Victims of the rope : executions in Port Philip and Victoria, 1842-1967 / Trevor Poultney
- Bib ID:
- 7131057
- Format:
- Book
- Author:
- Poultney, Trevor, author
- Description:
-
- Melbourne, Victoria : Trevor Poultney, 2016
- ©2016
- vii, 199 pages : illustrations, portraits, facsimiles ; 24 cm
- ISBN:
- 9780987406804 (paperback)
- Invalid ISBN:
- 0987406809
- Summary:
-
Victims of the Rope is the first comprehensive record of the 187 judicial hangings in Port Philip and Victoria between 1842 and 1967. It contains overviews of the offenders, the crimes, the trials and the executions. These are not pretty stories. Conditions in the colony and fledgling state were tough and at times, especially during the gold rush, resembled those of North America's Wild West. Many heinous crimes were committed, and the legal system did not always cope effectively. There is little doubt that Collin Ross, hanged in 1922, was not the only innocent person executed. Newspaper reporting of executions posed an unusual dilemma. On the one hand papers took on the role of protector of society's morals, condemning capital punishment as a cruel, unusual and ineffective way of dealing with major crime; on the other hand, many papers could not resist the ghoulish documenting of these 'official stranglings'. Whatever your personal view of capital punishment, these 187 stories intrigue and horrify simultaneously; they record some black moments in history and provide a unique way to chart aspects of Victoria's development from primitive colony to today's sophisticated state.
- Notes:
- Includes bibliographical references and index.
- Subject:
- Copyright:
-
In Copyright
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Copyright status was determined using the following information:
- Material type:
- Literary Dramatic Musical
- Published status:
- Published
- Publication date:
- 2016
Copyright status may not be correct if data in the record is incomplete or inaccurate. Other access conditions may also apply. For more information please see: Copyright in library collections.
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