WOMEN AND THE NOOSE A History of Female Execution

Hardback. Tracing the history of female crime and execution from 1726 to 1955, the author presents the cases of over 70 women who met their end on the hangman's gallows. From the criminal act to the execution day itself, the women's stories illustrate the range of crimes punishable by death such as petty-theft anbd murder, as well as reactions to the sentence including 'pleading the belly' as defence. the author also traces the developments of methods in hanging from a cruel public death to a more humane private one. With Index. 252pp. 8vo. h/back. As New in F. dw.