ABOUT THIS SITE

This page contains information on how to use this site and a disclaimer.

HISTORY

Someday in the future, when we have the time, we intend on adding a section with a general history of execution in Canada and biographies of hangmen.

BOOKS

Some of the cases have been described in more detail in a book. This icon beside a name indicates that a book with an article on this person is available from amazon.com. Clicking on the icon will take you to the title on the Book Page. From there you can go to amazon.com for more information. The book list is in progress so a lack of a title here does not mean no one has ever written a story about the criminal you are interested in. If you have a favourite title not listed here please let us know. We use commissions received from book sales towards further research, ie: trips to archives, photocopying, etc.

DONATIONS

We gratefully accept donations to use towards further research for this site.

HOW TO USE THIS SITE

I AM LOOKING FOR A PARTICULAR PERSON. Click on "WHAT IS IN INDEX", then "ALPHABETICAL INDEX". Chose the page for the letter that the surname starts with. When you select a name it will take you to the province/territory page which will contain more information on that person. You will end up in close proximity to the name, you might have to scroll down a bit. We don't have an idex for victims' names. If looking for a specific victim and you don't know the perpetrator than go to the province and use Ctrl F.

I AM LOOKING UP A PROVINCE/TERRITORY. Click on "WHAT IS IN INDEX", then "MAIN INDEX". Chose the province/territory. You can also chose a particular era within a province/territory.

PROVINCE/TERRITORY PAGES. This is where the information is. Each page is broken down by eras to make it easier to compare how laws changed as the region's history and governance changed. You will notice that in earlier days juveniles suffered execution, lesser crimes were punishable by death, and occasionally methods other than hanging were used.

Information is compiled on the following categories:

• NAME. You may have seen a name spelled differently elswhere. Errors are always possible, however in earlier years different original sources may have spelled a name in different ways. Record keeping was not as accurate and illiteracy was common. Some names, particularily French names, contain accents which may not be recognized by your browser.
• DATE. Many earlier dates are not exact. Records were not accurate, not kept, or didn't survive. In post-confederation executions, dates from two sources may differ by one day. This is because some prisons carried out the execution within minutes after midnight. One source might give the correct day and another source might mistakenly give the day prior. There is no guarantee that dates here are correct.
• METHOD. Most executions in Canada were carried out by hanging. In earlier years different methods were occasionally used. British Army garrisons often used a firing squad. Some executions in New France were carried out using methods employed at the time in France.
• LOCATION. Place of execution. Generally the location is the community where the event took place, not the name of the prison. In some cases we could only find the name of a wider locality such as a county.
• CRIME. The crime that was punishable by death. Other crimes committed at the same time may not be listed.
• SEX. Most persons executed were men. Often the only information recorded in earlier years was the sex of the prisoner.
• RACE. This is given only if it was specified in records or a photograph is available. Generally, race has not been presumed based on nationality or surname. Exception: We have found that a few very old newspapers utilized a writing style completely different from modern standards. Consistently, when a white person was described their European nationality would be mentioned. Likewise, when the victim was a minority than descriptive terms, many that are offensive by today's standards, would be used. Metis is used for persons who are described in original records of having a mix of Native and European ancestry.
• AGE. Age was not accurately kept until about the 1920's. Ages from different sources for earlier executions may differ if the sources were actually witnesses who just estimated the victim's age. Other ages might be off by one year if one source recorded the age and another source recorded the number of years in the victim's life as age.
• OCCUPATION. Not many available but most that are listed are jobs lower on the status scale. Often the prisoner was not actually employed in the specified job, or even employed for that matter, at the time of arrest. We only include "unemployed" if our source specifes that the prisoner was unemployed at the time of arrest. If we find that the prisoner served in a war we note that they were a veteran.
• EXECUTIONER. Not many pre-confederation executioners are known. Often he was a local volunteer who remained anonymous behind a mask. After confederation there was usually only one Dominion Executioner at a time, however, if he was unavailable than a local volunteer might have stepped in. For this reason executioners are not presumed and only listed if a reference was found. A note on Arthur Ellis: this was actually a pseudonym originally used by Arthur English. After his retirement many of his predecessors continued to go by the same trade name. Where it is known that the first Arthur Ellis carried out the execution the name Arthur English is listed to differentiate from other Arthur Ellis'. At this time we have just put a "?" in this column when we have come across executioners using the pseudonym.
• NOTES. A brief paragraph about the crime for which the person was executed. See DISCLAIMER.
• LAST WORDS. When there is not much other information on a prisoner, their last words often give a glimpse into their character. These final speeches consisted of admission of guilt or complete denial, religious sermons, warnings to the public, and even attempts at humour. Up until about the mid 1930's reporters were present at every hanging. Older newspapers printed complete speeches which sometimes ran for several paragraphs. Over time the public opinion of executing prisoners evolved from entertainment to distaste. The newspapers reflected this and as executions lost public favour less space was devoted to the final speech until it often was not transcribed at all. After Thomasina Sarao was unintentionally decapitated sheriffs across the country were leary about admitting reporters to witness hangings. While some sheriffs would hold a press conference and quote final statements many sheriffs would not release any detail about what happened at the gallows. Therefore there are many hangings, especially in the last 30 years of capital punishment, where the last words will never be known. As a final note on this topic we have noticed that the speeches, especially the long ones, often differ among newpapers. In the days before recording equipment a reporter would note the main topics in these often lengthy speeches and later fill in the spaces. When comparing articles on the same hanging we have noticed that both often list the same topics in the same order but differ word for word.
• OTHER INFO. Some names are in red. Clicking on these will take you to a page with more notes and the prisoner's last statement (if known).

SOURCES

This is a brief note on where we found our information. We have read many bits of information from a variety of sources. When determining reliability of a potential fact we evaluate the type of source; original or modern. Generally, original sources are the most reliable and are preferable. These include old records, eye witness accounts, and contemporary newspaper accounts. The actual document can be viewed where it is held or may be available on-line. Some archives such as the National Archives and provincial archives have scanned the original documents. Newspapers can be found in many local libraries on microfilm. Some newspaper articles and diaries have been transcribed word-for-word on-line. Modern sources are books and articles written long after the event. Some refer back to an original source, however others may refer to another modern source or may have no reference at all. A few of the executions such as that of Louis Riel and the last two hanged in Canada are so well known that they are considered common knowledge. We prefer to find info in original sources; unfortunately this isn't always possible with our limited resources. Some information on this site was found in modern, unreferenced accounts.

DISCLAIMER

First off, the purpose of this site is to present information to those with a serious and legitimate interest. Nothing here is meant to glorify the criminals listed. Accuracy of the records here are not guaranteed. We make no promises that the information is free of mistakes and inaccuracies. If you need to be sure about information, use this website as a starting point, but consult original records. Information in the Notes column are just brief paragraphs about why the persons named were convicted. They are not statements proclaiming that the prisoners were actually guilty. No attempt is made to present complete facts of cases; that is beyond the scope of this site. As you read the information you can keep in the back of your mind that at various times in Canada's history people were executed despite factors such as youth, mental capacity, lack of legal representation, inability to comprehend french or english and not provided with a translator. Other factors such as religion or sexual orientation may have played a part in ensuring a death sentence was not successfully appealed. Technology that is standard today such a DNA testing might have freed some people had it been available at the time. If the person received a posthumous pardon this will be noted; however, these are rare. If you want to know more about a particular case look up original records. Good sources are archives and original newspaper articles on microfilm. Some of the books listed on this site have excellent bibliographies. At this time we wish to apologize for broken links and horrible spelling. We correct these as soon as we catch them.