Deterrence (Part Eleven)

Some caused more problems than others to Pierrepoint on a personal level too. He developed the habit of shaking hands with the condemned person before he hanged them. While many would have preferred to haven shaken hands with anyone but him, there was one condemned prisoner to whom it really mattered.

James Corbitt was sentenced to death by Mr Justice Lynskey on November 6th 1950. Pierrepoint accepted the engagement to hang the prisoner, unaware that he had agreed to execute a friend – they sang together at Pierrepoint's pub and knew each other by their nicknames 'Tish and Tosh.' Pierrepoint was surprised to hear that the man in the condemned cell claimed to be a friend and wanted Pierrepoint to acknowledge their friendship.

Pierrepoint saw the condemned man through the spy-hole and recognised his singing partner immediately, but what had brought Pierrepoint's friend – a man who surely knew the consequences of murder and would be deterred by capital punishment if it worked – to the gallows?

Disastrous Relationship:

Corbitt had an on and off relationship with Eliza Wood. They had lived together and spoke of marriage, but rather than split amicably, Corbitt became obsessed with the thought that Wood had found someone else. He said that he would give her another chance if she gave the man up, but formed a murderous intent instead.

Entries in his diary show that he had decided to kill Wood weeks before he finally did it. He contemplated ways to do it, before settling on a method that all but ensured he would end his days on the gallows. They booked into a hotel on August 19th 1950. Corbitt checked out the following morning, leaving Wood's naked body in the room. He had strangled her and written the word 'whore' on her forehead. Unsurprisingly, he was arrested on August 21st.

Corbitt claimed that during an argument, he began to strangle her, but decided to finish her off with a bootlace. Diary entries showed that he had been seriously planning to kill her after an argument on July 22nd. Only the precise method remained in doubt. Less than month later Corbitt strangled Wood.

His Final Journey:

Just over eleven weeks after the murder, Corbitt was tried by Lynskey and a jury. It was over quickly as there was no doubt that he was guilty of Wood's murder. The Governor of Strangeways Prison informed Pierrepoint that Corbitt seemed anxious, but only that Pierrepoint acknowledge their friendship before hanging him.

As Chief Executioner, Pierrepoint had to lead the execution party to the gallows after the prisoner had been prepared for the walk to the gallows. It usually took seconds from leaving the condemned cell to the lever being pulled. This execution was unusual. Pierrepoint and Corbitt warmly greeted each other in the condemned cell before Pierrepoint led his friend to the trap and ended his life. He was assisted in that task by Herbert (Harry) Allen.

It was a hanging that affected Pierrepoint personally, but not enough for the most prolific executioner of the twentieth century in Britain to tender his resignation. That happened in January 1956 in a fit of pique at not receiving his full fee over a scheduled hanging that resulted in a reprieve.

Corbitt knew better than most the consequences of murder. Of all the 435 people that Pierrepoint had hanged as a Number One, nobody was closer to the Chief Executioner than Corbitt. They sang together in Pierrepoint's pub. They were friends, but not even that and the knowledge that his actions would lead him to the gallows and make his friend end his life could deter Corbitt from murdering Eliza Wood.