The man they couldn't hang

1884 Ellen Keyse, a rich old woman who had been a maid to Queen Victoria, was beaten and had her throat cut, in Exeter, England. Her body was found in a pantry next to the room of John Lee, 19, who worked for her.

Convicted on the basis of circumstantial evidence, Lee was taken to the gallows at Exeter on February 23, 1885, but the equipment of death failed several times. The malfunction was attributed to an act of God, Lee’s sentence was commuted and he spent the next 22 years in prison. Upon his release he emigrated to America ...

Categories: biography, crime, law, legal, uk, mystery, death-penalty, capital-punishment