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John Babbacombe Lee
John Henry George "Babbacombe" Lee (15 August 1864 – 19 March 1945) was an Englishman famous for surviving three attempts to hang him for murder. Born in Abbotskerswell, Devon, Lee served in the Royal Navy, and was a known thief. In 1885 he was convicted of the murder of his employer, Emma Keyse, at her home at Babbacombe Bay near Torquay on 15 November 1884, with a knife. The evidence was weak and circumstantial, amounting to little more than Lee having been the only male in the house at the time of the murder, his previous criminal record, and being found with an unexplained cut on his arm. Despite this and his claim of innocence, he was sentenced to hang. After he survived three attempts at hanging, his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. He became popularly known as "the man they couldn't hang". Attempted execution and aftermath On 23 February 1885, three attempts were made to carry out Lee's execution at Exeter Prison. All ended in failure, as the trapd ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abbotskerswell
Abbotskerswell is a village and civil parish in the English county of Devon. The village is in the north part of the parish and is located two miles (3 km) south of the town of Newton Abbot, from the seaside resort of Torquay and from the city of Plymouth. The A381 road between Newton Abbot and Totnes runs down the western side of the parish and the main railway line between these two towns forms part of its eastern boundary. History The settlement that is now Abbotskerswell was called ''Cærswylle'' in 956, ''Carsvelle'' in 1086 and ''Kareswill'' in 1242, meaning 'cress spring' from the Old English ''cærse'' + ''wylle''. The name 'Abbotskerswell' itself is derived from 'Kerswell belonging to the abbot' f Hortonand was recorded as ''Karswill Abbatts'' in 1285, ''Abbotescharswelle'' in 1314 and ''Abbots Keswell'' in 1675. In the Domesday Book Abbotskerswell was listed as ''Carsuella'' in the ancient hundred of Kerswell, and was held by the abbot of Horton Abbey, Dorse ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many nations mobilising all resources in pursuit of total war. Tanks in World War II, Tanks and Air warfare of World War II, aircraft played major roles, enabling the strategic bombing of cities and delivery of the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, first and only nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II is the List of wars by death toll, deadliest conflict in history, causing World War II casualties, the death of 70 to 85 million people, more than half of whom were civilians. Millions died in genocides, including the Holocaust, and by massacres, starvation, and disease. After the Allied victory, Allied-occupied Germany, Germany, Allied-occupied Austria, Austria, Occupation of Japan, Japan, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Babbacombe Lee
John Henry George "Babbacombe" Lee (15 August 1864 – 19 March 1945) was an Englishman famous for surviving three attempts to hang him for murder. Born in Abbotskerswell, Devon, Lee served in the Royal Navy, and was a known thief. In 1885 he was convicted of the murder of his employer, Emma Keyse, at her home at Babbacombe Bay near Torquay on 15 November 1884, with a knife. The evidence was weak and circumstantial, amounting to little more than Lee having been the only male in the house at the time of the murder, his previous criminal record, and being found with an unexplained cut on his arm. Despite this and his claim of innocence, he was sentenced to hang. After he survived three attempts at hanging, his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. He became popularly known as "the man they couldn't hang". Attempted execution and aftermath On 23 February 1885, three attempts were made to carry out Lee's execution at Exeter Prison. All ended in failure, as the trapd ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus
''The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus'' is a 2009 fantasy film directed by Terry Gilliam and written by Gilliam and Charles McKeown. The film follows a travelling theatre troupe whose leader, having made a Deal with the Devil, bet with the Devil, takes audience members through a magical mirror to explore their imaginations and present them with a choice between self-fulfilling enlightenment or gratifying ignorance. The film stars Heath Ledger, Christopher Plummer, Verne Troyer, Andrew Garfield, Lily Cole, Tom Waits, Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, and Jude Law, though Ledger's death one-third of the way through filming caused production to be temporarily suspended. Ledger completed most of the movie's runtime, and then his role was recast with Depp, Law, and Farrell portraying transformations of his character as he travels through a dream world. The film is Ledger's final performance; it was dedicated to him and co-producer William Vince. Its Film premiere, world premiere was during ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Botched Executions
A botched execution is defined by political science professor Austin Sarat as: Botched executions occur when there is a breakdown in, or departure from, the 'protocol' for a particular method of execution. The protocol can be established by the norms, expectations, and advertised virtues of each method or by the government's officially adopted execution guidelines. Botched executions are 'those involving unanticipated problems or delays that caused, at least arguably, unnecessary agony for the prisoner or that reflect gross incompetence of the executioner.' Examples of such problems include, among other things, inmates catching fire while being electrocuted, being strangled during hangings (instead of having their necks broken), and being administered the wrong dosages of specific drugs for lethal injections. List Before 1900 * Thomas Cromwell (1540) – Beheading by axe. Edward Hall wrote that "So patiently suffered the stroke of the axe, by a ragged and Boocherly miser, whi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Willie Francis
