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Murderous Britain
Murderous Derbyshire
THE people whose stories are told in this volume all had one thing in common. All of them were accused of taking the life of at least one other person, faced a trial for that crime, and were sentenced to hang by the neck until they were dead.
Some, such as John Silk, who beat his mother to death, Percy Atkin, who buried his wife alive, or Albert Burrows, who claimed four lives and threw the bodies down a disused mine shaft, did pay that ultimate penalty. All the others, with one exception, had their death sentences commuted to one of life imprisonment, the exception being Ernest Prince whose murder conviction was quashed on appeal and a manslaughter verdict substituted.
The killers in this book have claimed the lives of spouses, parents, friends and strangers, for motives ranging from anger to jealousy, and old-fashioned greed. Read their stories for yourself and decide if those who died at the end of a rope all deserved that fate, and equally, if all those who escaped that terrible fate, should have done so.
Some, such as John Silk, who beat his mother to death, Percy Atkin, who buried his wife alive, or Albert Burrows, who claimed four lives and threw the bodies down a disused mine shaft, did pay that ultimate penalty. All the others, with one exception, had their death sentences commuted to one of life imprisonment, the exception being Ernest Prince whose murder conviction was quashed on appeal and a manslaughter verdict substituted.
The killers in this book have claimed the lives of spouses, parents, friends and strangers, for motives ranging from anger to jealousy, and old-fashioned greed. Read their stories for yourself and decide if those who died at the end of a rope all deserved that fate, and equally, if all those who escaped that terrible fate, should have done so.
- GenresTrue Crime
208 pages, Hardcover
First published September 20, 1997
4 people want to read
About the author
John J. Eddleston
113 books2 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
John J. Eddleston is an authority on British criminal history and a prolific writer on the subject.
His many books include Murderous Sussex, Murderous Manchester, Blind Justice, Jack the Ripper: An Encyclopedia, The Encyclopedia of Executions, A Century of Welsh Murders and Executions, Manx Killers, Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths in Southampton and Miscarriages of Justice: Famous London Cases.
John J. Eddleston is an authority on British criminal history and a prolific writer on the subject.
His many books include Murderous Sussex, Murderous Manchester, Blind Justice, Jack the Ripper: An Encyclopedia, The Encyclopedia of Executions, A Century of Welsh Murders and Executions, Manx Killers, Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths in Southampton and Miscarriages of Justice: Famous London Cases.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 18, 2014
Just amazes me that the people who often commit tthe crime don't need to be caught as they often hand themselves in, even at the time when it was a death sentence.
Now where the sentence for murder seems to be few years in prison and a telling off the killers go to lengths to away with it.
Now where the sentence for murder seems to be few years in prison and a telling off the killers go to lengths to away with it.
July 3, 2012
A blend of two of my favourite subjects, true crime and history, in this case the history is on my own back doorstep. The closest geographical location of the murders is Ilkeston, about 15 minutes from where I live.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews