Diary of a Hangman

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Did have a few good parts such as the explanation for the execution methods but that is about it for me. An intresting read, John Ellis tells of his encounters with the people he has hanged, there fears and courage they show on the scaffold. But it still puts what was perceived as high crime worthy of 16th Century capital punishment into perspective. I dont fully know what I was expecting from this book but it certainly wasn't this, it failed to bring to life the diary of the hangman and just really went through the number of executions and methods.

Görgla von Sunberg said they had committed a great sin and that he would take the infants to a priest to be baptized, but Phila said he would himself be priest and baptize them, so he took them by the legs and dashed them to the ground. The accusation was made through jealousy (which he confessed in prison), he having previously killed a man and also robbed several burghers and women of Lauff of their reputation and honour. This was definitely a diary that he used to keep track of those that he executed and how they were executed.

It's interesting to know how things like this were dealt with in the past and in other countries, and how much we've changed and improved. When they were being led out, the Margrave’s wife wanted to see the poor sinners as they passed, and saw her own husband among them, whom she embraced and kissed, for she had not known her husband had been arrested, nor that he was a fellow of that sort.

This was the obituary in which learning and high-minded pursuits went on while this story of criminal justice could have been t into effect on anybody unlucky enough to have acquired a bad reputation, although some of the crimes were absolutely appalling too. Hans Peyhel, of Forchheim, who committed three murders with his companion; beheaded with the sword at Forchheim and exposed on the wheel. As a society becoming or disintegrating is what our civilization is working on, respecting human beings and the rights to be proven guilty, not arbitrarily imprisoned or put to death. Originally published more than eighty years ago, A Hangman's Diary gives a year-by-year breakdown on all of Master Schmidt's executions, which include hangings, beheadings, and other methods of murder, as well as explanations of each crime and the reason for the punishment. Now an esoteric of legal and criminal history, A Hangman's Diary gives a year-by-year breakdown on all of Master Franz Schmidt's executions, which included hangings, beheadings, and other methods, as well as details of each capital crime and the reason for the punishment.Find signed collectible books: 'The necessity of a national reformation of manners; or, the duty of magistrates, ministers, and all others, to put the laws in execution against . Pierrepoint, arriving at Chelmsford prison slightly intoxicated on 13 July 1910, had started a row, and would have beaten Ellis up, had not warders intervened. Crippen) in 1910, Frederick Seddon in 1912, Sir Roger Casement in 1916, Herbert Rowse Armstrong in 1922, and of Edith Thompson in 1923. I forgot how I came upon this quick read-maybe it was a recommendation from someone on here or watching some book vloggers, however I am glad I spent the day listening to this audiobook. In summary, a great introduction to the journal at the beginning with a fascinating, albeit sometimes drawn out, chronicling of medieval daily life and the various gritty details of being an executioner.

Franz Schmidt was definitely not an author writing to entertain or even to inform a future audience. Just reading the reasons for the executions - not easy reading, although amusing to note how crime hasn't changed and punishment has - provides a treasure trove of information.During that span, he personally executed more than 350 people while keeping a journal throughout his career. Originally published more than eighty years ago, A Hangman’s Diary gives a year-by-year breakdown on all of Master Schmidt’s executions, which include hangings, beheadings, and other methods of murder, as well as explanations of each crime and the reason for the punishment.

First he shot dead his companion, secondly a miller’s man who helped him to attack and plunder a mill by night. By using the Web site, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agreed to be bound by the Terms and Conditions. This particular edition of the diary has an excessively long introduction that felt like modern moralizing rather than objective presentation in many parts. The diary entries alternate between terse single lines, “A thief hanged” and long passages giving tantalizing details of the crimes for which people were punished. Henssla Humbsen of Lambretzhoffen, alias Adam; Merdta Herdegen of Schwabach, alias Henna and Stürer Merta; George Hiss of Sultzbach, alias Hegelregler or Sultz-Kürchner; three thieves and robbers, who attacked people by night in their houses and in lonely farms, bound them, tortured them and did violence to them, robbing them of money and clothes.The diary is a bit frustrating in that you’re never given motivations for the crimes, and in some places I dearly wanted to know more of what went on.