The Hang Man - short documentary

Sean Reynolds is my name I joined the service here in 1972 walk for the Builder will persist the builders and a campaign in 72 I remained here then for the Prison Service here until I retired in 206 after completing 24 years and over those years I walked in most institutions in the country partly luck at house obviously mediators everywhere since retired then I look after the prison museum the prison museum here was set up 2 to 3 year before Authority by my college impetus note since then I've been looking after the museum on a part-time basis puts a lot of history here in the jail if this was for ciosed was forced us first person executed here was Kevin Barry and a foursome of Emma in 1920 there was an execution here in 1901 of my college on tilt but that took place at the end of the a division now when we're here now at the end of the day division which behind us has been here since the early part of the 20th century now as I said they're getting everybody being the fourth and then to be followed by quite a number possibly and in over 40 would have been executed here up to the close of the end of the executions in 1919 situation took place in 1954 my deal intuitive I'll fall for set up the museum here it's a train get a little bit of the background off of the history of the prison and captivates whatever artifacts they were still in existence that became display here they said military prison here on that marks 27 March 1854 soapbox of Senate President of determine out two nuns to Australia but they seized tank of prisoners in 1853 is became a comfy prisoner all never for the weekend that if the oldest piece that we have here what is a that is a convict frock that was given to come be to war record of issue of prison solely if they tore the uniforms from the uniforms that time would have been made largely from war and there would have been a black and gray stripe in them where they told us the convicts power they were placed into this here this sitting here is known as the viral what does it mean what the quarter it was quite an on military equipment in England our naval equivalent and everything was marked with the prior honor you directly do a plant or solder I remember anything with that and even the convicts floating aniconic himself they were the property of the crown that's the cap the top official order of the head of it to obscure the face of a prisoner this meant in the prisoner could not make eye contact are similar to any other prisoner which is basically that's the earlier there was the deal orders to degrade the prisoner notice this an illustration of Christmas wearing the B Cup this here is a table at the option to put together way a man called dr. Samuel Hart no hearten was a car alarm on born in 1821 he became a duct in a physician memory there so logic so he may have been declared he might as well burn Russia but he made a study of execution and he came up on a mathematical formula to sort of an execution could be carried out what they were doin any serious damage today to the individual excuse other than that Acosta a solid disconnected in more humane if necessary humane a 105 pounds and under you got eight feet of a drop he weighed 140 pounds this is all fully clothed you were got six feet of drop to 10 you got four feet at all now they couldn't give you a much less than to four feet of the drop because then it's strangulation if you get it was allowed to give a bit more than eight feet of the drop if what did he gave you nine feet of a drop in without him at least take decapitate the you and mr. Collins name would be left with a very messy situation that was seen as implement it would be if you behavior pulled on the heart of still chicken but then they're in there in this display case here we have their hold which would over the prisoners head we have the straps we have a copper wire which start to do it woken up the table of drops you have a piece of chalk which was to mark the position on the top top where you want to be individual to Stan you have stick which was used for measuring purposes you haven't engaged there which tells you the thickness of the rope and tell you the strength in a roll it's called a rope gauge another bits and bobs then that the executioner would have had the box that we're looking at now and then I'm taking the role from the executioner's box it's where the ropes are kept this box will go back to the year probably back to about 1900 over here if we would increment our journey at this moment in time there's a box something similar because come and roll and also executed how every institution by the trail you know exiting would have had this box it was a standard piece of kissing how thick is the rope robust requires an inch thick it's approximately about 12 foot long maybe a little less this here is the brass news is this is what the call of British news you can see how free that runs around her yeah whereas the new shit's familiar with western films and we see an America passing him in the western days was completely different this is a British news where there was no problem was police around a man's neck or a lady's neck for that matter it worked quite effectively mm-hmm did what it was supposed to do there's the individual the man had to Det master of life mask up Albert Pierrepoint Albert was a last executioner to operate here in marriage I know you know Albert Pierrepoint that's Kaylee's al-bakr point lived here the pro-bending myth because name of the Pope was help the poor struggler and that's Albert signature no I got that is it I got that from a friend of mine is head over in one source he picked it up but there is a rope meant for bed sheets with Narnia in the sheath and what was the effect well the purpose of making that would meet for an escape did it work no didn't because the staff are very vigilant here and we're on the ball so it was found on a search now as you can see closely that you can see it was made she can make met in the sheets of a better page skillfully done but there it was it was finders that help them to make a general over the wall tobacco was a big thing in prison all staff smoked all inmates smoked and they're just a sample of all cigarette packets that were used over the years that there is an exact replica of alcohol there was placed all in a prisoner's head no it is he decided the exact replica cuz that was made from the original template and I came out with me there again tomorrow from one word I would imagine it was disposable I don't think they were a thing that you could reuse on a longer well that is that is it the original thought that was traced our business head that was placed over his head and then the newest end was placed over the overnight and the brass ring was on to your left hand side this could be the last thing a fella came and that's what he would say yeah and he wouldn't be very long to see it because said the execution was so fast that he would be dead within less than 10 seconds it says his house had to imagine an arrow will compact it with the eyes of 2017 back to the 1950s and back before it was a different era than that time there was many in many ways it was wrong to take a person's life but I don't know maybe if if there was no remorse and was maybe two did deserve to die I don't know but the citizen supposed to be good in everyone you know sometimes very hard sometimes very hard to find well from the time your sentence the court the court stipulates that you're executed sometime in the weeks following the torch at toward week the toward Sunday so he would be put into the hang another incentive not to drown the Sailor he was planning to condemn self-condemned said it just I would hear in the end it's d1 and Delhi will remain in the custody of T the prison and he remained with to prison officers day and night they'll be there to doing shifts if he's reprieved would be looking for him and if not something following the torch only week following the torch on me if there's no repairs he would be executed now Jordan Atlanta time he would play cards with the lads and you know quite possible and even some of the staff are quite good so he will be against regulations but the world maybe if the wife was making a few skaaland sir the cake then we will bring it in and end up in here that's a portable stairs that was used to allow the executioner and the doctor and possibly the priest took up to the body after he come through the trapdoor trapdoors and just all the way head here so when the trap doors flew open and the YouTube individual came down down the stairs will come the executioner the doctor and the priest and there would be that would be shoved over because there was two members of staff down here also who assisted and to allow them to book and to see that the prisoner was deceased the individual who was to be executed the safe their local money in 1954 would it come to that door you rave in here the rope was position on it up here everything had been got ready from the night before because pear point and his assistant arrived the four o'clock everything was ready there was a $2 are closed there's a position mark for the piece of chalk where he wanted into stance the piece of chalk marked what they call it let her teeth that's the lever that controls the opening of the doors there's a safety here when the time was right the prisoner was hands were pinned and his legs were pinned and he was standing and there was enough so he decided this Natalie was drawn here by the executioner he then proceeded and he pushed that leaver forward that's the last sound that the individual would hear whatever sounds he heard after that but that is the last and that released that release did the doors it's easy to talk about nah but I wouldn't like to have seen Amanda come through that door put on the upper foot son on a child key and the lever Albert Pierrepoint smoked a cigar and I've said this before but when he pinned the prisoners hands behind his back in the condemned cells which is just outside that door on the left hand side he would leave down the cigar and it's quite possibly that the ash may not have fallen off that cigar until he got back to it which would be seven maybe ten seconds later here you have autumn on that crucifix is the remains of a rose we had a family of we had relatives here as Howie Howie Gleason executed in 1941 they came here one day and they positioned and put a rose on that it's importantly keep it because it's part of our history it keep it as a reminder of a time that possibly most people would like this again but it's very important to keep TV we can't learn from our history if mankind is here to learn from the history anyway but it is important the key to solid or not a lot of people would say positing down and demolishing for this here is a reminder of time past I would like to see this Pilipinas been restored and it is it is reasonably good lepelt and it was as I said earlier on here I wanting to put a roof initially won't have an umbrella in here and the roof it was so bad here that I had a cross here holding it up but she should be restored should be complete cookies should be kept here and the museum here should be allotted she'll be able to grow and younger younger people take it over I know it's in the pecking order this is a prison here and at the end of day is to save custody of the individuals in here and the museum is only amazing my new character but it's a small part it's a small cog in a very very large way and ensure you should be allowed to grow because they don't have a spherical fuse [Music] you [Music] yeah in one of the workshops here but was made to hide the mobile phone the cheetah mobile phone which is a large mobile phone keep the food she's nice and all the phones are dated of the right back then

Channel: John Kelly

Views: 151,923

Keywords: dublin, mountjoy, prison, ireland

Id: wOYVy8Tfb0U

Length: 14min 57sec (897 seconds)

Published: Tue Aug 01 2017