Execution: One Man's Life and Death

by John Mervyn Pugh

An absorbing account of the life and times of William Watkins - 'an ordinary Englishman' - who, having fathered ten children, was executed in 1951 for the murder of his eleventh child.With a Foreword by Sir Michael Davies, former High Court Judge, and one of Watkins' defence counsel at his trial. Covers William Watkins' life through to his execution for murder. John Pugh, then an articled clerk, was in court as the death sentence was passed and has never forgotten that experience. He has undertaken prodigious research to create a unique historical and social record from the era of 'appalling policing and justice' that followed on from the Second World War - a time when such events could, it seems, be a matter of some indifference to the public and authorities alike.

118 pages, ebook

First published December 1, 2004