Early Life and Troubled Behavior
Jane was the wayward daughter of John and Mary Scott, who were shopkeepers in Bridge Street, Preston, Lancashire.
By the age of sixteen, Jane had become pregnant, and her parents stood by her despite the fact that she also stole from them to fund her lifestyle of drinking and debauchery with her friends. Her first child died at an early age, although at the time Jane was not implicated in the crime. She had a further pregnancy, and this child also died suddenly in March 1827. Although child deaths were commonplace at this time, a degree of suspicion was raised over this second death; however, no formal investigation was carried out.
The Poisoning
On Monday, the 14th of May 1827, Jane prepared some porridge for her parents’ supper, after which they both became violently ill. They were attended by a local doctor, Dr. Brown, who was unable to do much for them. Mary died in the early hours of Tuesday morning, and by dawn, Jane’s father had also succumbed.
Dr. Brown testified at the trials that he had instructed Jane to keep the pot in which the porridge had been made for examination, but when he returned for it, he found that Jane had cleaned it thoroughly, removing all trace of the porridge and the arsenic it contained. Dr. Brown informed the authorities, and an inquest concluded that the Scotts had died from arsenic poisoning administered by their daughter. Jane was arrested and sent to Lancaster Castle to await trial at the next Assizes.
The Preston Chronicle of the 19th of May ran the story under the headline: “Parricide – Man and Wife Poisoned by Arsenic Supposed to Have Been Administered by Their Own Daughter.”
The First Trial
Jane came to trial before Mr. Justice Bayley, charged only with the murder of her father at the Lancashire Summer Assizes of 1827, which opened on the 29th of August. The evidence against her was strong, but the failure of the doctor giving medical evidence of poisoning to attend led to her being acquitted because the prosecution had failed to prove that John Scott had died from poisoning.
It was therefore decided to proceed with the second charge, the murder of her mother Mary, and to defer this to the Lent Assizes of 1828. Jane remained imprisoned in the Castle for a further six months awaiting trial and became very weak during this time.
The Second Trial
The Lent Assizes were formally opened at about 5 p.m. on Saturday, March 8th, by Baron Hullock, the Civil Judge. He was joined at Lancaster the following day by Mr. Justice Bayley, who presided over Jane’s first trial and was again the judge for the Criminal list. The proceedings began on Monday, the 11th of March, and all criminal cases were concluded by Thursday, the 20th of March.
Jane asked the judge not to allow anyone from Preston to sit on the jury. It is not known whether this request was granted.
Various witnesses were called, including a chemist from Preston who identified Jane as the person to whom he had sold arsenic on three separate occasions, the last being a few days before her parents died. Dr. Brown reiterated how he had told Jane to preserve the saucepan with the remains of the porridge and how she had defied him by cleaning it out.
George Richardson, a boyfriend of Jane, told the court that about a week before her parents’ deaths, Jane had suggested that they marry. When he told her he was in no financial position to do so, she replied that she would soon be able to provide for them both and that her parents would give them whatever they needed.
Jane’s defense attempted to use her acquittal on the charge of murdering her father as a reason for the jury to return a not guilty verdict, but this argument was not permitted by the judge.
Verdict and Sentence
It took the jury just twenty minutes to find Jane guilty. When asked if she had anything to say as to why sentence of death should not be pronounced upon her, Jane appealed to the judge for mercy and asked that he reduce her sentence to transportation. This, of course, in law, he was unable to do.
The judge donned the black cap and sentenced her to death, stating that “she was to be taken to the place from where she came and from there to the place of execution on Saturday next, and there hang by the neck until dead, and afterwards the body to be taken down and dissected and anatomised.” Jane sobbed as sentence was pronounced and had to be helped down from the dock to the cells below.
At this time, the provisions of the Murder Act of 1752 were still in place, mandating execution within forty-eight hours, followed by dissection of the prisoner’s body.
Confession and Execution
In the condemned cell, Jane was attended by the chaplain and confessed to the murders of her parents and her two children, as well as to many thefts from her parents.
Her execution was set for midday on Saturday, the 22nd of March, and attracted a huge crowd, with many coming from her native Preston to watch. It was said to be one of the largest gatherings ever at Lancaster for an execution.
The Hanging at Lancaster Castle
Between 1800 and 1865, executions at Lancaster were carried out at “The Hanging Corner,” a small round tower on the east side of the Castle. On the ground floor of the tower is the “Drop Room,” which contains relics of many executions and can still be visited today. It is quite eerie standing in this room, looking at the exhibits and imagining what happened within it. The French windows have also survived, allowing visitors to look out to the bank opposite where the spectators assembled to watch.
The balcony-style gallows was erected the previous afternoon and consisted of two uprights seated into holes cut into the flagstones of the courtyard. A heavy crossbeam ran between the uprights, with a platform containing the trapdoors beneath it at the level of the bottom of the French windows. The platform was draped in black cloth to hide the prisoner’s legs. High railings surrounded the drop area, and spectators were allowed up to these, within a few feet of the gallows. Many more crowded onto the opposite bank for a better view.
Jane was brought into the Drop Room from the condemned cell, where her hands and arms were pinioned. As she was so weak, it had been decided to wheel her onto the gallows seated in a specially modified office chair. She was wheeled forward through the inward-opening French windows straight onto the platform of the gallows.
On the drop, she was taken out of the chair and held up by two female warders, one on either side, while the unidentified hangman made the final preparations and the chaplain read from the burial service. Jane seemed barely conscious and was almost oblivious to what was happening around her.
When all was ready, the trap was released, and she dropped a short distance, becoming unconscious quite quickly. After her body had hung for an hour, it was taken off the rope and brought in through the small lower window visible in the tower. Jane’s body was sent for dissection in accordance with her sentence. The chair remains on display within the Drop Room of the Castle.
Conclusion
Thus ended the criminal career of a real “bad girl.”
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