The Family Business

For over fifty years, if someone was going to be hanged in Britain, chances were it would be a Pierrepoint holding the lever.

Henry, Thomas and Albert Pierrepoint were Britain's most extraordinary family of state executioners — three generations who between them hanged approximately nine hundred people, including Nazi war criminals, British traitors, serial killers, and at least one man who was almost certainly innocent. Albert alone carried out between 435 and 600 executions, perfecting a method so precise he could complete a hanging in under twelve seconds.

He hanged thirteen Nazi SS guards in a single day at Hameln Prison in 1945. He hanged the last woman ever executed in Britain. He hanged a man he sang duets with in his own pub. He hanged Timothy Evans — later found to be innocent — and three years later hanged the man who actually committed the crime. In 1956, Britain's most prolific executioner resigned over a dispute about expenses. And in his autobiography, he concluded that capital punishment had never deterred a single murder.

This episode covers the full Pierrepoint story — the craft, the dynasty, the cases that shook Britain, and the question of what it means to spend a lifetime perfecting something that turns out to be wrong. Content warning: execution methods, capital punishment, wrongful conviction.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-monday-night-revue--4921180/support.

Don't miss an episode - follow, comment, like, and share!

Connect with me on social media @‌themondaynightrevue or email at themondaynightrevue@gmail.com.

Explore our podcast merch: Shop Here
Support the show: Buy Me a Coffee
Discover curated reads: Bookshop
For ad-free episodes, minisodes, and exclusive perks, join us on Patreon: Support on Patreon

Written and edited by Corinna Harrod with Holly Clarke. Artwork by Jessica Holmes.
Music: "The Mooche" by Duke Ellington (1928).

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(228)

Tony Parsons the Vanishing Cyclist

A 63 year old starts on a 100 mile charity bike ride through the Highlands of Scotland. It was a big undertaking but Tony Parsons had done epic charity events before having walked Hadrian's Wall and t...

28 Sep 51min

The Killer Clown of Chicago - A-Z of US States (Illinois)

A case I swore I would never do because it's just so awful but when you visit Illinois on a tour of the US States by true crime and paranormal cases it's sort of hard to avoid. This episode comes with...

21 Sep 1h 6min

Jack Underweger, the murder poet

In 1990, a convicted murderer walked out of an Austrian prison to a hero's welcome — celebrated by novelists, praised by a future Nobel laureate, held up as proof that even a killer could be remade in...

14 Sep 45min

The Dyatlov Pass Incident

One of the world's most intriguing mysteries, and though it's technically closed the official explanation doesn't seem to fit - lets get into The Dyatlov Pass incident,Become a supporter of this podca...

7 Sep 1h 17min

The Incredible Survival of Harrison Okene

A tugboat is hit by a huge wave at 4am while Harrison Okene is in the bathroom. As the boat sinks to the bottom he is thrown down an alley away from his colleagues and what happens over the next 60 ho...

31 Aug 41min

The Worlds Strangest Lakes

Lake's freak me out, I have always assumed this was a universal thing, but maybe its not. In case you enjoy your time in a boat or wild swimming here are some of the strangest lakes the planet has to ...

18 Aug 46min

The Lipstck Killer (A-Z of US States - Illinois)

Three people are murdered, a man is arrested is put in prison for life. Hurrah. Or in fact are the three murders unrelated and the wrong man put in prison? Lets go to Chicago in 1945 and talk about on...

28 Jul 47min

The desecration of Maria Elena Milagro de Hoyos

A man falls in love with a dying woman, half his age, steals her corpse and is... deemed a romantic. This one is pretty grim Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-mo...

22 Jul 28min