John Charles Tapner (8 March 1823 – 10 February 1854) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

convicted

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

er who was the last person

executed Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

Guernsey Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency. It is the second largest of the Channel Islands ...

. Tapner was from

Woolwich Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained throu ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England, and was living in St Martin when 74-year-old Elizabeth Saujon was murdered in her home in

St Peter Port St. Peter Port (french: Saint-Pierre Port) is a town and one of the ten parishes on the island of Guernsey in the Channel Islands. It is the capital of the Bailiwick of Guernsey as well as the main port. The population in 2019 was 18,958. St. P ...

on 18 October 1853. Saujon had been knocked

unconscious Unconscious may refer to: Physiology * Unconsciousness, the lack of consciousness or responsiveness to people and other environmental stimuli Psychology * Unconscious mind, the mind operating well outside the attention of the conscious mind a ...

and left to die in her burning house. Tapner was arrested and tried for the murder of Saujon. At trial, it was revealed that Tapner's

mistress Mistress is the feminine form of the English word "master" (''master'' + ''-ess'') and may refer to: Romance and relationships * Mistress (lover), a term for a woman who is in a sexual and romantic relationship with a man who is married to a d ...

—who was his wife's sister—lived with Saujon. There were also reports of some of Saujon's belongings being discovered near Tapner's house in St Martin. While Tapner admitted to being in St Peter Port the evening of the murder, he denied any involvement in the fire or Saujon's death. It was never clear what Tapner's motive would have been for killing Saujon and burning down her house. Tapner was convicted of murder by the

Jurat The ''jurats'' () are lay people in Guernsey and Jersey who act as judges of fact rather than law, though they preside over land conveyances and liquor licensing. In Alderney, however, the jurats are judges of both fact and law (assisted by thei ...

s and sentenced to death 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 ...

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

(who would later move to Guernsey)"At the time of Tapner's trial in 1854 for the murder of Elizabeth Saujon on 18 October 1853, Hugo was living in Jersey and kept an eye on the proceedings through the newspapers—he moved to Guernsey the following year." Chris Morvan,
Setting the scene for murder
" ''Guernsey Press'', 26 November 2005. and 600 residents petitioned the

Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national ...

of the United Kingdom,

Lord Palmerston Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, (20 October 1784 – 18 October 1865) was a British statesman who was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century. Palmerston dominated British foreign policy during the period ...

, to

commute Commute, commutation or commutative may refer to: * Commuting, the process of travelling between a place of residence and a place of work Mathematics * Commutative property, a property of a mathematical operation whose result is insensitive to th ...

Tapner's sentence. Lord Palmerston refused, and Tapner was hanged on 10 February 1854 in St Peter Port. His execution was performed by non-professionals, and Tapner died of

strangulation Strangling is compression of the neck that may lead to unconsciousness or death by causing an increasingly hypoxic state in the brain. Fatal strangling typically occurs in cases of violence, accidents, and is one of two main ways that hanging ...

. No one was executed by Guernsey after Tapner's execution. Guernsey abolished the death penalty in 2003.

Notes

General references

* Basil T. Rowswell (1906). ''Catalogue: Law and General Library of the Royal Court, Island of Guernsey'' (Royal Court), p. 163 * John Andrew Frey (1999). ''A Victor Hugo Encyclopedia'' (Westport: Conn.: Greenwood Press, ) s.v. "Tapner, execution of"

External links

* Chris Morvan
"Setting the Scene for Murder"
2005-11-26, thisisguernsey.com, accessed 2008-08-14 1823 births 1854 deaths People from Woolwich 19th-century executions Executed people from London People executed by Guernsey People executed for murder Deaths by strangulation English people convicted of murder People convicted of murder by Guernsey 1853 murders in Europe {{Guernsey-bio-stub