Brian Trenchard-Smith on PIERREPOINT: THE LAST HANGMAN

[@NickB1967]

I have to say Timothy Spall is a great actor.

[@MothaLuva]

Agree.

[@Dabhach1]

Well, he's certainly no matinee idol...

[@SHARKTIC5]

Cali Curmudgeon Innocent people executed. Cruel. Unjust.

[@crusherkelly1842]

You are spot- on there Cali.He was awesome in Rock Star!

[@mattylee7620]

Indeed. Wether it's from Harry Potter, to playing Sir Winston Churchill in dramas or to this great film he is a legend of acting. And of course many other films & drama's.

[@michaelhowchin2142]

My grandfather met pierrepiont on Waterloo station in the early fifties, had a chat with him. He was on his way to a hanging.

[@geezerp1982]

who was the felon to be hanged ? and did pierrepoint talk about going to do the hanging to your grandfather ?

[@kevincoombes5949]

I very much doubt Pierrepoint actually would have stated he was en route to an execution. Your Grandfather probably assumed.

[@garywalker5766]

@@kevincoombes5949 If you met the national executioner (who was from from Oldham) in London on Monday and read about the execution (taking place in London) on Wednesday, you wouldn't really have to "assume" anything.

[@john-sp3tr]

Would of liked to witness that. Hey, All over the globe , and currently too , hangings were a national pastime for entertainment , especially an attractive female , who are often hanged in their barefeet . It's an eye catcher to watch a attractive lasses feet twist , turn spastically and creaking noises from rope.

[@adelestevens]

My Dad knew him and drank in his pub. All my Dad would say about him was he was a good landlord and his beer was good quality and kept his pipes clean.

[@bartram33]

Years ago the gallows were in an open prison yard. On one occasion it was raining heavily, as the condemned man and the hangman were walking across the prison yard the prisoner said ' this rain's terrible' to which the hangman replied ' I don't know what your complaining about, I've got to walk back in this.

[@willieckaslike]

"Gallows humour" at it's best !

[@garthlyon]

Very droll!

[@philhewitt5069]

Have watched the film, Timothy Spall, class act as Pierrpiont , well worth a watch.

[@MrDavey2010]

It’s an excellent yet underrated film. Timothy Spall is superb in the title role.

[@Kelly14UK]

He's a bit chubby for the role, but yeah he WAS Pierrepoint

[@granto6738]

Is on u tube ?

[@philhewitt5069]

@@Kelly14UK thanks for that, deffo worth another watch some time .

[@Kelly14UK]

@@granto6738 Sadly, no. Just scenes. However YT's where i saw it in its entirety. If we are in luck we can still see A Is For Acid ( Martin Clunes looking nothing like John Haigh, but it's so good, it doesn't matter), and Let Him Have it with Christopher Eccleston as the unfortunate Derek Bentley.

[@grahamlait1969]

This post is a lot of nonsense, as was this film; albeit that Timothy Spall put in a good performance and it was an interesting story, the fact is that the story in the film was nonsense, untruthful and in fact, full of lies. To pretend that it was in any way a truthful representation of Pierrepoint's feelings is nonsense. Pierrepoint was never upset, or apparently bothered in any way about his part-time job as a hangman. He seemed to be able to divorce himself from any particular feelings about it, merely wanting to do his best to do the job properly and make a few bob on the side while doing so. The depiction of him having a breakdown about it, and all the breast beating Timothy Small puts on, or even feelings of guilt quite simply did not happen to Pierrepoint. He was apparently a perfectly normal, affable , well-balanced chap and errr... that's it. He wasn't against hanging and never said he was. He merely said that he didn't think it acted as a deterrent to murder and in this he was probably entirely correct.... and finally, he wasn't the last hangman in Britain by any manner of means. He retired because the Home office refused to pay him his fee for a hanging that was cancelled at the last moment, when he was ready to do the job, travelled to the prison concerned and set up the gallows. He regarded this as shoddy treatment (entirely justifiably) and resigned several years before the last hanging in Britain.... and here's a little rhyme for you, apparently popular in the British criminal fraternity in the first half of the twentieth century: 'Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, if a bullet don't get you, then Pierrepoint must.'

[@georgesouthwick7000]

graham lait You must remember, the movie industry never let the truth get in the way of a good movie. While a movie may be based on a factual event, they are, first and foremost, entertainment and should always be viewed as such.

[@Gibbs505]

Yes, there were several executions with the last in 1964, I believe.

[@Fcutdlady]

He was not the last hangman, Harry Allen and Robert Stewart were at the same time. I've read Pierrepoint's 1974 autobiography and he does say capital punishment served no purpose other the revenge. Now that might never have been his real opinion and said only to give a shock factor to the book but i can assure you it was there

[@donaldbrake5775]

Pierrepoint certainly wasn't the "last hangman" the most prolific yes ,last no.

[@timcolledge6813]

Harry Allen and Robert Stewart were the last hangmen in Britain.

[@markwoldin162]

Thank you. I remember Let Him Have It very well. Beautiful film. Tom Courtney was wonderful, as usual. I saw it in New York the week it came out. Underrated film.

[@juanitarichards1074]

I cried and cried. Same as when they executed the Bali Nine.

[@markwoldin162]

@@juanitarichards1074 The Bali Nine?

[@juanitarichards1074]

@@markwoldin162 Yes, a group of Australians and others who were caught for drug trafficking and got the death penalty but spend years in prison first, appealing their cases. There were 2 women among them I think. Anyway, they were shot by firing squad. And years before that a New Zealander and an Australian were hung for the same crime. Their desperate families trying to save them.....

[@alans9806]

@@juanitarichards1074 Only two of the Bali nine were shot - those judged to have organised the whole thing. The rest are still in gaol

[@johnturner8383]

Albert's grave is very near my mother's grave.... Rest in peace..

[@californian1459]

He deserves no peace

[@terrycourt123]

Still think of him as Barry,from Aufweidersein pet

[@iamthestig1]

I was amazed to discover he's actually NOT a brummie...

[@express777100]

pierrepoints quote saying he was now against hanging was just a ploy to help publicise his book, he was one of the most ardent supporters of capital punishment, he appeared on television in the 1980s saying it should be reintroduced and was wearing a black glove on his right hand, rather spooky or he was cracking up.

[@Tramseskumbanan]

Syd Dernley was also a supporter of capital punishment as long as he lived.

