John Riley - wife murderer. 36 year old Riley had been married to his wife, Alice, for around 12 years.

John Riley - wife murderer.36 year old Riley had been married to his wife, Alice, for around 12 years.  They had two or three children and the family lived in Grimsby.

Riley was rarely in work and frequently maltreated Alice, causing her to leave him and move across the Humber river and live in Hull.

Riley visited her there from time to time and they got back together and rented a room in a lodging house at Mariner’s Yard in Blackfriars’s Gate in Hull.

It seems that he forced Alice into prostitution and on one occasion was convicted of an assault on her which earned him a one month prison sentence.

Riley left Hull to look for work, returning a week or so later with a little money which was soon spent on alcohol.

On the afternoon of Sunday the 3rd of July 1859 Alice had gone to bed having had a lot to drink.Riley sent his eight year old son out to play and locked the front door.

He then cut Alice’s throat as she lay sleeping and attempted to hang himself.The little boy returned home two hours later and finding the door locked raised the alarm.

A constable was able to force the door and discovered Alice’s body and Riley suspended by a cord around his neck.  He was cut down and made a recovery and a statement acknowledging his guilt.

He was therefore charged with Alice’s murder.

He came to trial on the 18th of July at York, before Mr. Justice Hill. Given his statement to the police he was quickly found guilty.

Riley was hanged by Thomas Askern at noon at York Castle on Saturday the 6th of August before a crowd estimated at 7,000 people, including a lot of young women.

He was reportedly very penitent and spent some time in prayer with the Rev. T. Myers.  The chaplain, the Rev. J. C. Thompson, administered the Sacrament.

A few minutes before noon, the Under Sheriff, Mr. W. Gray, demanded his body and Riley was pinioned by Askern.

The procession to York’s portable gallows formed up, consisting of Mr. Gray, the governor and under governor, the two clergymen, several turnkeys, Riley and Askern.  Shortly after midday Riley was launched into eternity, becoming still after two minutes.

As was usual he was left on the rope for an hour before being taken down and buried in the Castle cemetery.

French soldiers goofing around before heading for the front, August 1914.

French soldiers goofing around before heading for the front, August 1914.

The French soldier on the left died under 72 hours later on his first day of battle near Mulhouse, Alsace, aged 24. Colourised by u/tittyswan on Reddit.

On August 7, 1914, the Battle of the Frontiers began, one of the earliest yet bloodiest campaigns of the Western Front.

Following the German declaration of war on France on August 3, both nations prepared to go on the offensive, with the French deploying their Plan XVII and the Germans their Schlieffen Plan.

On August 7, 1914, the French invaded Alsace and Lorraine, the regions they had lost in 1871.

The French achieved early success and advanced, but suffered thousands of casualties, and a German push on August 20 at Sarrebourg set them back to their starting points.

On August 21, the French attacked again further north in the Battles of the Ardennes, Charleroi and on August 22 at Rossignol.

The French suffered extreme casualties due to advancing en masse across open terrain in broad daylight with minimal artillery support, wearing extremely visible dark blue and red uniforms into German machine-guns and artillery, using outdated 19th century tactics.

The French commanders believed enough "offensive spirit" could overcome any defense.

Their attacks were uncoordinated and inflexible, and the French also badly underestimated the strength of the German force in France.

The Germans suffered heavy casualties in their attacks too, also advancing in broad daylight in open fields.

Though the Germans did have better tactics and more artillery and machine-guns than the French, which enabled them to succeed and advance.

On August 23, the British engaged the Germans for the first time in the Battle of Mons in Belgium and halted the Germans for some time before being overwhelmed by sheer numbers.

Honour British Nurse Edith Cavell, executed by the Germans on 12th October 1915.

Honour British Nurse Edith Cavell, executed by the Germans on 12th October 1915.

Born on 4th December 1865.  Edith is remembered for saving the lives of soldiers from both sides, also helping around 200 Allied soldiers escape from German-occupied Belgium during the course of the First World War.

She was subsequently arrested and accused of treason, found guilty by a court-martial and sentenced to death.

The verdict caused international outrage, however, the verdict was upheld and Edith was shot by a German firing squad.

The Imperial German Government believed it had acted fairly towards Edith.

German Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs, Dr Alfred Zimmermann issued a statement to the press on behalf of the German government as follows:

“It was a pity that Miss Cavell had to be executed, but it was necessary.  She was judged justly ... It is undoubtedly a terrible thing that the woman has been executed, but consider what would happen to a State, particularly in war, if it left crimes aimed at the safety of its armies to go unpunished because they were committed by women.

The execution was widely condemned and received extensive press coverage globally.

As a result in January 1916, the Kaiser issued a decree stating from then on capital punishment would not be carried out on women without his express permission.

Edith Cavill’s body was returned to Great Britain in 1919.A state funeral was held at Westminster Abbey on the 19th May 1919.

The Spine-Chilling Tour Revisiting the Michael Ross Murders.

The Spine-Chilling Tour Revisiting the Michael Ross Murders.

Known as the Roadside Strangler, Michael Ross is a good example of the classic organized offender.

Between 1981 and 1984, Ross murdered eight girls and women aged between 14 and 25 in Connecticut and New York, raping seven out of his eight murder victims.

At the time of his arrest, the Roadside Strangler was working as an insurance salesman and traveled his route in a blue Toyota.

He was extremely effective in avoiding apprehension and the authorities didn’t even realize a serial killer was responsible for the deaths.

In fact, there was hardly any physical evidence in these cases except for the recovered bodies.

Ross confessed to each of the eight murders and was convicted for the last four of them.

He was sentenced to death on July 6, 1987 and spent the next 18 years on death row.

In 2005, Ross was executed by the state of Connecticut, making it the first execution in Connecticut (and the whole of New England) since 1960, and the last execution in Connecticut before the state repealed capital punishment in 2012

THE TERRIBLE EXECUTION OF Edith Cavell: on October 12, 1915, British nurse Edith Cavell was executed in Brussels by German authorities for helping some 200 Allied POWs escape to the Netherlands, sparking international outcry.

THE TERRIBLE EXECUTION OF Edith Cavell: on October 12, 1915, British nurse Edith Cavell was executed in Brussels by German authorities for helping some 200 Allied POWs escape to the Netherlands, sparking international outcry.

Edith Louisa Cavell was born on December 4, 1865 into a religious and affluent English family near Norwich.

When her father contracted a serious illness she cared for him, leading her to become a nurse after his recovery.Cavell worked all over England before being recruited to train other nurses in Brussels, Belgium, in 1907.

In August 1914, Belgium was invaded by Germany, who occupied their capital Brussels on August 20, and Cavell's hospital was taken over by the Red Cross.

Beginning in November 1914, while tending to wounded soldiers of all nationalities, Cavell began assisting British, French and Belgian POWs with escaping to the neutral Netherlands.

As a British nurse in Brussels, some believe Cavell became a British Secret Intelligence Service agent, and was part of a network of people with the goal of helping Allied POWs escape the occupied Belgium.

Apart from overhearing and reporting German conversations at the hospital, Cavell sheltered Allied POWs and others and gave them money so they could reach the Dutch border.

In June 1915, a German agent infiltrated the network, leading to the arrest of Edith Cavell on August 3, 1915. Cavell admitted to helping 60 British, 15 French and over 100 French and Belgian men of military age to escape Belgium.

Cavell was put in prison for 10 weeks before being sentenced to death for war treason. The British government protested the sentence but could do nothing to save her.

At 7 AM on October 12, 1915, Edith Cavell was executed by a German firing squad and her body was buried next to her prison.

On the eve of her execution, Cavell is famously quoted: "Standing, as I do, in view of God and eternity, I realise that patriotism is not enough.I must have no hatred nor bitterness towards anyone.

In the months and years following Edith Cavell's execution, countless of newspaper articles of her story erupted worldwide.

Due to her honesty, novel cause, nurse profession and fearless approach to death she became a heroine in Britain, and her execution was represented as an act of German barbarism and dishonor.

The Allies used her execution for countless pieces of propaganda, which played a large role in recruiting thousands of British soldiers and gaining international British sympathy, particularly in the United States.

The British propaganda of her execution led to Edith Cavell becoming perhaps the single most impactful woman of the First World War and plentiful of memorials, films and music have featured her throughout the years.

Perhaps a less significant impact but still noteworthy, the female name Edith became increasingly popularized in France and Belgium, and the famous French singer Édith Piaf was named after Edith Cavell.

