Execution Methods

With special thanks to Traugott Vitz for his help with this article. The concept of the “long drop” form of hanging developed in Ireland. One of the first recorded long drop hangings was that of John Hurley who was executed outside Galway Gaol on 27 August 1853 for the murder of 16 year old Catherine Kendrigan.  22 … Read more

The form of execution by hanging with little or no drop was brought to England by the Saxons in the fifth century AD.  This type of hanging remained effectively universal up to 1872 when William Marwood introduced the “long drop” method.  In London the long drop replaced the “short drop” in 1874 when John McDonald became the last to suffer it … Read more