Thomas Granger or Graunger (1625? – September 8, 1642) was one of the 32 people hanged in the

Plymouth Colony Plymouth Colony (sometimes spelled Plimouth) was the first permanent English colony in New England from 1620 and the third permanent English colony in America, after Newfoundland and the Jamestown Colony. It was settled by the passengers on t ...

(the first hanged in Plymouth or in any of the colonies of New England being John Billington) and the first known juvenile to be sentenced to death and executed in the territory of today's

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. He was a servant to Love Brewster, of

Duxbury Duxbury (alternative older spelling: "Duxborough") is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. A suburb located on the South Shore (Massachusetts), South Shore approximately to the southeast of Boston, the population was 16,090 ...

, in the

British North America British North America comprised the colonial territories of the British Empire in North America from 1783 onwards. English colonisation of North America began in the 16th century in Newfoundland, then further south at Roanoke and Jamestown, ...

. Graunger, at the age of 16 or 17, was convicted of " buggery with a mare, a cow, two goats, divers sheep, two calves, and a turkey", according to court records of September 7, 1642. Graunger reportedly confessed to his crimes in court privately to local magistrates, and upon indictment, publicly to ministers and the jury, being sentenced to "death by hanging until he was dead". He was hanged by John Holmes, Messenger of the Court, on September 8, 1642. Before Graunger's execution, following the laws set down in Leviticus 20:15 ("And if a man shall lie with a beast, he shall surely be put to death: and ye shall slay the beast"), the animals involved were slaughtered before his face and thrown into a large pit dug for their disposal, no use being made of any part of them.Chronogram.com
/ref> An account of Granger's acts is recorded in Gov. William Bradford's diary '' Of Plymouth Plantation 1620–1647.'' Granger's crime represents the colonies' first recorded act of bestiality.

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Graunger, Thomas 1620s births 1642 deaths Zoophilia 17th-century executions of American people American people convicted of sodomy Children executed by the United States People executed by the Plymouth Colony by hanging People executed for sodomy Pre-statehood history of Massachusetts Plymouth County, Massachusetts People from Duxbury, Massachusetts

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