James Berry

James Berry (8 February 1852 – 21 October 1913) was an English executioner from 1884 to 1891. He is best known for his main contribution to the practice of hanging, a refinement of the long drop method developed by British state hangman William Marwood. His improvements were intended to diminish mental and physical suffering, and some of them remained standard practice until the 1965 abolition of the death penalty in the United Kingdom.

An insight into Berry's behaviour and methods can be read in the book My Experiences as an Executioner, in which he describes his methods and recalls the final moments of some of the people he executed.

Early life

Berry was born in Heckmondwike in the West Riding of Yorkshire, where his father worked as a wool-stapler. He served for eight years with the Bradford Police Force, then attempted to work as a boot salesman. Since he did not earn enough for the upkeep of his family in this role, he applied for the post of executioner after the previous one William Marwood died in 1883. However, he was unsuccessful despite being shortlisted for the role, until the short period of Bartholomew Binns in office was over.

Berry was the first British hangman literate and communicative enough to be able to write freely about his work. He considered the hangman the last link in what he called the "chain of legal retribution".

Career

Berry's first executions were of Robert F. Vickers and William Innes, poachers who had murdered two gamekeepers named John Fortune and John McDiarmid while stealing game in Gorebridge, Scotland. They were executed on 31 March 1884 at Calton Prison in Edinburgh.