Monday, 14 September 2026

Beheaded in Denmark

  In Denmark beheading with an axe was the traditional method of execution. The last person in Denmark to be beheaded with an axe was Jens Nielsen in 1892. The guillotine was never used in Denmark but it was used just once in Sweden, in 1910.


Sunday, 13 September 2026

True Crime Trivia

 I wrote another article. It's called True Crime Trivia.

Fingerprints

 On 13 September 1902 a burglar named Harry Jackson became the first person in Britain to be convicted by fingerprint evidence. He left a his prints on a freshly painted windowsill. Jackson was sentenced to 7 years in prison.

Thursday, 10 September 2026

DNA

 On 10 September 1984 Alec Jeffreys discovered DNA fingerprinting. It has proved to be a vital tool for law enforcement. Colin Pitchfork was the first murderer caught by the new technology.

The last person guillotined

 On 10 September 1977, Hamida Djandoubi became the last person in France to be guillotined. The French abolished capital punishment in 1981.


Saturday, 5 September 2026

In 1885 a journalist bought a girl

 In London, in 1885 a journalist called W T Stead purchased a 13-year-old girl from a woman for prostitution. (At that time the age of consent was 13). The girl’s mother sold her for 5 pounds (several weeks' wages for many people). The buyer made it clear that the child must be ‘pure’ i.e. a virgin. But Stead took the girl to safety in France. Stead then wrote about it to show how easy it was to buy a child. Partly as a result, the age of consent was raised to 16.