The Sun.
London, England, 1839-08-01 00:00:00

EXECUTION AT NOTTINGHAM

(FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT.)
On Wednesday (yesterday) morning the unfortunate
mail, John Driver, who was convicted at the County As-
sizes for Nottingham of the wilful murder of an old woman
named Ann Hancock, at Caunton, expiated the offence
with his life on the new drop, in front of the County Hall.
He had been sentenced to death witeout any hope of
mercy being shown to him by Lord Abinger, one of the
Judges of the Midland Circuit; his crime was that of break-
ing into the house of his victim, an old woman, residing at
the village of Caunton, in the county of Nottingham, and
killing her by striking her on the head with a stick, strang-
ling her with his hands, and suffocating her by stuffing with
great violence a linen rag down her throat. The stick
was found in his own house with blood and grey hairs on
the end of it, and he and his mother, with whom he re-
sided, apprehended; but although there was nothing to
fix any guilt upon the latter, yet there was no doubt of
that of the former, as the deceased's watch and a quantity
of money, and a variety of articles which could be sworn
to, were found upon him. Previous to his trial he, under
supposition that it would save himself, stated that a man
named Lawson had committed the murder, while he
( Driver) was down stairs, robbine the house, and that ho
did not know of the murder till after he had left the house ;
but after his trial he denied that statement, and fully con-
fessed that he had done the deed himself, though he de-
nied that he had used the stick, or had it with him at

he time ; grey hairs were, however, found upon it, and the
public may suppose what they please relative to it. He was
a most illiterate character, a boorish countryman ; previous to
the murder, could neither read, write, nor spell, a letter,
and knew not a single prayer, but since his condemnation
he took to reading in a wonderful manner—made
out whole sentences, and was never happier than when
reading himself, or getting somebody to read to him. The
Rev. W. J. Butler, the chaplain of the gaol, has been par-
ticularly attentive to him, impressing on his mind the ne-
cessity of preparing for a change, and be on his part
listened with the most profound attention, and acted up to
the letter of his instructions. In the week before his exe-
cution, his mother went to the gaol to see him, and bade
him farewell, and on the evening before his execution seve-
ral other relations took their final leave. On the Tuesday
night he slept very sound, got up at six o'clock in the
morning, eat a hearty breakfast, and then proceeded to
chapel, where he heard the service with great attention.
He afterwards requested the chaplain to write to his mo-
ther for him, which was done at his dictation, and then,
all being ready, and the mail having brought no orders to
stay the execution, he bade adieu, and shook hands with
the felons, and then proceeded to the room where he was
pinioned. Here another prayer was said, and then, in the
most firm and collected manner, he moved towards the drop,
accompanied by the Under-Sheriff, Deputy Under-
Sheriff, &c. On ascending the scaffold, a dense crowd of
twenty thousand people met his eye, whom he addressed,
but in so low a tone as scarcely to be heard. He begged
of them to love good, and mind their book, and, above all,
to keep good hours. Having completed, the cap and knot
were adjusted, and, amid stifled screams of the vast crowd,
the fatal bolt was withdrawn, and the soul of the mur-
derer took its flight from this world for ever. Alter
hinging for an hour his body was cut down, and in the
afternoon buried in the precincts of the gaol. He died
truly penitent.

Au instance of the inefficiency of capital punishments
as preventing crime was never more fully displayed than
on the present occasion. From six o'clock in the morning
till the hour of execution, which was ten, the crowds as-
sembled were tremendous, and the pushing, crowding,
screaming, and shouting were unrivalled in the annals of
the various scenes we have witnessed. In front of the
drop was a large heap of mortar, and rain having inces-
santly fallen all night and during the whole time of the
execution, it became wet, and created much dirt around
where the crowd stood ; this mortar was pelted and thrown
about in all directions, and whenever any luckless wight
stepped into it a shout of derision and peals of laughter
greeted him, even while a fellow-creature was hanging
between heaven and earth a lifeless corpse. Coaches and
carts were passing, although there were plenty of other
roads, and other disgusting scenes were prevalent ; but
that which most bears upon the efficiency or inefficiency
of capital punishments was the fact of a man being taken,
as the body swung off, in the act of picking a pocket within
a few yards of the gallows. He was immediately appre-
hended, taken before the town Magistrates, and committed
to the House of Correction for one calendar month as a
rogue and vagabond, the property he took, which was a
glove, not having been found upon him, but the taking of
it out clearly proved. This shows the effect of a scene
like that which we have described, and we are happy in
stating that for years past Nottingham has been free from
such like, which we never wish to see again.