Danny Lyons
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Danny Lyons (1860 – August 21, 1888) was, along with
Danny Driscoll Daniel "Danny" Driscoll also known by his alias George Wallace (1855 – January 23, 1888) was an American criminal and co-leader of the Whyos Gang with Danny Lyons. The two held joint control over the street gang following the death of Mike M ...
, the leader of the
Whyos The Whyos or Whyos Gang, a collection of the various post-Civil War street gangs of New York City, was the city's dominant street gang during the mid-late 19th century. The gang controlled most of Manhattan from the late 1860s until the early 1 ...
street gang during the 1870s and 1880s.


Whyos Gang

A prominent member of the Whyos Gang, a
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
street gang, Lyons led the gang with co-leader
Danny Driscoll Daniel "Danny" Driscoll also known by his alias George Wallace (1855 – January 23, 1888) was an American criminal and co-leader of the Whyos Gang with Danny Lyons. The two held joint control over the street gang following the death of Mike M ...
at their height during the late nineteenth century. Lyons, who was hired for crimes ranging from assault to murder, also supported three prostitutes, Lizzie the Dove, Bunty Kate, and Gentle Maggie. When the three women were unable to earn enough money Lyons hired Kitty McGown away from rival pimp
Joseph Quinn Joseph Quinn ( – July 5, 1887) was a New York clerk, amateur wrestler and murder victim of Danny Lyons, a co-leader of the Whyos street gang. Early life Although reportedly described as a pimp and rival Five Points thug, Quinn is described in ...
.


Murder of Joseph Quinn

Joseph Quinn soon began looking for Lyons and on July 5, 1887, Lyons killed Quinn during a gunfight between them. Lyons was captured several months later and, while it seemed to be self-defense on the part of Lyons, he was executed by
hanging Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging i ...
on August 21, 1888. However, it has been suspected local authorities used the incident as an excuse to execute the well known criminal. While Kitty McGown and Bunty Kate quickly found another pimp, Lizzie the Dove and Gentle Maggie went into mourning. The two later got into an argument while toasting Lyons at a Bowery tavern and Gentle Maggie stabbed Lizzie the Dove in the throat, killing her. As Lizzie the Dove lay dying she was said to have told Gentle Maggie that she would "meet you in hell and there scratch your eyes out".


Death

Danny Lyons was executed in
The Tombs ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
Prison in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
on August 21, 1888.


See also

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Capital punishment in New York (state) Capital punishment was outlawed in New York after the New York Court of Appeals, the highest court in the state, declared the practice as unconstitutional under the state's constitution in 2004. In 1972, the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling declared ...
*
Capital punishment in the United States In the United States, capital punishment is a legal penalty throughout the country at the federal level, in 27 states, and in American Samoa. It is also a legal penalty for some military offenses. Capital punishment has been abolished in 23 s ...
*
List of people executed in New York This list of people executed in New York gives the names of some of the people executed in New York, both before and after statehood in the United States (including as New Amsterdam), as well as the person's date of execution, method of execution ...


Further reading

*Sifakis, Carl. ''Encyclopedia of American Crime, New York''. Facts on File Inc., 1982 {{DEFAULTSORT:Lyons, Danny 1860 births 1888 deaths 1887 murders in the United States 19th-century executions by New York (state) American people executed for murder 19th-century executions by the United States Whyos American gangsters of Irish descent People executed by New York (state) by hanging 19th-century executions of American people People convicted of murder by New York (state)