoint'', in which he wrote: {{quote|text=It is said to be a deterrent. I cannot agree. There have been murders since the beginning of time, and we shall go on looking for deterrents until the end of time. If death were a deterrent, I might be expected to know. It is I who have faced them last, young men and girls, working men, grandmothers. I have been amazed to see the courage with which they take that walk into the unknown. It did not deter them then, and it had not deterred them when they committed what they were convicted for. All the men and women whom I have faced at that final moment convince me that in what I have done I have not prevented a single murder.<ref>Welham, Mike (2012). ''Crime Pays: Reflections from the Front Line of Criminal Justice''. Troubador Publishing Ltd, p. 161. {{ISBN|1-78088-001-4}}</ref>}} However, Pierrepoint's opinion with regard to capital punishment remains controversial and the subject of debate, mostly due to a 1976 interview with [[BBC Radio Merseyside]], in which the former executioner expresses his uncertainty towards the sentence, and reminds the interviewer that, when the autobiography was originally written, "things were going steady." In addition, he states "Oh, I could go again", when describing his reaction to particularly vile murder cases.<ref>{{cite news|title=A grisly Family Tradition|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/nottingham/content/articles/2008/11/19/pierrepoint_grisly_family_tradition_feature.shtml|accessdate=23 November 2015|publisher=BBC|date=20 November 2008}}</ref> Pierrepoint's position as an abolitionist and capital punishment opponent has also been attacked by his long-time former assistant, [[Syd Dernley]], in his 1989 autobiography ''The Hangman's Tale'': {{quote|text=Even the great Pierrepoint developed some strange ideas in the end. I do not think I will ever get over the shock of reading in his autobiography, many years ago, that like the Victorian executioner [[James Berry (executioner)|James Berry]] before him, he had turned against capital punishment and now believed that none of the executions he had carried out had achieved anything! This from the man who proudly told me that he had done more jobs than any other executioner in English history. I just could not believe it. When you have hanged more than 680 people, it's a hell of a time to find out you do not believe capital punishment achieves anything!}} Pierrepoint biographer Steve Fielding took a similar view when interviewed for the 2003 Alba Productions documentary ''The Executioners'', stating that he believed it was used only as a "good line to sell the book." Albert's father Henry was never officially "dismissed" nor was his uncle Thomas "retired"; rather, their names were removed from the list of executioners and invitations to conduct executions ceased to arrive. Albert formally demanded that his name be removed from the list, thus he "resigned". ==Statistics== :''See: [[Locations of executions conducted by Albert Pierrepoint]]'' ==Notes== {{reflist|group=note}} ==References== {{Reflist|30em}} ==Bibliography== {{refbegin}} * {{citation |title=Pierrepoint: A Family of Executioners |last=Fielding |first=Steve |year=2008a |publisher=John Blake Publishing Ltd |isbn=978-1-84454-611-4}} * {{citation |last=Fielding |first=Steve |title=The Executioner's Bible: The Story of Every British Hangman of the Twentieth Century |year=2008b| publisher=John Blake Publishing |isbn=978-1-84454-648-0}} * {{citation |last=Hayward |first=James |title=Double Agent Snow: The True Story of Arthur Owens, Hitler's Chief Spy in England |year=2013 |publisher=Simon and Schuster UK Ltd |isbn=978-0-85720-854-5}} * {{citation |title=A Very English Hangman: The Life and Times of Albert Pierrepoint |last=Klein |first=Leonora |year=2006 |publisher=Corvo Books Ltd |isbn=0-9543255-6-7}} {{refend}} ==See also== * [[List of executioners]] ==Further reading== * Albert Pierrepoint, ''Executioner: Pierrepoint'', (2005). Dobby, {{ISBN|1-85882-061-8}} (Reprint of the 1974 Harrap edition {{ISBN|0-245-52070-8}}). * Leonora Klein, ''A Very English Hangman: The Life and Times of Albert Pierrepoint'', (2006). Corvo Books Ltd, {{ISBN|0-9543255-6-7}}. * Tommy Jonason & Simon Olsson, ''Agent TATE: The Wartime Story of Harry Williamson'', (2011). Amberley Publishing, {{ISBN|1-4456-0481-7}}. ==External links== * {{IMDb name|2114743}} * [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5035690.stm BBC story on the qualities needed of an executioner] * [http://www.bbc.co.uk/liverpool/content/articles/2006/04/27/pierrepoint_lasthangman_feature.shtml Quotes from Albert Pierrepoint in the 1970s] (BBC) * [http://www.bbc.co.uk/liverpool/realmedia/features/pierrepoint.ram BBC radio interview with Albert Pierrepoint] (25 minutes, Real Audio) * [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/hangman-nearly-killed-assistant-by-mistake-480589.html "Hangman 'nearly killed assistant by mistake'"] ''[[The Independent]]'' article on Thomas Pierrepoint, 1 June 2006 * [http://shootingpeople.org/watch/film.php?film_id=43269 'Hanging With Frank' (video showing UK execution protocol at the old gallows in [[HMP Barlinnie])] {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Pierrepoint, Albert}} [[Category:Albert Pierrepoint| ]] [[Category:English executioners]] [[Category:People from Clayton, West Yorkshire]] [[Category:1905 births]] [[Category:1992 deaths]] [[Category:British publicans]]'