The pillory was a wooden frame on a pole with holes through which a person’s head and hands were placed. The frame was then locked, and the person was subjected to humiliation. The stocks were a wooden frame with holes through which a person’s feet were placed, and they were humiliated in the same way.
The use of the pillory and stocks went out of favour in the 19th century. The pillory was abolished in Britain in 1837, and the stocks were last used in 1872.
On 3 November 1783 a highwayman named John Austin became the last person to be hanged at Tyburn, London.
On 30 October 1935 Allan Grierson aged 29 was hanged in London for the murder of a 63 year old woman named Louise Bertha Gann. He beat her with a flat iron in a London flat. She was still alive when found but she died the next day. Grierson was a petty criminal before the murder and he stole some jewellery from the flat. A petition for a reprieve was signed by 8,000 people but it was refused.
This is a very good video about a murder solved after 46 years by DNA evidence The DNA Breakthrough That Solved a 46-Year-Old Murder | True Crime Documentary
On 20 October 1862, Catherine Wilson became the last woman to be hanged in public in London. A big crowd turned out to watch the event. The last woman to be hanged in public in Britain was Frances Kidder in 1868. The last woman to be hanged in the USA was Mary Holmes in 1937. (Since then women have been executed by the electric chair, gas chamber, or lethal injection).
In 1691 a Latvian named Theiss confessed to being a werewolf. But he claimed he was a 'good' werewolf. He said witches stole grain and domestic animals and dragged them off to Hell. Theiss made his way to Hell then brought the stolen goods back. People must have slept easier in their beds knowing they had a werewolf to defend them from witches. Theiss was lucky. He was only sentenced to 20 lashes.
On 18 October 1966, the Queen granted Timothy Evans a royal pardon, 16 years after he was hanged for a murder he did not commit. This YouTube video with Fred Dineage is about the serial killer John Reginald Christie and the unfortunate man Timothy Evans.
