A Desperate Situation
In the final case on infanticide, we examine the case of Hannah Halley, who, like so many young women at the time, found herself in a seemingly impossible situation. She murdered her newborn infant because she could not keep her job and nurse a baby, and without the job, she could not afford to support the child.
Thirty-one-year-old Hannah worked at the Darley cotton mill in Derbyshire and gave birth to the baby on Tuesday, the 14th of August 1821, at her lodgings in Brook Street, Derby.
The Crime
Earlier that day, her landlady and a friend of the landlady noticed that Hannah looked very unwell, and she agreed that she felt ill. She went up to her room, where she gave birth a little later. The two women heard the cries of a newborn baby and went up to offer assistance.
When they entered the room, Hannah denied that she had given birth and was seen putting a jug under the bed, which she had previously been trying to conceal under her clothes. Hannah continued to deny the birth, so one of the women threatened to fetch the local constable and left the room to do so, followed by Hannah.
The other woman then recovered the jug and was horrified to see the baby inside, dreadfully scalded but still alive. It seems that Hannah had pushed it into the jug and poured boiling water over it.
Arrest and Imprisonment
The constable was sent for and arrested Hannah at the house. She was taken to Friar Gate Gaol to await trial for murder. Amazingly, the poor little baby lived until the following Saturday.
It transpired that Hannah had had a child five years earlier, so she did know she was pregnant. It is not known what became of that child.
The Trial
Hannah had to wait until the following March, when the next Derbyshire Assizes opened. Her case was heard before Mr. Justice Best on Friday, the 22nd of that month.
She was charged with the wilful murder of her infant, and evidence was given against her by the two women, the constable, and a doctor. A very clear case was presented to the jury, proving not only the act but also the intent to kill, as evidenced by Hannah’s repeated denial of her pregnancy. Consequently, they had no difficulty in reaching a guilty verdict.
Mr. Justice Best sentenced Hannah to death, and she was taken back to Friar Gate Gaol and lodged in the basement condemned cell for the last two days of her life. Having been sentenced on a Friday and Sunday being a dies non, the execution was to take place on Monday, the 26th of March 1822.
Execution
The gallows was erected on the pavement outside the main door in preparation. As was customary, Hannah received the support and ministrations of the prison chaplain over the weekend and spent much time in prayer with him.
It is recorded that she slept only fitfully and appeared almost prostrate with fear and grief. However, when the time came, she seemed to find reserves of courage and climbed the steps of the gallows with a surprisingly firm step, watched by a large crowd. She submitted herself to the necessary preparations and prayed with the chaplain. When all was ready, the drop fell, and Hannah reportedly died with very little struggle. Her body was afterward sent for dissection in accordance with her sentence.
Aftermath
Hannah was the last woman to be executed at Derby and one of only two to be hanged outside Friar Gate Gaol. Oddly, both were called Hannah—the other being Hannah Bocking, three years earlier, who was one of the youngest girls hanged in the 19th century.
Two other women had been hanged in Derby between 1735 and 1799. They were Mary Dilke, executed for the murder of her bastard child on Saturday, the 23rd of March 1754, and Ann Williamson, who suffered on Friday, the 1st of August 1755, for picking the pocket of George White at Ashbourne Fair. These executions had been carried out at Nun’s Green, Derby’s previous execution site.
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