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Fife Criminal Trials and the ultimate.....Execution |
This page is written purely as a historical document, I must apologise
to anyone who is offended or upset by what is written.
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JOHN WESTWATER
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MARGARET CUNNINGHAM OR MASSON
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JAMES STUART
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JOHN HENDERSON
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CHARLES FANCOAT
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MICHAEL AND PETER
SCANLON
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ALEXANDER EDMINSTONE
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WILLIAM McDONALD
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HANS REGELSEN
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Condemned at the Spring Circuit Court, westwater was hanged in his home town for the murder of fellow flax dresser, John Orr, by stabbing him with a knife.Execution was on Saturday, 21st June 1806.
Widow of John Masson, Pathhead, Kirkcaldy, and John Skinner, were charged with the murder of her husband by administering arsenic. Skinner, who had absconded, had sentence of fugitation passed upon him. Mrs Masson was found guilty, but sentence was delayed, as her counsel said that she was enciente.
The case of Mrs Masson subsequently came before the High Court at Edinburgh, when a jury of midwives certified that she was pregnant. Sentence was therefore postponed for five months. She appeared again before the court in November with the child in her arms, when sentence of death was passed. This sentence was duly carried out on the 7th January. Clemency might surely have been extended to this unfortunate woman, as her companion in crime has escaped from being brought to trial.
1811, June 28th
Before the High Court of Judiciary at Edinburgh, JAMES STUART, younger , of Dunearn, Fife, was charged with the murder of Sir Alexander Boswell of Auchinleck, Ayr, by engaging him in a duel at Balbarton, near Kirkcaldy, on the 26th March. Stuart was defended by Jeffrey, Moncrieff,and Cockburn, the greatest advocates then at the Scots Bar. On account of a scurrilous Whig song which had appeared in the "Sentinel," differences had arisen between the two parties, and it was therefore arranged to settle the dispute by means of a duel.
A sequestered hollow on Balbarton was chosen. It was not far distant from Sir Alexander's residence at Balmuto. The distance measured was twelve paces from station to station, and the opponents took up their positions and received the pistols from their seconds. The word of command was given, and the pistol shots rang out, with the result that Sir Alexander lay prostrate on the ground while Stuart was unhurt. Sir Alexander was removed to Balmuto, where he died a few hours later. Stuart fled to France, but at length returned and stood trial. In addition to the charge of murder it was also libelled that the prisoner conceived malice and illwill towards the deceased. Evidence was led and the Lord Advocate addressed the Jury.
Mr Jeffrey, in a powerful speech, said that it was not disputed that a duel had taken place, but that the provocation received was more than sufficient for fighting a duel. The law on the subject was carefully presented to the jury by the Lord Justice Clerk, who said that no man, whatever his grievance, had the right to engage another in a duel. The trend of his Lordship's remarks was, however, not favourable to the accused. The jury, without retiring, after a few minutes' consultation, gave their verdict viva voce by their Chancellor, Sir John Hope of Craighall, Bart., finding the prisoner not guilty.
The trial excited much interest among higher circles in Scotland. Stuart was accompanied in the dock by his relative, the Earl of Moray, Mr Erskine of Cardross, and a number of other gentlemen. Several persons of distinction sat on the Bench with the judges, including Lord Belhaven and Stenton and the Honourable henry Fox. A doggerel rhyme was current in fife at that time:-
At Perth circuit Court, JOHN HENDERSON, a loom worker, was charged with the murder of his employer, named Millie, at Whinny Park, Monimail, Fife. Henderson beat the deceased to death in the loom shop, and attempted to bury the body there, but the earth was too shallow. he then dragged the body to the garden, about sixty yards distant, and there buried it.
The murder was committed for the purpose of robbery, as Henderson presented a deposit receipt for 40 pounds at the bank with a forged signature which belonged to Millie. Henderson also removed several articles from the house, and sold them as belonging to himself. He disappeared, but was arrested several weeks later at Dunfermline. in addition to the murder charge, two others, theft and forgery, were libelled against him. After an absence of four minutes, the jury found all the charges proved. Lord Meadowbank passed sentence of death, to be carried out at Cupar, on the 30th September. Henderson confessed his guilt, and duly paid the penalty. No fewer than 20,000 persons were present at the final scene.
At Perth Circuit Court, before Lord Cockburn, CHARLES FANCOAT was convicted of stabbing fatally a fellow labourer, Michael Harrigan, in the High Street, Dunfermline. on the 14th February. He was sentenced to be hanged at Dunfermline on the 25th May. The Rev. Dr M'Michael, and other influentual citizens of the burgh, made herculean efforts to secure a commutation of the sentence, and were successful. Mr Logan, for the defence, pleaded for a verdict of culpable homicide. Lord Cockburn described the tragedy as " the united influences of intoxication and passion.
"This was the last person under sentence of death at Dunfermline."
Before the High Court of Justiciary at Edinburgh, the Lord Justice - General and Lords Cockburn and Cowan on the Bench, Michael and Peter Scanlan, two brothers, natives of County Maho, were charged with murder and stouthrief (Robbery with voilence), committed at Hilton of Forthar, Fife. The men were employwed at the adjacent lime works, and lodged next door to a woman named MARGARET MAXWELL, who kept a small shop.
