Stranger than Fiction

1
(No Transcript)
2
Stranger than Fiction
Beyond the gallows, spectators pressed closer,
jockeying to see what would be London's first
hanging. By foot, on horseback and in wagons they
came, a crowd of 3,000 dwarfing a city that in
1830 had 300 residents.
3
So who was the Criminal?
The event that led to this fateful date with the
hangman's noose had taken place one year earlier.
On September 16, 1829, Burleigh shot and killed
Constable Timothy C. Pomeroy who had been chasing
him. Pomeroy had a warrant for Burleigh's arrest
on charges of robbery and arson, and was
determined to get his man, but as he stepped
forward to make an arrest, Burleigh raised his
rifle and shot the officer, killing him
instantly.
4
Was he framed?
While Burley was at the shooting scene, so were
his uncle and two cousins, one of whom, Anthony
Ribble, owned the shotgun used to kill constable.
The Ribbles, not Burley, were heard threatening
Pomeroy. The contrast between Ribble and Burley
was stark. Ribble was bright, educated and an
experienced hunter. Burley was slow-witted and
a poor shot. Ribble was a landowner who paid
taxes, a respected member of the community.
Burley was not. When both were jailed, Ribble
escaped Burley stayed behind. In short, Burley
may have been innocent.
5
Dying Confession
Burleigh was slow witted and failed to understand
what was happening to him until about forty-one
hours before his execution. When in his
melancholy dungeon, the nature of his situation
was explained to him. He burst into a flood of
tears and made a confession.
6
Day of the Execution
August 19, 1830, was a hot, muggy day, but the
sultry weather did not deter the thousands of
people who flocked to the corner of Dundas and
Ridout in anticipation of the hanging. In the
1800s, public hangings were like a Roman Holiday,
attracting people like flies to a decaying
corpse.
7
The Hanging
With all eyes on the doomed man, a trap door
opened, Burley dropped down, the rope snapped
taut - and broke. Falling six metres, Burley
struck the ground, stunned but alive. The
sheriff left to buy another rope that would soon
end Burley's life. The condemned man waited. He
never once cried out or caused trouble.
8
It's just beginning!
His final thoughts are a mystery, but this is
certain Burley couldn't have known his future as
a morbid attraction had just begun. The first
indignity was common to all those executed in the
era. After his body stopped twitching, Burley was
cut down, taken to an examining table and
dissected by doctors and medical students who
otherwise had little access to corpses.
9
Where's the skull?
While the bones of his torso quietly disappeared,
his skull served as a lurid draw for much of the
next 170 years. His skull first gained notoriety
in the hands of a showman who had visited
Burleigh on the eve of the execution and took the
skull following the second hanging.