This book is a historical curiosity for the 21st-century reader: it sheds light on details of English justice in the 19th–20th centuries, seen through the eyes of an unusual figure. It is not a novel, but neither is it a cold, dry document: its personal voice and sensitivity to detail make it accessible and engaging. It raises questions that remain relevant in modern society: the acceptance or rejection of the death penalty, the place and role of punishment in a civilized world, and, of course, the human dignity of those convicted.
James Berry (1852–1913) was an English executioner who served officially as “Her Majesty’s Executioner” between 1884 and 1891, that is, the appointed hangman of the Queen of the United Kingdom (Queen Victoria). He was born near York, originally worked as a policeman, and in 1884 was appointed executioner. He carried out his first execution that same year in Leeds. Over the course of his career he performed more than 130 executions. Among others, he executed Amelia Dyer (one of England’s most infamous “baby farmers”), and he also carried out the last public hangings in England. Compared to earlier executioners, he sought to introduce more professional, “modernized” methods. Particularly significant was the table he developed for calculating rope length, intended to make executions “quick and clean” (avoiding slow death by strangulation or excessive injury).
In 1891 he resigned from his post and then wrote his memoirs under the title My Experiences as an Executioner. In it he shares objective yet personal experiences of what “killing professionally” was like—that is, how British imperial execution protocol was carried out, what tools and calculation methods were applied. He gave detailed accounts of his work, his ethical struggles, and the circumstances of executions. He pointed out that the office of the executioner was not merely a professional matter but raised deeply human and moral questions as well. His work is a kind of mirror of our thinking about crime and punishment: how we relate to those struck by judgment, and what the humane—or inhumane—exercise of power can teach us. He expected neither alienation nor idle curiosity from the reader; his goal was that people should also empathize with the “weak and erring brothers” who make up the criminal class and whom society often excludes or demonizes.
Until the end of his life he gave lectures, and as a religious man he sought to convey “moral lessons” concerning the death penalty. He often emphasized moral dilemmas and the need for empathy. In his writings and lectures he urged people not to think of those awaiting execution with malice or schadenfreude, but with compassion—he referred to them as “erring brothers.” He was not opposed to the death penalty in the sense that he rejected his office or denied the legitimacy of sentences imposed by law. At the same time, he approached the death penalty critically, and advocated more humane treatment and social compassion. In the case of certain crimes, he regarded it as excessively harsh and believed it was not always the most appropriate instrument. He was a “reformer executioner,” seeking to develop a more humane practice within the framework of the system.
I particularly recommend this book to readers interested in history, criminology, or ethics—it can be especially useful for university courses or for independent study. I also recommend it for debates about contemporary criminal justice, and to literature lovers who appreciate true stories told from a personal perspective.
This book is freely available courtesy of Project Gutenberg here: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/46579/46579-h/46579-h.htm