They had owed the woman some money, and she had refused to give them further goods on credit. Out of revenge, the prisoners, during the evening of 16th February, broke into thr house by the back window, pulled the woman from her bed, and smashed her skull to pieces. It was found that a silver watch, about £3 in money, and a copy of the New Testament, had been stolen. The two brothers were arrested, along with another labourer, Thomas M'Manes. The latter was not put on trial, but gave evidence that he was with the Scanlans when the crime took place.
The men were found guilty, and were sentenced to be hanged at Cupar on the 5th July. During the trial, the prisoners had remained perfectly still, but when sentence was passed they both shouted that they were the innocent, and that the judges and jury were "d-----asses." On the 1st July a supplement to the death warrant was issued on account of the prison of Cupar being outwith the jurisdiction of the Cupar Magistrates. The warrant ordained the keeper of the prison to deliver the condemned men to the Sheriff of Fife, who in turn was to deliver them over to the Magistrates of Cupar, "for the purpose of seeing the death warrant carried out." The warrant further ordained the Sheriff to see the bodies buried within the precincts of the prison of Cupar, " as they all shall severally answer at their highest peril.' A petition for a reprieve was refused.
A scaffold was borrowed from Edinburgh, and Calcraft, the celebrated London executioner, was engaged. The scaffold was erected at the north east corner of the Fluthers Green, near Braehead, about six hundred yards from the prison. Dressed in the same white moleskin clothes which they had worn at the trial, the men were driven by omnibus from the jail (now a seed warehouse), Calcraft sitting next to one of his victims, while Bishop Gillies and a priest were also present. The Sheriff and police officials brought up the rear. On account of a rumour that a number of Irishmen from Dundee and labourers from the lime works would combine to rescue their comrades even from the clutches of Calcraft, extensive preperations were made by the authorities. Four hundred citizens were sworn in as special constables, while every available member of the County Police force was draftyed into town. A strong detachment of the 42nd regiment and the 7th Hussars from Piershill were also present.The prisoners kissed each other several times on the scaffold, and declared : " We are dying innocent of the murder of Margaret Maxwell, and forgive all who have to do it "- meaning the witnesses at the trial. In front of the scaffold a woman, said to be the sweetheart of one of the brothers, was waving her hands and crying piteously. That brought forth the homely ejaculation from one of the men: "Peter, that's Marget."
The execution was carried through without a hitch, the overwhelming forces of law and order being more than sufficient to cope with any emergency. As the drop fell, a terrible thunderstorm broke over Cuparf, which to a large extent clearwed the streets of the thousands who had flocked into the town.Every place around the scaffold was densely crowded, and all the points of vantage which afforded a view of the dismal scene were occupied. It has been said that this was " one of the day of days in Cupar's long history."
All the roads had been crowded by break of day with carts conveying sightseers, far in excess of an ordinary fair. the writer has conversed with one who as a boy had been present at the execution. He said that he never saw such a large crowd of people in Cupar in all his life. Calcraft's fee was £30.
NOTE
At Perth Circuit Court, before Lord Guthrie, ALEXANDER EDMINSTONE (23), an unemployed miner, was charged with having, on the 19th February, robbed a young lad, named Michael Swinton Brown, of £85 in money, also a watch and chain, and further, at the same time and place, "within the lavatory at East Wemyss, fife, did murder him." Mr A. M. Anderson, K.C., Advocate - Depute (the Late lord anderson), prosecuted, while the defence was conducted by Mr J.A.Christie and Mr Armit.
Brown, who was a clerk at East Wemyss, had been in the habit of going to the bank every Friday for money for his employer's wages. This had become known to Edminstone, and he dogged the lad's footsteps from the bank to the tramway car and travelled with him. Edminstone and the lad went into the lavatory together, and probably when the money was not handed over at his request he strangled him. Suspicion fell upon Edminstone, who had disappeared. Traces were discovered of his movements at Strathmiglo, Perth and Gladgow. The leather bag which had contained the money and the bank pass-book was found on the sea shore near Macduff's Castle.
After extensive police inquiries extending over several weeks, the wanted man was located living in lodgings in Manchester, where he had assumed the name of "Albert Edwards." In a gladstone bag was found a considerable amount of the missing money-£25 in single bank notes, £10 10/ - in gold, and £7 5/ - in silver. The man admitted that he was Edminstone, but said that when he committed the acts he did not know what he was about.
A defence of insanity was put forward at the trial. Evidence was brought to show that the prisoner had previously suffered from epileptic fits. In addressing the jury, Mr. Christie made a strong appeal to find the accused only guilty of culpable homocide on account of his delusions and diminished responsibility. After an absence of only ten minutes, the jury returned with a unanimous verdict of guilty of murder. Lord Guthrie thereupon passed sentence of death, to be carried out within Perth Prison on the 6th July.
A petition was forwarded to the Home Secretary asking that the sentence should be commuted, but taking in all the circumstances, and also the fact that there was no recommendation from the jury to mercy, this was refused. Edminstone went to his doom. Ellis was the executioner.