Jean Lee, an attractive 31-year-old redhead, made history as the last woman to hang in Australia when she went to the gallows in Pentridge Prison in the Coburg suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, on the morning of Monday, February 19th, 1951. She and her two male companions were hanged for the murder of 73-year-old dwelling house landlord and bookmaker, William “Pop” Kent.
Early Life and Relationships
Jean Lee was reportedly quite intelligent and a bit rebellious in school, holding a succession of dead-end jobs from which she was soon fired or left voluntarily. She married at 18 and lived with her husband for about nine years before leaving him, entrusting her daughter to her mother’s care.
She entered a relationship with a petty criminal who introduced her to prostitution with American servicemen. He acted as her pimp while she worked to support them both. Later, she left him for another professional criminal, Robert David Clayton, with whom she fell deeply in love. As is often the case, she became caught in a downward spiral—entangled in the criminal lifestyle and used by Clayton in his illicit activities.
The “Badger Game”
Their crimes primarily revolved around what was known as the “badger game.” Lee, then a voluptuous and attractive woman (see photo), would lure men into compromising situations—hotel rooms, private homes, or cars—appearing to initiate sex. Once the men were semi-naked and vulnerable, Clayton would burst in, posing as an outraged husband and demanding money.
Most victims, fearful of ridicule or discovery by their wives, would hand over cash without reporting the incident. However, if they refused, Clayton would beat them. The scam had previously been reported to the police on at least two occasions, but had continued with some success.
The Murder of William “Pop” Kent
On the evening of November 7th, 1949, Lee, Clayton, and a third accomplice, Norman Andrews (whom Clayton had met in prison), spotted William Kent in a Melbourne hotel lounge. Jean Lee had several drinks with Kent and quickly convinced the elderly man to take her back to his apartment, where she attempted to pick his pockets.
However, Kent—though inebriated and elderly—resisted. A struggle ensued, and Clayton and Andrews entered the room. Over the next hour, Kent was brutally tortured: kicked, beaten, stabbed repeatedly with a small knife, and finally strangled by hand. His hands were tied behind his back, with his thumbs bound together using bootlaces, in an attempt to coerce him into revealing where he kept his money.
Arrest and Trial
The trio were soon arrested at their hotel, and bloodstained clothing was found in both Lee’s and Andrews’ rooms. During police interrogation—conducted separately—each suspect initially denied involvement, then began shifting blame to the others.
Trial and the Doctrine of Common Purpose
They stood trial on March 20th, 1950, at Melbourne’s Criminal Court. The proceedings lasted six days. Because each suspect blamed the others, the judge, Mr. Justice Gavan Duffy, explained to the jury the legal principle of common purpose: when multiple people participate in a violent robbery that results in murder, all are equally guilty regardless of who delivered the fatal blow.
The jury took less than three hours to return guilty verdicts for all three. They were sentenced to death. Jean Lee became hysterical, while Clayton hurled abuse at the jury.
Appeals and Controversy
Their appeal was heard by the Court of Criminal Appeal and, on June 23rd, 1950, was upheld by a 2–1 majority. The appeal judges ruled that police had improperly obtained their confessions by using statements from one suspect to coerce the others.
However, this ruling was overturned by the High Court, which reinstated both the convictions and the death sentences.
Public Reaction
Jean Lee’s death sentence sparked significant protest, particularly from left-wing and feminist groups. The opposition, however, seemed to focus more on the execution of a woman by hanging rather than capital punishment for women in general.
Jean Lee would become the first woman to be hanged in Victoria since Emma Williams in 1895.
Final Days on Death Row
Lee had visibly aged during her time in prison and experienced severe mood swings—swinging from verbally abusing her wardresses to begging them for alcohol. To one wardress she confided:
“I just didn’t do it. I haven’t enough strength in my hands to choke anyone. Bobby was stupid but the old man was trying to yell for help. None of us meant to kill him.”
Execution Preparations
It was decided that Jean Lee would be the first to hang at 8:00 a.m., followed by the two men two hours later. She was heavily sedated and escorted to a double cell near the gallows. Her weight was recorded at 7 stone 6 lbs, her height at 5’7”, and the drop was calculated at 8 feet.
Sheriff William Daly read the death warrant. Lee collapsed upon seeing the hangman and his assistant—both wearing large felt hats and goggles, in accordance with a strange Australian custom. A doctor determined she was unconscious, but the execution proceeded.
Execution Procedure
Due to her condition, the executioner pinioned her arms in front rather than behind her back. His assistant strapped her legs while he placed a white hood over her head, leaving the flap open. She was then carried to the gallows, placed on a chair on the trapdoor. Her head drooped to her chest, and the executioner had to lift it to correctly place the noose.
At the sheriff’s signal, the hood’s flap was lowered, the lever pulled, and both she and the chair fell through the trap. Though the chair was secured to the gallows by a cord, it separated from her at the end of the drop, leaving her suspended normally.
The knot was placed beneath her left ear. Death was described as instantaneous. At 8:05 a.m., the prison doctor found no heartbeat, and the death certificate was signed at 8:20.
The Fate of Her Companions
Two hours later, Clayton and Andrews—both mildly sedated—were executed on the same gallows.
End of Capital Punishment in Australia
Capital punishment in Australia would later come to an end. The last execution in Victoria took place at the same gallows in Pentridge Prison with the hanging of Ronald Ryan on February 3rd, 1967.
Doubts About Her Guilt
A recent book, “Jean Lee – The Last Woman Hanged in Australia” by Paul Wilson, Don Trebl, and Robyn Lincoln, casts doubt on the justice of Lee’s conviction and execution. The authors question the police interrogation methods and the extent of her involvement in the murder.
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