Customer Reviews

Hangmen of England: History of Execution from Jack Ketch to Albert Pierrepoint

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a must read for any and all interested in the men behind the executions; specifcally, in Albert Pierrepoint and England's other hangmen. There are problems, however. For example, Brian Bailey makes some egregious errors of fact, two of which are glaring: First, Herman Goering's corpse was not hanged. Second, Caryl Chessman died in San Quentin's gas chamber, not its (non-existent) electric chair. Mr. Bailey's worst offense, however, is his self-righteous and drumbeat condemnations of the death penalty, and his condescending and nasty attitude toward those ignorant and barbaric enough to be proponents of the death penalty (a group of which I'm proud to be a member). After all, Mr. Bailey's book is subtitled "The History of Execution from Jack Ketch to Albert Pierrepoint," not "The Death Penalty Has Been Repealed; How Smug I Am." With these provisos in mind, the book is worth looking for, finding, and reading.