[@Blaqjaqshellaq]

In his later years, Pierrepoint ran a pub where he posted a sign saying "No hanging around"!

[@thomaspatrickmoriarty5020]

No he didnt

[@shaun5944]

I've read the book. Executioner Pierrepoint. Amazing read. A true professional. 👍🇬🇧

[@aarondavis8943]

Ooh I'd love that. I love a history that takes you into a secret world; everything is fascinating in those shadowy places.

[@johnbowen2956]

It was a very good memoir. Pierrepoint discusses why he came to oppose capital punishment. The movie was quite good. But as usual, the book is better.

[@john-sp3tr]

@@aarondavis8943 An attractive female hanged always garnered more attention , entertaining , and females always are hanged barefooted.

[@g.3008]

The bottom line insofar as the death penalty goes, if someone is guilty of murder, rape, or pedophilia then why should the taxpayer pay for food, shelter, security, water, clothes, and everything else for the rest of their natural lives? They made the choice to remove themselves from civilized society and that same society shouldn’t be forced to pay for them every day for the rest of their lives.

[@grahamreeve5209]

I say bring it back just as soon as you can bring back to life the innocent people killed by mistake and also only have it for something you can prove without any doubt, like stupity. That's you two for it then.

[@rbrucerye]

Well, the thing is about the death penalty, you want to make sure that it is justified and that you got the right person. Which means that for the average death penalty case (in a place like the US) spending millions of tax dollars on lawyers for appeals and court motions all over the place to make sure that they got the right person and that it is justified. Basically, it's actually cheaper to keep someone locked up for life then it is for the lawyer costs alone tied into ensuring that the person was in fact guilty and that such a penalty is justified.

[@grahamlait1969]

The film is excellent... and a complete misrepresentation of the truth. Pierrepoint never suffered from the kind of mental anguish depicted in the film. He never had shouting matches with his wife about it. He simply did the job, regarding it as little more than making a bob or two on the side, doing the job (part time only) in a consummately professional and thoroughly competent manner, while otherwise leading a perfectly normal and respectable life, though as a publican he seems to have had a penchant for ripping off his customers. Indeed, he was only an abolitionist in his later years insofar as he didn't believe that hanging acted as a deterrent to murder. In this belief he was undoubtedly correct, but he doesn't seem to have had any particular feelings about the morality or justice of hanging itself. As far as he was concerned, he seems to have felt that somebody had to do the job and he knew he was good at it, minimising the distress of the condemned and the time it took to do the job, so it might as well be himself who got the job done. He simply retired because he thought he was getting too old for it. Here's a little poem about him from Brendan Behan... 'Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. If the bullet don't get you, Pierrepoint must.' Indeed, if I was a member of Pierrepoint's family, I would find the total misrepresentation of Uncle Albert in the film as going well beyond the decent and reasonable and merely using him as a vehicle for the abolitionist ideology of the film makers themselves. Do you think they might find this distressing and offensive?..... because I certainly would.

[@michaelroebuck1340]

.

[@celticman1909]

It's called "creative license". A major motion picture must appeal to a wide variety of audience as the investors in that business demand as good a return on their investment as possible. I much prefer a documentary format in historical content but to many simpletons of the general public, "that's boring". So, there is a basic formula of including content to appeal to a wider audience. For instance, I recall the Hollywood production of "Pearl Harbor" that was more about the fictional love lives of fictional characters than the military operation.

[@simonh6371]

Exactly what I thought. I mean it's a great film and Timothy Spall is a brilliant actor, but the scenes of him almost defending the dignity of those he has executed after the event, like when there isn't a coffin for one of the executed Nazis he emotionally implores the army officer ''but don't you understand? He's innocent now, he's paid for his crimes''. I've watched interviews with Pierrepoint later in life, and he certainly comes over as a lot colder.

[@squamish4244]

He ripped off his customers? LOL! He spent nearly as much time at that job as he did as a hangman. He actually retired in a dispute over not getting paid for an execution he had travelled to do but the condemned was given a stay of execution. Perhaps ironically, given his penchant for screwing people over. However, it is very interesting, whatever he thought of the morality of the death penalty, that he questioned whether it was actually a deterrent. If anyone would be in a position to comment on this it would be someone like him. And we know - and he knew as well - that he had executed at least one innocent person.

[@philhewitt5069]

Moors Murderer Brady ,would have made a great addition to his tally.

[@jayburton1743]

Death is to easy for that savage

[@christopherdean1326]

The Moors Murderers escaped hanging by a matter of months. If they had been caught a few months earlier, they would have certainly hanged.

[@christopherdean1326]

@blackzed Yeah, the money we've spent keeping them alive might have gone to something useful......

[@rogueriderhood1862]

Pierrepoint is recorded as saying he would have hanged Brady and Hindley for no fee.

[@twinkletoes.9968]

Ian Brady and Myra Hindley should both have got the death 💀 penalty.

[@Steven_Rowe]

As a child in the 60s imagined the classic hangman's knot like in the Westerns. Must have been around 1967 or so and certainly after the last hanging in 64 that I found out the noose wasn't like this. My dad had gone to a place in Bermonsey to buy some rope for his work truck came home and told me they made hangman's ropes and described them just as the film shows them. Apparently they made ropes for export. In 1971 I saw 10 Rillington Place and it showed the ropes as dad described them. A quick Google search and I found the place in Old Kent Road Bermonsey John Edgington and co.

[@dionlindsay2]

It's exactly wrong to say that imprisonment is reversible. The time spend in prison cannot be reversed.

[@cottoncatt1186]

Time spent in prison is not being sentenced to prison. Confusing the 2 is like saying that buying an icecream is the same thing as spending time to eat the icecream. Time spent in prison can end, time spent being dead can't. Being in prison can be reversed, being dead can't. You loose time of freedom, not time of life, in prison. You have no more time in death.

[@struankinnaird6207]

So right! Many people were in inoccent and will never get back those years

[@dionlindsay2]

@@cottoncatt1186 By my reckoning, being in prison can be ended, but not reversed. How the devil would you reverse the time spent in prison? That's the important thing. Reversing the sentence is only a matter of a form and a signature, reversing the time spent in prison doesn't seem possible to me - and that's the hurt!

[@289wolf]

A great movie, I've never seen a movie with so many happy endings !

[@seanwebb605]

It's not a good date movie? This would explain why I am still single.

