Great Britain -- Social life and customs -- 18th century
It will be seen from this elaborate defence that it must have been
written long before his trial, and before his hopes of acquittal were
crushed by the appearance of Houseman in the witness-box to give
evidence against him; for he did not attempt to discredit his evidence,
nor did he attempt to shake his testimony by cross-examination, and
he must have anticipated the result. The judge summed up carefully;
he recapitulated the evidence, and showed how Houseman’s testimony
was confirmed by the other witnesses; and, taking Aram’s defence, he
pointed out that he had alleged nothing that could invalidate the
positive evidence against him. The jury, without leaving the court,
returned a verdict of ‘Guilty,’ and the judge pronounced the awful
sentence of the law. Aram had behaved with great firmness and dignity
during the whole of his trial, and he heard his conviction, and his
doom, with profound composure, leaving the bar with a smile upon his
countenance.
In those days the law allowed but little time for appeal. Aram was
tried, convicted, and sentenced on Friday, the 3rd of August, 1759,
and he had to die on the following Monday--only two whole days of
life being allowed him. Those days must have been days of exquisite
torture to him, when he thought of the upturned faces of the mob, all
fixing their gaze upon him, yelling at, and execrating him, and we can
scarcely wonder at his attempting to commit suicide. On the Monday
morning, when the clergyman came to visit him, and at his request
to administer the Sacrament to him, he was astonished to find Aram
stretched on the floor of his cell in a pool of blood. He had managed
to secrete a razor, and had cut the veins of his arms in two places.
Surgeons were sent for, and they brought him back to life, when he was
put into the cart and led to execution. Arrived at the gallows, he was
asked if he had any speech to make, and he replied in the negative. He
was then hanged, and, when dead, his body was cut down, put in a cart,
taken to Knaresborough, and there suspended in chains, on a gibbet
which was erected on Knaresborough forest, south or south-east of the
Low Bridge, on the right hand side going thence to Plumpton. It was
taken down in 1778, when the forest was enclosed.
He left his latest thoughts in writing, for, on the table in his cell,
was found a paper on which was written,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account