Alfred Allen (executioner)
Encyclopedia
Alfred Allen was an English executioner
from Wolverhampton
. His career lasted from 1928 to 1937, during which he carried out 3 hanging
s as a chief executioner and assisted at 14 others.
Allen participated in his first hanging on 11 December 1928, when he assisted Robert Baxter
. It did not go well for Allen. He failed to move clear of the trapdoor after securing the prisoner's legs and then fell into the pit when Baxter pulled the lever. Allen was not injured.
Over the next few years, Allen did not receive many jobs. When he did, it was as an assistant to Thomas Pierrepoint
. His first action as chief executioner came on 23 November 1932. He was reunited with Baxter one more time, in 1934; although there was no incident such as the one that had occurred during their first partnership, Baxter did state later that he found Allen "an unpleasant person to share sleeping quarters with." Allen carried out his last hanging on 17 August 1937.
Executioner
A judicial executioner is a person who carries out a death sentence ordered by the state or other legal authority, which was known in feudal terminology as high justice.-Scope and job:...
from Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...
. His career lasted from 1928 to 1937, during which he carried out 3 hanging
Hanging
Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
s as a chief executioner and assisted at 14 others.
Allen participated in his first hanging on 11 December 1928, when he assisted Robert Baxter
Robert Baxter (executioner)
Robert Orridge Baxter was an English executioner from Hertfordshire. His career lasted from 1915 to 1935, during which he carried out 44 hangings and assisted at 53 others.-Career:...
. It did not go well for Allen. He failed to move clear of the trapdoor after securing the prisoner's legs and then fell into the pit when Baxter pulled the lever. Allen was not injured.
Over the next few years, Allen did not receive many jobs. When he did, it was as an assistant to Thomas Pierrepoint
Thomas Pierrepoint
Thomas William Pierrepoint was one of the United Kingdom's executioners from 1906 until 1946. He was the brother of Henry and uncle of Albert....
. His first action as chief executioner came on 23 November 1932. He was reunited with Baxter one more time, in 1934; although there was no incident such as the one that had occurred during their first partnership, Baxter did state later that he found Allen "an unpleasant person to share sleeping quarters with." Allen carried out his last hanging on 17 August 1937.