[@raycarnis9540]

Nah ... You're just hanging out with the wrong people.

[@Kelly14UK]

You're Travis Bickle aren't you?

[@seanwebb605]

@@Kelly14UK Closer to Archie Bunker

[@jameshogan6142]

It might be okay as a date movie if the girl was the daughter of a hangman.

[@christophercook723]

It stops them doing it again. That is missing from the arguments. It has to be 100% beyond reasonable doubt.

[@bengunn3698]

@Rogan Bryan Very true.

[@shawnskinner1979]

This film is super grim and fascinating. I awkwardly recommended this a few times to customers when I worked at blockbuster 😂

[@kevinstroup]

The death penalty was NEVER meant to be a deterrent to violence. It is a way of removing perpetually violent and dangerous people from society in such a way they can never be a threat again. Nobody dead every came back to kill again, whereas, if you are incarcerated you might escape or be released by bureaucratic accident.

[@gazza2933]

I understand that Albert Pierrpoint, said that Ruth Ellis was the bravest person he had ever met. Just as he placed the hood over her head, she winked at him.

[@kevinskipp2762]

No. She gave a slight smile. No wink.

[@garthlyon]

@@kevinskipp2762 I think it was described by Pierrepoint as a pout. That does take poise seconds before the drop.

[@malcolmwolfgram7414]

Leprechaun was a marvelous film full of humor, pathos, fantasy, social comment and great acting.

[@wingitprod]

Gotta check this out. Thanks for the info. Great channel here 👌

[@HeardFromMeFirst]

Time to bring it back

[@Achilles22]

Yes for some of these immams spreading their poison 😮 in our country

[@daveharrison7707]

In his biograghy Albert Pierrepoint said he never disclosed the number of executions he carried out .

[@maxdembo2029]

dave Harrison or a falsely accused dead person coming back to life.

[@maconescotland8996]

For the record - Pierrepoint was not the last British hangman.He resigned in 1956, the last executions were in 1964.

[@simonh6371]

Harry Allen was one of the last, actually there were 2 ''last'' hangmen as the last 2 men executed in the UK were hanged simultaneously, in different prisons.

[@maconescotland8996]

@@simonh6371 He may have been the last Home Office approved executioner between 1965 and 1969 ?

[@simonh6371]

@@maconescotland8996 I think that's fairly unlikely, considering he actually resigned in 1956 over a dispute about travelling expenses or fees. Hangmen always travelled the night before an execution and spent the night in the prison. Apparently he was not paid for someone who was not executed because he was reprieved on the morning of the planned execution, and took exception to this and resigned.

[@maconescotland8996]

@@simonh6371 What is fairly unlikely ? Pierrepoint resigned in 1956 as I stated three months ago. Executions continued until 1964.

[@simonh6371]

@@maconescotland8996 Ah okay it seems I misread your comment before, what it looks like you meant is that Harry Allen was the official Home Office executioner until 1969, rather than Pierrepoint.

[@coinsmith]

It can be argued whether capital punishment is effective as a deterrent -- but it most certainly prevents recidivism.

[@matthewhopkins239]

The death penalty might not be a deterrent but it sure as hell prevents re-offending.

[@alans9806]

Forget deterrence, nothing's a deterrent - not this, not gaol, not fines. That's why the gaols are full of repeat offenders, they weren't deterred.

[@tedhuges8275]

Alan S plank

[@Fcutdlady]

He was not the last hangman, Harry Allen and Robert Stewart were at the same time. I've read Pierrepoint's 1974 autobiography and he does say capital punishment served no purpose other the revenge. Now that might never have been his real opinion and said only to give a shock factor to the book but I can assure you it was there.

[@Troubadour1681]

Your correct, it was written in the Forward of the book.

[@AnthonyMonaghan]

Capital punishment is old testament justice. Utterly barbaric and futile. Albert Pierrepoint turning his back on it shows that in the end it is merely an act of vengeance.

[@19sept76]

I read his book, the first line he said he never wanted to be called "the executioner". The book was titled, "The Executioner".

[@robertbutler8041]

He wanted to be an executioner from a very earl age. Both his father and uncle were long serving hangmen, and he told his primary school teacher of his macabre ambition to follow in the familiy's trade. His autobiography was called, "Executioner: Pierrepoint".

[@dionlindsay2]

That suggests an unresolved issue between Pierrepoint and his publisher.

[@19sept76]

@Leo Peridot Albert Pierrepoint

[@Patricia-zt8ub]

While I understand why people should want a killer put to death, you better be sure you have the correct person. Mistakes cannot be undone.

[@johnprice5784]

True and dead murderers don't reoffend, so if it is 100% certain then execute the bast*rd and get more room in the prisons.

[@charlieindigo]

One has to take this man's reportage with a decent pinch of salt because the bulk of what he states is based almost entirely on film productions and his reviews of them. He tells us that, as a nine-year-old child he was "particularly distubed" at seeing the hangings of people who were mentally unfit (one has to ask where he saw that kind of thing, for there were no "official" documents or film footages available at that time, and very little known about how executions were performed). I have to say, that at that age I was especially sharp and bright, but I have to ask, would I have been "particularly disturbed" because of the condemned's mental state? I doubt it very much. I may have been disturbed by whatever film he saw (which would have been a producer's imaginative idea), but in differentiating in the morality sense between full and and sub-normal mental faculty, I think not. While he gives an extremely potted version of Pierrepoint's State-sanctioned history, he got nowhere near a version that did anything other than offer a subliminal indication of his aversion to hanging. One needs to decide whether he was talking about films or real life - neither of which has any value in my opinion. More than fifty years ago, one of my family members was involved in the entire precesses of two State Executions, and his written and spoken testimony given and related to me, more than conforms to those of Albert Pierrepoint, Harry Allen and Syd Dernley who were not present as Death-watch Officers as he was. He also believed - as Albert Pierrepoint came to believe - that Capital Punishment did not act as a deterrent to most murderers. Any "punishment" - if that is what it might be termed - only came via the thought processes of the condemned prisoner during the 3-week period left of life in the Death Cell prior to the date of execution.

[@johnwheelwright799]

Charles Griffiths you are incorrect and you may wish to watch the first minute again. He said that he was affected by these two hangings, not that he had witnessed them.

