Women who were sentenced to death in the 20th century.

In England and Wales during the period 1900 to 1955, 148 women and girls were convicted of capital crimes, 146 for murder and two for espionage. Of these just 15 would be hanged.
Louisa Masset was sentenced in 1899 but is included here as she was hanged in 1900 on the 6th of January at Newgate for the murder of her four year old son. She was the first person to be executed in the 20th century.

Four of these were baby farmers who killed for financial gain. They were Ada Chard Williams who was hanged at Newgate on the 6th of March 1900, Amelia Sach and Annie Walters who suffered together at Holloway on the 3rd of February 1903 and Rhoda Willis (44), also known as Leslie James who was executed at Cardiff on the 14th of August 1907.

Of the remaining women, no less than 92 were convicted of the murder of a child under the age of five, including 51 babies under the age of 12 months which is classed as infanticide in law. The Infanticide Act of 1922 made the killing of a new-born baby by its mother no longer a capital crime. In 1938, the 1922 Act was amended to remove the death penalty for women who killed their babies in the first year of life. The law finally caught up with judicial practice and public opinion and understood post-natal depression and the stigmatisation caused to a young woman of having a baby outside marriage that was prevalent at the time.

A further 10 women were convicted of the murder of a child between the age of 5 to 18 and all were reprieved. In at least two cases, these murders could be described as mercy killings.

44 women were convicted of the murder of an adult, of whom 10 were hanged. They were Emily Swann, Edith Thompson, Louie Calvert, Ethel Major, Dorothea Waddingham, Charlotte Bryant, Margaret Allen, Louisa Merrifield, Styllou Christofi and Ruth Ellis.

Two girls were sentenced to death but reprieved as they were under 18 at the time of the crime. They were 17 year old Eva Eastwood in 1902 and 17 year old Susan Challis in 1904. The Children's Act of 1908 stipulated for the first time a minimum age for execution of 16 years. As a result of this, 15 year old Primrose Whistance could not be sentenced to death in 1920 and was sentenced to be detained at His Majesty’s Pleasure. The Children and Young Persons Act of 1933 raised the minimum age to 18 years. It is probable that for a large number of women aged between 18-22, their age was a major factor in the decision to reprieve. A typical example of this was 18 year old Elizabeth Marina Jones who was reprieved while her boyfriend Karl Hutten was hanged for the same crime.

Five women were found to be pregnant at the time of trial and were therefore respited. They would have been sentenced to death and could theoretically have been hanged after giving birth, but none of them were.

Seven women were reprieved on the basis of insanity and were transferred to Broadmoor or a similar secure institution, including Florence Ransom who had shot three people. There were only two cases of female murders by shooting in the 20th century and generally speaking where a gun was the murder weapon there would be no reprieve. (See Ruth Ellis)

Six women pleaded guilty at trial and all were reprieved. One woman, Ellen Harding, had her conviction for the murder of her 5 month old baby quashed by the Court of Criminal Appeal in 1936.

Two women were sentenced to death for espionage during World Wars I and II and both were reprieved. They were Eva De Bouronville in 1916 and Dorothy O’Grady in 1941.

Only one woman, Susan Newell, would be hanged in Scotland, in 1923, a further four being reprieved. Between 1900 and 1925 three women were sentenced to death in Ireland under British rule. Two, Mary Daly (1903) and Annie Walsh (1925) were hanged.

In England and Wales, a further four women were sentenced to death after Ruth Ellis’ execution and all reprieved. They were Annie Drinkall for infanticide in November 1955. Freda Rumbold in 1956 for the murder of her husband and Maureen Hanrahan for a robbery murder in 1957, both while the death penalty was suspended, due to the passing of the Death Penalty (Abolition) Bill in March 1956.
The final female death sentence was passed on the 29th of March 1958 upon Mary Wilson. Although she qualified for the death penalty as a poisoner, under the terms of the 1957 Homicide Act, it is thought that her age, 66, was the principal reason for reprieve.

The reprieve rate for convictions for murder in this period was almost 90%.

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