Sara Janse Geldof - the last woman executed in Holland.The last woman executed in Holland, after being sentenced to death by a civilian court, was 33 year old.

Sara Janse Geldof - the last woman executed in Holland.The last woman executed in Holland, after being sentenced to death by a civilian court, was 33 year old.

Male criminals were hanged at this time but women were strangled at the stake for the sake of decency.

 The execution took place on a scaffold erected in front of the town hall that also had the male gallows on it.

The Vlissingsche Courant of the 25th of September 1838 reported: "In the afternoon of September 24, 1838, Middelburg had the awesome ceremony of the execution of the sentence, passed on Sara Janse Geldhof, housewife of Pieter Johannes Huissoon, by the Court of Assise.

She was condemned to death, by strangling at the pole.  (A form of garrotting) Everything was completed in the best order, and a deep silence prevailed. The convicted person behaved very well.

Sara had killed thirteen year old Catherina Block in March 1838 to rob her of the golden finery on her bonnet.

She grabbed her and pulled her behind her house where she stabbed Catherina to death and afterwards her body was thrown into a cesspool behind her house. 

When Catherina failed to return home a search was launched and the authorities questioned local residents.  Sara was observed to be nervous and fidgety when she was being spoken to.

Sara was tried at Middelburg in early July 1838.  A petition for a pardon was denied and Sarah was reportedly "very much remorseful of her atrocity.

It is not known whether Sara was stood or seated at the stake.  The executioner stood behind her and passed a rope around her neck and around the stake and then tied the ends to form a noose.

Into this he inserted a stick which he turned to tighten the rope until Sara was strangled.  In her final agonies she kicked off one of her shoes.

The shoe in the photograph was one of the pair she wore to her execution, which was picked up afterwards and became an exhibit in the Middelburg museum.

The last execution for murder in the Netherlands took place on the 31st of October 1860 when 27 year old Johann Nathan was hanged.

Capital punishment for murder was abolished 10 years later on the 17th of September 1870.

THE TERRIBLE EXECUTION OF Emmanuel Ifeajuna:Emmanuel Ifeajuna was the first black African to win Gold in an Int'l sports event at the 1954.

THE TERRIBLE EXECUTION OF Emmanuel Ifeajuna:Emmanuel Ifeajuna was the first black African to win Gold in an Int'l sports event at the 1954.

Commonwealth Games in Vancouver. He was sentenced to death by firing squad.What was his crime?Ifeajuna was a Major in the Nigerian Army.

He hailed from Onitsha and attended DMGS Onitsha both in Anambra State. A graduate of University of Ibadan he was.

How He Died: From Hero to Villian.He and three fellow officers were accused by their own leader, Gen. Emeka Ojukwu of plotting against him and the breakaway Republic of Biafra.

They denied charges of alleged treason and claimed they were trying to save lives and the country at large, they said, by negotiating an early ceasefire with the FG and reuniting Nigeria. They failed, they died.

The day of the execution was September 25, 1967, at exactly 1.30pm. There was a very short time between trial and execution, not least because federal troops were closing in on Enugu, the Biafran capital, giving rise to fears that the "guilty four" might be rescued and set free.

As the execution approached, the four men; Ifeajuna, Victor Banjo, Phillip Alale and Sam Agbam were tied to a tether.

Ifeajuna, with his head on his chest as though he was already dead, kept murmuring that his death would not stop what he had feared most, that federal troops would enter Enugu, and the only way to stop this was for those about to kill him to ask for a ceasefire. 

A group of soldiers drew up with their rifles at the ready.On the order of their officer, they tailored their guns at the bared chests of Ifeajuna and the three other men. 

At the thunderous shout of the officer: "Shoot them! Shoot them!" "Open Fire!", they obeyed the last order, in a twinkle of an eye the deafening volley was followed by lolling heads. Emmanuel Arinze Ifeajuna slumped and died.

Nigeria's great sporting hero died a villain's death.Biafran Leader, Gen. Emeka Ojukwu later made public why he executed Ifeajuna and his co-conspirators.

 I ordered their execution because Ifeajuna was spying my government with the help of others therefore revealing our secrets to the FG on how to kill me for power to change hands. 

Of all the many hundreds of gold medallists at the Empire and Commonwealth Games since 1930 none left such a mark on history, led such a remarkable life or suffered such a shocking death as Ifeajuna.