[@charlieindigo]

@@johnwheelwright799 Looking at my comment I do see how my phrasing rather unforunately would have given a wrong impression. Drawing attention to the State's authority regarding two instances, he says, and I quote, "was profoundly disturbing to me as a nine-year old ...." I was sixteen in 1962, and having a family member directly involved in two of the last State Executions, was reasonably well acquainted with all the news bulletins and reading material, as well as (much later) a full accounting of the day-by-day (almost moment-by-moment) events of the three-weeks leading up to the date of execution. Were the films that Mr T-S cited, around at that time, and could he have seen them as a young child? I cannot answer either of those questions, but I very much doubt (1) that he would have been allowed to see such things, and (2) that he had the maturity to distinguish the differences as he claims. Capital Punishment came under the terms of The Official Secrets Act, thereby restricting most of the information that was permitted for public knowledge. Any television programme or film intended for public viewing depicting a hanging, was strictly controlled by the film censors. so what did he see that could have made the impact he claims? Mr T-S (as an adult) is a film reviewer, so what he actually knows now has to be based on whatever film footage he may or may not have seen, combined with the subsequent release of more detailed information over more recent years. In my opinion, he is being disingenuous in what he claims "as a nine-year-old child," for there was little other than news announcements and debates at the time. As with all reviewers - film, TV, books &etc - they give their own opinions and interpretations, and I would argue that Mr T-S is no different, except that he is, by his own admission, giving his childhood accounting which cannot by any token be regarded as genuine on the grounds of his age and available information. I do hope that this has clarified and properly ammended my earlier comments, and thank you for bringing it to my attention.

[@briantrenchard-smith3772]

@@charlieindigo My school (8-13) made daily newspapers available and encouraged boys to read them. The death sentence of Ruth Ellis and the continuing debate on capital punishment for the three weeks leading up to her execution was widely covered in the press. The realization that the state had the right if it chose to kill a mother of two kids younger than I disturbed me. This was not my imagination at work. Just the ability to read newspapers and draw a conclusion, which 9 year olds can..

[@이정환-x7p]

Mr. Spall is really great actor when he played historical character. Churchil... pierrepoint...etc.

[@2Sugarbears]

No, not a date movie, but well worth seeing.

[@scottferris6309]

Not a date night movie is certainly a huge understatement!

[@jameshogan6142]

Imagine getting into a lift with Pierrepoint and he directing an inquiring eye at you and asking, "Ground Floor?"

[@charleswayne7442]

What an excellent movie!

[@charki40]

A brilliant film, which I watched and a great review by you. Its a potent issue the death penalty. To be an instrument of its discord like Pierrepoint, who from accounts conducted himself with a clinical professionalism, yet humane quality. There is no doubt this practise diminishes its practitioners. Be they legislators, witnesses, victim's families and those burdened with the 'duty' to render another human being dead. It does not work nor bring back those lost. The death penalty is and will always be a facility of revenge, not a deterrence.

[@HO-bndk]

The statistics all show clearly that in the UK it absolutely was an effective deterrent.

[@sirderam1]

CharKi In your opinion.

[@charki40]

@@sirderam1 Not an opinion, we still have people doing terrible things dont we. So no its not a deterrent.

[@sirderam1]

@@charki40 How do you know that it isn't a deterrent? The statistics only tell us about the people it didn't deter - they don't record the people it did deter because we never hear about them.

[@christopliss9947]

It rids the earth of a cancer.

[@squamish4244]

Unlike in the film, Pierrepoint did not have moral issues with his job. He didn't evolve into an abolitionist.

[@noonsight2010]

Pierrepoint was not the last executioner, not least in that the last two hangings in Britain, in 1964, took place simultaneously in Norwich and Liverpool, if I remember correctly, purposely to avoid any "accolades" as the last, for either the convicts or the hangmen.

[@robertbutler8041]

Liverpool Walton and Manchester Strangeways actually.

[@kevincoombes5949]

Indeed. I was revisiting to correct my error and you beat me to it!

[@johnny5stickswilliams696]

With forensic evidence and dna Today, isn’t it better to rid our society of these evil people who have no intention of changing their ways.

[@simonh6371]

Well according to Alec Jeffreys, the discoverer of DNA, it actually isn't 100% accurate. At least that's what he came out and said after Madeleine McCanns DNA was discovered in a car rented by her parents 2 weeks after she had disappeared. So what's good for the goose is good for the gander, and as it came from the horse's mouth, all convictions based on DNA are not certain. Also the cadaver dogs were lying. Well either that, or Kate & Gerry are guilty as sin.

[@kevinskipp2762]

Except DNA isn't available as often as watching CSI might lead you to believe. Most cases are eye witnesses and/or circumstantial evidence.

[@davidgiles6356]

GREAT JOB ! ! !

[@loveclose]

And to add my pennyworth- I'd be happy to see Capital Punishment reinstated. The country is getting wilder and wilder, and in general, sentencing is ridiculously inconsistent.

[@poorvic2]

Yes as long as it applies to everyone including politicians and the wealthy

[@poorvic2]

you are right to a certain extent but who would hang? People of color, the poor and the defenseless who cannot afford a lawyer.

[@markwilliams2620]

loveclose Wait until they point the cannon at you.

[@jimstanga6390]

Thanks for your insights on this film. Always a pleasure to see your videos. I really liked your remake of ‘Sahara’.

[@WORLD8NSH5KNIGHT1]

Powerful film, but Albert Pierrepoint was NOT Britain's last hangman. He resigned in 1956 Harry Allen performed the last execution in Manchester in 1964.

[@colinwilcox4266]

correct Harry Allen was Britains last hangman. Pierrepoint ran a pub in Failsworth, Manchester called Help The Poor Struggler

[@colinwilcox4266]

but the question was whether Pierrepoint was britains last hangman, which he was not.

[@express777100]

les jock stewart conducted the other hanging assisted by harry robinson.

[@WDH59510]

Both Allen and Stewart conducted both the last pair of executions in Britain (in August 1964) and the second-last (in December 1963). On both days, the executions took place at separate prisons and at exactly the same time (8 a.m.).

[@hannesbaumann8509]

I believe that wiki calls him Britain's most prolific executioner.

[@silvervalleystudios2486]

Im trying to take this guy serious but I keep remembering he directed Leprechaun.

[@tae523]

What's wrong with that?

[@thomaspatrickmoriarty5020]

GUY, man yes speak bloody english not am erican

[@mime1926]

Those who often committed these crimes in war either fully denied it or justified it. I remember looking at stone cold faces of accused in interviews and personally once in court. The death stare they give is enough to convince you.