Willie Francis (January 12, 1929 – May 9, 1947) was an American teenager known for surviving a failed execution by electrocution in the United States. He was a convicted juvenile sentenced to death at age 16 by the state of Louisiana in 1945 for the murder of Andrew Thomas, a pharmacy owner in St. Martinville who had once employed him. In the modern day, Francis's guilt has been disputed. He was 17 when he survived the first attempt to execute him, as the chair malfunctioned. After an appeal of his case taken to the Supreme Court of the United States failed, he was executed in 1947 at age 18. Arrest and trial In December 1944, Andrew Thomas, a pharmacist in St. Martinville, Louisiana, was shot and killed. His murder remained unsolved for nine months, but in August 1945, Willie Francis was detained in Texas on suspicion of drug trafficking due to his carrying a briefcase and speaking with a stutter. Police claimed that he was carrying Thomas' wallet in his pocket, though no ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Men They Couldn't Hang
The Men They Couldn't Hang (TMTCH) are a British folk punk group. The original group consisted of Stefan Cush (vocals, guitar), Paul Simmonds (guitar, bouzouki, mandolin, keyboards), Philip "Swill" Odgers (vocals, guitar, tin whistle, melodica), Jon Odgers (drums, percussion) and Shanne Bradley (bass guitar). 1984–1991: Formation, controversy and success The Men They Couldn't Hang came together in 1984 to perform at the alternative music festival in Camden Town alongside The Pogues and the Boothill Foot Tappers. Paul Simmonds, Philip 'Swill' Odgers and his brother Jon, veterans of the Southampton-based pop-punk band Catch 22, met Pogues roadie Stefan Cush whilst busking in Shepherd's Bush in London. Their early line-up was Stefan Cush, Philip Odgers, Paul Simmonds, Jon Odgers and Shanne Bradley. The band's name is inspired by " The Man They Couldn't Hang", and was originally coined by Shane MacGowan - with whom Bradley previously played in The Nipple Erectors - as a poten ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Murder, Mystery And My Family
''Murder, Mystery and My Family'' is a BBC One series featuring Sasha Wass KC and Jeremy Dein KC., which examines historic criminal convictions resulting in the death penalty in order to determine if any of them resulted in a miscarriage of justice. Their submissions – Dein for the "defence" and Wass for the "prosecution" – are then presented to Judge David Radford, who considers whether there are grounds to consider the convictions as being unsafe. Cases featured include those of Edward Devlin and Alfred Burns, John Dickman, Edith Thompson and Frederick Bywaters, and Herbert John Bennett. In 2019, it won Best Daytime Programme of the Broadcast Awards. Episode guide Series 1 (2018) Series 2 (2019) Series 3 (2019) Series 4 (2020) Series 5 (2021) ''Murder, Mystery and My Family: Case Closed?'' In April 2019, five 45-minute episodes of the follow-up series ''Murder, Mystery and My Family: Case Closed?'' were broadcast on BBC One, revisiting cases previo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, primetime drama and entertainment, and live BBC Sport events. The channel was launched on 2 November 1936 under the name BBC Television Service, which was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution. It was renamed BBC TV in 1960 and used this name until the launch of the second BBC channel, BBC2, in 1964. The main channel then became known as BBC1. The channel adopted the current spelling of BBC One in 1997. The channel's annual budget for 2012–2013 was £1.14 billion. It is funded by the television licence fee together with the BBC's other domestic television stations and shows uninterrupted programming without commercial advertising. The television channel had the highest reach ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fairport Convention
Fairport Convention are an English British folk rock, folk rock band, formed in 1967 by guitarists Richard Thompson (musician), Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol, bassist Ashley Hutchings and drummer Shaun Frater (with Frater replaced by Martin Lamble after their first gig). They started out influenced by American folk rock, with a set list dominated by Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell songs and a sound that earned them the nickname "the British Jefferson Airplane". Vocalists Judy Dyble and Iain Matthews joined them before the recording of Fairport Convention (album), their self-titled debut in 1968; afterwards, Dyble was replaced by Sandy Denny, and Matthews later left during the recording of their third album. Denny began steering the group towards British folk music, traditional British music for their next two albums, ''What We Did on Our Holidays'' and ''Unhalfbricking'' (both 1969); the latter featured fiddler Dave Swarbrick, Dave "Swarb" Swarbrick, most notably on the song "A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
"Babbacombe" Lee
''"Babbacombe" Lee'' is a 1971 album by British folk rock group Fairport Convention, which tells the life story of John Babbacombe Lee, a Victorian-era alleged murderer who was condemned to death but was reprieved after the gallows failed on three occasions to work properly. After the commercial and chart success of its predecessor, ''Angel Delight'', the album sold disappointingly, though it was critically acclaimed, and is regarded by the authors of ''The Electric Muse'' (1975) as the first "folk rock opera". It was the band's seventh album since their debut in 1968. Concept The album follows John "Babbacombe" Lee's life story. The events of his life are described in song, from his boyhood through his conviction for murder, sentence of death, and the failure to carry out the execution. The songs describe his boyhood poverty, his time in the Royal Navy, and his being invalided out. The album then describes how Lee went to work in the service of a Miss Keyes. While Lee was i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Life Story Of John Lee, Or The Man They Could Not Hang (1912 Film)
''The Life Story of John Lee, or the Man They Could Not Hang'' is a 1912 Australian silent film based on a stage play about the true life story of John Babbacombe Lee. Its original title was ''In the Shadow of the Scaffold, or The Man They Could Not Hang'' but is better known under the later title. The film was the first of three (to date) on this story, and is considered a lost film. It is one of the most profitable early Australian films ever made. According to one writer, "The man who produced it never made any money, but the person to whom he sold it did. He would not call it a good picture; the title drew the public. It was a self-advertised film by reason of the history attached to it." In 1920 ''The Bulletin'' called it "rather crude, but highly popular." Plot John Lee returns home to Babbacombe after a number of years service in the navy. He becomes engaged to his childhood sweetheart Kate Merton but his rival, Fred Masterville, tries to frame him by depositing twenty ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