[@andrewvictor1865]

My class mates were obviously less thoughtful than you at around the same age. At some point the authorities changed the hour of executions from 8am to 9am, which allowed us to be at our school desks, count down to 9am and all bang our desk lids at the same moment.

[@MrB1923]

Good review. Good job. subscribed.

[@bigbob1699]

Some one has to take out the garbage . We thank him for doing a job that was needed and no one else would do .

[@theradgegadgie6352]

Wrongly named in the American market, as Pierrepoint resigned ten years before it was discarded and several chief executioners came after him.

[@garrybaldy327]

Rumour has it, Brian Trenchard Smith is still in shock that Quentin Tarantino considers him a great director. "But I make crap, Quentin. Haven't you seen Dead End Drive In?" "But Dead End Drive In's one of my favourite movies, Brian" "Quentin, are you insane??"

[@paulgrimm7842]

Dam good man. Need more like him!

[@melgrant7404]

Except if it was someone belonging to you that were being hanged.

[@gazza2933]

@@melgrant7404 Mel, what if it had been someone closed to you that had been murdered?

[@melgrant7404]

@@gazza2933 well that is the difficult issue .obviously I would feel differently then.im glad it was abolished though because what if a mistake was made hanging the wrong person.

[@struankinnaird6207]

@@melgrant7404 well i

[@struankinnaird6207]

@@melgrant7404 well it doesn't make a difference to some people.

[@BillSikes.]

It might not be a deterrent, but violent crime has never been more prevalent than it is today, so many violent criminals are released after spending such little time behind bars only to go on to eventually commit murder, which on average the offender will serve 15 years, this isn't justice for the remaining loved ons of the victim, I used to be against capital punishment, but in recent year I've changed my view of the criminal justice system, and now believe that Capital Punishment should be reinstated

[@meow1990_2]

Reading the comment section makes me appreciate being an intelligent person

[@MothaLuva]

That’s just an assumption on your side.

[@williamhogan4031]

@@MothaLuva agreed....

[@leeeastwood6368]

thought is a remarkable thing, that far too many people seem to be incapable of!

[@Ailuj234]

My favorite movie of all time. Weird eh!

[@MothaLuva]

Which one.

[@ryancoulson9448]

@@MothaLuva 🤤

[@celticman1909]

I saw the film, it was a different time, a harsher time. In my opinion pierrepoint should have retired from the gallows after his identity was revealed following the Nazi war crimes trials. Then he could have had his pub business, celebrity status, and been remembered as the man that hanged the Nazis. As it turned out he discovered the basic reason that his father and uncle want to remain anonymous.

[@beauxox3401]

To think I’m distantly related to a literal executioner. I never would’ve thought 😅

[@davidmarr9408]

so your relative wrote books ?

[@susanmason6476]

SO IS MY HUSBAND WE LIVE IN LIVERPOOL. RELATED ON HIS MOTHERS SIDE HIS MOTHERS FAMILY NAME WAS STOCK OOOOOOO HELLO X

[@rainlori]

Pierrepoint was a slight, dapper man. Not the lumbering character portrayed in this film.

[@CharlesvanDijk-ir6bl]

All the convicted were "Well Hung". Ends well all well.

[@NapoleonGelignite]

Charles van Dijk - “hanged”. I know it kills the joke.

[@kevincoombes5949]

No-one was ever "hung" on a gallows The term is "hanged". The only known reference to an executed convict be "well hung" cost Sid Dernley his place on the Home Office list of executioners.

[@darrenrenna]

Nice review, I felt the same way--the film leaves a deep impression

[@kevvome]

Yeah....around the neck.

[@jimstanga6390]

Mr. Trenchard-Smith - Good analysis. Always liked your films as well.

[@keithwilson6060]

I want the death penalty to be unpopular. Unpopular enough that it rarely has to be carried out because people are fearful of committing the crimes that warrant it.

[@jmowreader9555]

Aragorn, the big problem with that theory is, criminals believe they won't be caught. If they are caught they believe they won't be convicted. If they are convicted they think they won't go to jail or the death house. If they go to jail they think it won't be for long, and if to the death house they think their sentence will be overturned.

[@RobertEWaters]

The problem is that the death penalty is not, and never has been, a deterrent. It's a commonplace that in England the most likely place to get your pocket picked was at the hanging of a pickpocket! No penalty can be a deterrent unless the person contemplating committing it believes that he's likely to be caught. The real problem is that the odds are good that whatever the penalty the person who commits murder will get away with it.

[@RobertEWaters]

Precisely.

[@jonathanball4933]

Your evidence? Please provide said statistics. No, I'm not going to look them up myself, I never made the statement.

[@thetooginator153]

Basset Drool - If someone provided statistics from the FBI, would you change your mind about the death penalty? I understand where you are coming from, but people like me who have provided the statistics a person asked for never get a reply “Wow! I was wrong! The death penalty is clearly NOT a deterrent!” Instead, the goal posts are moved, and the requirement for “proof” just gets more and more laborious to provide. I generally believe that the burden of proof is on the person who makes the claim, but the statistics showing that the death penalty is not a deterrent are generally accepted as common knowledge. Here’s a good way to have a pretty good idea that statistics don’t bolster a person’s viewpoint: the person no longer makes the claim. Can you imagine if statistics showed that the death penalty was a deterrent to capital crimes? Absolutely NO pro death penalty advocate would even be talking about victims’ rights, they would simply cite statistics - always. As you can probably guess, I’m a liberal. I do NOT like it when something I wish were true turns out to be false. Nonetheless, I accept the truth, and weigh its value against my ideology. In your case, you could find out (on your own) that the death penalty is not a deterrent to capital crimes, but still be an advocate for the death penalty based on your personal sense of justice. Families of murder victims have been surveyed extensively years after the perpetrator has been executed, and the vast majority of them have said that they found little or no comfort for their loss knowing the killer is dead. You can choose to believe this is not true. Your choice. Or, you could check it out for yourself. What DOES comfort families is when the killer is sentenced to death, but the death itself isn’t a comfort for long (if at all). I believe the best argument for the death penalty is that, once carried out, guarantees the killer will never commit another crime (because he’s dead). Naturally, it’s almost impossible to know without ANY doubt that a person is guilty, this means that innocent people will be executed. For example: the vast majority of people who confess to crimes are guilty. That’s a fact. However, some people confess to crimes because they are told that they will be convicted anyway, but a confession will help them avoid the death penalty. Detectives are very good at getting people to confess - especially after telling them that asking for a lawyer makes them look guilty. Detectives do NOT want to convict the wrong person (unless the detective is crazy) because it looks REALLY bad when someone confesses and the true perpetrator is found later (oops!). Also, the vast majority of detectives are regular people who don’t want innocent people convicted. You’ve probably heard of Amanda Knox, who confessed to being at the flat when her roommate was murdered. Knox says one of her interrogators hit her, but the police deny this. If Knox had been poor and unattractive, she would probably be in an Italian prison right now. However, many Americans believe she is innocent and that her confession was coerced. There doesn’t appear to be any evidence that absolutely proves Knox is guilty, but there is a lot of evidence that strongly suggests she may have been involved. If she had been given a 100 percent fair trial, it seems unlikely she would have been convicted - especially if her confession was thrown out. The VAST majority of suspects don’t get a 100 percent fair trial because it’s too expensive and suspects generally can’t afford competent and agressive attorneys. OJ Simpson was given a VERY fair trial, and Detective Mark Fuhrman’s perjury guaranteed an acquittal, which is exactly what happened. It seems pretty obvious that OJ was guilty, but he had VERY competent and agressive lawyers. So, you see that capital punishment exists in a flawed justice system, which is one of the reasons I oppose it. Reasonable people are aware of all of this and still support the death penalty, so it really boils down to weighing the pros and cons, and your personal sense of justice.

[@michaelroebuck1340]

His pub was Help The Poor Struggler it was in Hollinwood Manchester U.K.

[@stevetaylor9846]

Michael Roebuck : Many people recall a sign above the bar, "No hanging around the bar". Pierrepoint has always said that there never was any such sign. We remember what we want to remember- true or otherwise.

[@michaelroebuck1340]

I would not know about the sign , never drank in there.

[@e.l.norton]

Bring it back.

[@megpaterson5189]

They could bring it back for me, it would get my vote.

[@dunneincrewgear]

Meg Paterson Well done Meg! You've totally missed the point of the video...

[@darylindes2559]

The problem with the death penalty is that every so often innocent person gets executed. This is why it should be abolished. The jury don’t always get it right. Life in prison without parole serves the same purpose.

[@RedBull34thID]

daryl indes : where's the justice in someone like Ted Bundy, John Gaycey, Charlie Starkweather, ect. continuing to draw breath while their victims draw none.?

[@mike04535]

+daryl indes. The jury convicts on the strength of the evidence placed before it. The verdict is based on the belief of the jury that the accused is guilty beyond all reasonable doubt. In the case of Derek Bentley there was a huge question mark over his guilt as he was actually under arrest when Craig gunned down the policeman. Craig was 16 years old and could not be executed and he was sentenced to be Detained at Her Majesty's Pleasure. A policeman had been murdered and so someone had to hang for it. Bentley, being 18 years old paid the price purely on the interpretation of what the words "Let him have it" meant. The policeman told Craig to give him the gun, Bentley uttered the words and Craig pulled the trigger. Bentley was eventually given a posthumous pardon. One other probable innocent hanged was Timothy Evans. Found guilty of killing his wife and child. He protested his innocence right to the end. The true murderer who lived in the same house, 10 Rillington Place, as the Evans's was Christie who was subsequently found to be a multiple killer particularly of women. a number of bodies were recovered from under the floorboards in the house. He was eventually hanged. Sometimes a jury may have unknowingly been denied access to evidence because it was not put before the court.

[@nickjames3149]

The Last Hangman wasn't pierrepoint. It was Harry Alan

[@tedhuges8275]

Nick James It doesn’t matter who it was. We need one now. Clear the prisons. Of all the low life scum. The air will be a lot cleaner

[@Juan_Kossov]

Get your facts right, Brian.

[@bigbob1699]

All punishment should be public. Other wise the public will not know the consequence of crime. Maybe if more people toured prisons and jails some might think twice about doing something stupid.

[@NickB1967]

Indeed. 416 "innocents", my arse.

[@judynewton5673]

John D :

[@F53802]

I believe that there is still a place for capital punishment especially for the victims families as their loved ones will not rise from the grave once the murderer is released from prison.

[@t-gmailaccount6796]

How is it justice if the punishment isn't as severe as the crime? Couldn't agree with you more.

[@refinisherman]

The death penalty is the proper punishment for murder . The deterrent argument is bogus .

[@petesmith9472]

Her hangman didn't agree with you. But then what would HE know?

[@russellparratt9859]

It should never be used when someone is convicted using circumstantial evidence. It should never be used when there is a history of conflict between people, because the issues of self defence and manslaughter can play an important part, and can be incorrectly judged. It should ALWAYS be used in cases of terrorism, thrill killings, and the murder of innocent individuals.

[@johnny5stickswilliams696]

Watched the movie and read the book captivated by both

[@francisebbecke2727]

Grim work, but if the ultimate decision is to have capitol punishment then you need someone who knows their business.

[@johnkrebs3198]

Imprisonment is irreversible. Give somebody back the time they spent in prison.

[@r.crompton2286]

Mistakes have indeed, been made. The problem with capital punishment is not so much that it is irreversible but that it should never be meted out unless there is ABSOLUTE proof of guilt. But where that proof is conclusive (not merely guilt based on circumstantial evidence that leads a jury to regard the accused as the probable offender), capital punishment serves as a just sentence. It's a travesty of justice to allow a truly guilty murderer to spend his/her time in prison ostensibly for rehabilitation whilst gaining an educational certificate/degree(s) all at public expense. There are thousands of men and women who have lived exemplary lives and who couldn't get a decent education because they chose to enter the work force at 16 or 17 to support their families. Shame on the gov't. that mollycoddles the violent and the corrupt while ignoring the plight of law-abiding citizens who cannot make ends meet.

[@keithwilson6060]

R. Crompton Some penalties SHOULD be irreversible.

[@iamtenzin4409]

Of course, that would never happen to you or anyone love, would it?

[@Noodles37UK]

I like you. If we ever bring it back, it should be for hands on cold blooded murderers and DON'T give them a chance to prove themselves "good people deep down". Personally, i'm against it but have learned to respect the opinions of the pro hanging side. Think some people are "getting away with murder" these last 20 years in Britain. In Scotland, we have Not Proven and we had rarer hangings as a consequence than the rest of the UK.

[@WG1807]

Your reasoning is immediately flawed because how can any trial, for any offence, have ABSOLUTE proof of guilt? No member of the jury in any trial has actually been there, at the scene of the crime and physically witnessed with their own eyes the actual deed. Such people would qualify as WITNESSES and might be called to testify but they will never decide the guilt or otherwise of the accused. It's up to the Jury to decide whether they believe the witnesses and any other evidence (by the cops, who are themselves only witnesses). In every trial it is the case that 12 people have to believe someone else's words, and then agree on those beliefs. Even if one member of the jury was also an actual witness (but that wouldn't be allowed anyway) and really did KNOW that the accused was guilty - he or she is still relying on 11 other people to believe him/her. I realise you will know all this but it's just to illustrate there can never be an ABSOLUTE. The legal wording is 'beyond all reasonable doubt'. Any reasonable doubts - acquit. In a capital trial where a person's life is at stake it may be (for any one juror or for them all) that even slight doubts would be enough to be reluctant to convict. That's apparently what did happen in capital trials - juries became increasingly reluctant to convict, as time wore on and society became more liberal. The problem with that is that acquital meant walking free and it may just be that a murderer went loose. This was another factor in the abolition of the Death Penalty. Too many people were going free when they were 'probably' guilty. So - another way of putting it is that in the days of capital trials, accused people received fairer trials - or more liberal ones depending on how you look at it. This would certainly be more magnified today with the uber-liberalism we have. It may be that virtually no juries these days could be formed without staunch anti death penalty believers in their ranks. On all juries, there would be some who would refuse to convict, even for someone found with blood-stained hands standing over the body, etc, etc. It is apparently the case that juries were in any case far more careful and attentive and deliberated more carefully in the days of capital punishment. So a person really did get a fairer trial.

[@r.crompton2286]

Finarfin Thank you for your perspective. In a capital offense trial there is of necessity, certainty of establishing absolute proof of guilt in order to convict. Absolute proof of guilt is attainable through two or more reliable witnesses who corroborate the culpability of the accused -- being supported by forensics. Admittedly, the percentage of "absolute proof" murder cases going to trial is probably less than 50%. I understand from other comments on this thread that Scotland has retained a " Not Proven" verdict in addition to "Guilty" and "Not Guilty." That would be a good universal option to avoid "Guilty" murder/treason verdicts on the sole basis of strings of weak circumstantial evidence. Your remarks concerning fairness of trials among the liberal-minded has merit. Juries have indeed been quite liberal in recent decades to the point of actually being sympathetic toward the guilty. But it appears that in the Western World, we are beginning to witness a shift toward a more conservative sense of justice as a result of increased terrorism. More people now seem to be in favour of capital punishment for terrorism and perhaps it would be a first step to begin executing terrorists because juries would probably be willing to hand down a "Guilty" verdict punishable by death to those people who engage in willful, wholesale slaughter. Just a thought.

[@matthewspicer1068]

The correct figure for Albert Pierrepoint's executions between 1932 and 1955 is 433 - which includes 16 females - he also observed at one execution before actually participating in an execution .... Matthew:)

[@kevinkards]

bring back hanging

[@kenlyneham4105]

You first!

[@fredpinczuk7352]

Eye for an eye, makes the world go blind.

[@kevinkards]

@@fredpinczuk7352 so you want to defend pedophiles rapist murders and terrorists we know who side you Are on

[@mito88]

@@kevinkards profound analysis, amazingly profound.

[@TheLT704]

does anyone know the purpose of the two suspended balls hanging from the ceiling next to the noose? are they balance mechanisms or levers ?

[@sirderam1]

Phillip Millar. They are for the escorting warders, who might be standing on planks of wood across the trapdoor, to hold onto to steady themselves when the trap opens.

[@DirectDemocrat]

@@sirderam1 Exactly......well done

[@eddielasowsky7777]

Until there is as much concern for a victim of murder as there is the murderer, I could care less about their punishment.

[@patkearney4666]

Truly what you say correct

[@johannesslobbe6854]

@@patkearney4666 And what about those that were hanged innocently? Isn't that state condoned murder?

[@matthewspicer1068]

Albert Pierrepoint died on this day 10-Jul-1992 aged 87 - on the very same day the last death sentence was passed in these islands - on the Isle of Man - Anthony Teare who had been found guilty of murder .... Matthew:)

[@roberthemingway7884]

Did he hang

[@matthewspicer1068]

@@roberthemingway7884 Oh gosh no .... the last execution was in August 1964 and the last execution on the Isle of Man was in 1872 .... the law abolishing the death penalty for murder in November 1965 only applied to Britain and not Northern Ireland, Jersey (Guernsey had abolished it in August 1965), and the Isle of Man so death sentences carried on after November 1965 .... Matthew:)

[@roberthemingway7884]

@@matthewspicer1068 thanks

[@dfwrealestateservicesllc2878]

A great movie.

[@garthlyon]

Two corrections - Pierrepoint was not the last UK hangman (it was Harry Allen), and he did not hang the Nazis tried at Nuremberg (it was John C Woods). Pierrepoint hanged the condemned from other trials in Germany, notably the trial at Lüneburg linked to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.

[@sirderam1]

Who was John C Wood? An American?

[@garthlyon]

@@sirderam1 Yes - he was previously an electric "chair" man, not a hangman. That's why he cocked-up the Nuremberg hangings; he'd never done a hanging before then. It was a political decision amongst allies: UK got the chief judge at Nuremberg, US got the executioner.

[@sirderam1]

@@garthlyon That was a bad deal for the condemned!

[@jameshogan6142]

@@garthlyon I often wondered why the US could not have supplied experienced hangmen since hanging was still in use there during that time frame.

[@NallDave]

I can think of several so called murderers who were convicted and then later proven innocent. This makes it impossible for me to support the death penalty. Once a person is dead, they can no longer fight for their innocence to be recognised. It will be of little comfort to anyone to pardon them posthumously. Check out Stefan Ivan Kiszko and Stephen Downing. Look at the similarities in these cases. In the case of Stefan, the police actually knew he was innocent, but used him as an easy catch, leaving the real culprit at large. How evil is that. Derek Bentley was posthumously pardoned and his murder conviction was overturned. You will see the similarities again between Bentley, Kiszco and Downing.

[@keithwilson6060]

Dave Derby Innocent? Or not guilty on some irrelevant technicality? I'd say the latter in almost all cases.

[@Wolfington]

You'd say the latter because you couldn't be arsed Googling Derek Bentley, Stefan Kiszko or Stephen Downing. Not to mention Timothy Evans. Then there's the Guildford Four about whom the trial judge said he would've given a death sentence if he could under UK law, the Birmingham Six, Barrie George...innocent men who could be dead if capital punishment still existed.

[@geezerp1982]

wrong! had the murder act 1969 never been passed, under the 1957 capital murder statute, the judge wound have no choice but to only pass the death sentence ! the statute made any murder by explision, shooting, in the furtherence of theft, killing more then one person, killing a police officer, killing somone after been periouly being convicted of non capital murder - capital murder ! end of all other murders were not capital !

[@SuperNevile]

Bentley (who today would be judged as being "of diminished responsibility") didn't fire the shot, he was under arrest. Christopher Craig did. Whilst under arrest Bentley shouted "Let him have it", an ambiguous statement. Craig was too young to hang at 16, and was imprisoned for 10 years. He was a free man at the age of 26 and went on to live a normal life. As a policeman had died, someone had to hang to deter the others. Sometimes the Law is a deadly ass. In my opinion two innocents killed and the guilty "boy" eventually went free.

[@BedsitBob]

Excellent film.

[@Warriorking.1963]

I seriously doubt this guy was worried in the least about who was being executed when he was nine years old.

[@davidlj53]

This argument that capital punishment is not a deterrent is nonsense, it’s punishment, that’s all. The execution of a killer is assurance that the killer will not do it again, simple. Society doesn’t miss a killer, never has, never will.

[@bertiewooster3326]

A long list of innocents??? List them then !!!!

[@williamgallop9425]

Number one: Jesus Christ

[@johnbowen2956]

@@williamgallop9425 And Socrates.

[@rogueriderhood1862]

Pierrepoint was not the last hangman. If the makers of the film can't get that simple fact correct what hope is there for the rest of the film. Read Pierrepoints's book instead.

[@rogueriderhood1862]

@steve gale wtf is that supposed to mean? Pierrepoint resigned in 1956, the last men hanged in Britain were executed in 1964. Work it out for yourself, fuckwit.

[@rogueriderhood1862]

@steve gale Do you're homework, you cretin, Pierrepoint did not fight to end capital punishment, he merely said it achieved nothing but revenge. Pierrepoint requested that he be removed from the list of executioners in 1956. Sounds like a resignation to me, fuckwit.

[@rogueriderhood1862]

@steve gale Yes he did what? Is that post supposed to make sense? Go back to playing with your fingers, I've had enough of your trolling. You can't educate pork.

[@johngeorge9865]

What’s wrong with revenge

[@WLDB]

john george it isn’t justice.

[@karenstjohn6759]

Life imprisonments without parole are better vengeance.

[@robertwhitstone3741]

Revenge shows why you have a problem in the frist place EGO

[@kevincoombes5949]

Oh dear! Let me explain to the fuckwits! Many miscarriages of justice occurred. Execution often resulted in those involved developing mental health problems. Some never worked again. Many hang-men committed suicide. The financial cost of execution was far greater than keeping a prisoner incarcerated for life. Execution was never an effective deterrent to crime. So plenty of reasons why it was wrong.

[@getsomegetsomenow]

Very inciteful, sir. Great piece.

[@crissy214]

PIERREPOINT is a hero

[@stranraerwal]

crissy214: well, crissy. a hero is someone who risks his life to do something heroic...the hangman didn't risk anything except a bad rope snapping.

[@jellyfishattack]

When Albert Pierrepoint wrote his memoirs, about 15 years after he retired, he said that with the depravity society has sunk to, he would be very willing to return to execute the "child-killers". Pierrepoint did recognize that some filth could not be prevented from hurting children, and therefore a virtually instantaneous death (plus those few additional seconds getting to the actual trap) would be most effective insurance that these animals were never released to destroy more children's lives.

[@tombristowe846]

While I understand your repugnance at the death penalty, I share it, I find it a bit hard to believe that as a nine year old, in the fifties, you were well enough informed, 'woke' even, to see those executions in terms of "an abused mother " or "mentally handicapped teenager". That would be an act of social awareness staggering in a child and several decades before its time. I'm not saying no-one was opposed to it then, but it wasn't discussed in those terms.

[@WLDB]

It actually was. These terms aren’t new. Those arguments were used at the trials and in appeals. Didn’t help at the time but later did.

[@briantrenchard-smith3772]

While the terms I use are contemporary, those were my sentiments. People often underestimate the awareness of children. At my first boarding school, daily newspapers were laid out on a table for pupils to read, because the school believed it was important for young people to be aware of contemporary events. The arguments for and against the previous execution of low IQ Bentley and the up coming execution of Ruth Ellis, mother of two young children, were well laid out in various papers. The school's attitude remained "The law is the law." I am glad the law was finally changed.

[@TheActualCathal]

Was wondering why this one was the most viewed on the channel. Watched it and still didn't understand. Read the comments. Ah, that's why. Flame wars. Well, whatever works.

[@Pookleberry]

It was a good attempt to depict a difficult subject, a part of British folklore, actually. I felt the film concentrated too much about him having to execute his friend. They were not friends, per se, more acquaintances and Pierrepoint very rarely confided in people and those he did were only his very, very close friends. It would have been more telling if the execution of a German spy that nearly went hideously wrong, in as much as the man really resisted being led to the gallows. According to his autobiography it took 15 minutes to complete the task. Derek Bentley's tragic end should also have been shown, along with poor Timothy Evans. And of executions one would have liked to see: Lord Haw-Haw, John Amery, Haig and Christie. On the whole, too sugary a film, considering the subject matter, but nevertheless a good attempt.

[@tinderbox218]

The death penalty certainly deters the particular murderers it's applied to.

[@georgesouthwick7000]

The death penalty may not be a deterrent, but it sure stops repeat offenders.

[@georgesouthwick7000]

Charles Bue I think Ron White also said, “other states are getting rid of the death penalty and we’re putting in an express lane”. I sure do like the way they do things in Texas.

[@markevanger4791]

If the state has no right, if the court has no right, what happens to the victims right?