Mary Timney (died 29 April 1862) was the last woman publicly executed in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. She had been convicted of the murder of her

landlady A landlord is the owner of a house, apartment, condominium, land, or real estate which is rented or leased to an individual or business, who is called a tenant (also a ''lessee'' or ''renter''). When a juristic person is in this position, the t ...

Ann Hannah. Timney lived in Carsphad (now

New Galloway New Galloway ( gd, Gall-Ghàidhealaibh Nuadh) is a town in the historical county of Kirkcudbrightshire in Dumfries and Galloway. It lies on the west side of the valley of the Water of Ken, north of the end of Loch Ken. Before the local governme ...

) in a stone cottage adjacent to Hannah's house. The two of them argued regularly, and Hannah suspected Timney of stealing firewood. Timney also accused her husband of having an affair with Hannah. On 13 January 1862, Hannah's brother Lockhart found her body on the floor and called the police. She had been beaten to death. A butcher's knife and a two-foot long iron fire poker, both covered in blood, were lying next to the body. Several witnesses said they had seen Mary Timney exiting Hannah's house holding a wooden mallet and with blood on her dress, and she was arrested. The mallet was found in her attic, wrapped in a bloodstained dress matching the description given by witnesses. Several items from Ann Hannah's kitchen were found in her house. At her trial Timney claimed self-defence: she said that Hannah had attacked her during an argument about Hannah's refusal to lend her any money and she had defended herself using the objects to hand. She was convicted and sentenced to death by hanging. Upon hearing of the death sentence, she cried out "Oh, my Lord, dinna do that! Give me anything but that, let the Lord send for me!". Timney's case became a cause célèbre due to her four young children. A petition for clemency signed by 3,000 people was submitted to

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 ...

Sir George Grey Sir George Grey, KCB (14 April 1812 – 19 September 1898) was a British soldier, explorer, colonial administrator and writer. He served in a succession of governing positions: Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, Gov ...

, but was rejected. Timney was hanged by

William Calcraft William Calcraft (11 October 1800 – 13 December 1879) was a 19th-century English hangman, one of the most prolific of British executioners. It is estimated in his 45-year career he carried out 450 executions. A Shoemaking, cobbler b ...

HM Prison Dumfries HM Prison Dumfries services the courts of Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The establishment serves as a local community prison that holds adult and under 21 males who are remanded in custody for trial and those convicted but remanded for report ...

on 29 April 1862.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Timney, Mary Executed Scottish people Executed Scottish women People executed for murder 19th-century executions by Scotland Year of birth unknown 1862 deaths Scottish murderers British female murderers Scottish people convicted of murder People convicted of murder by Scotland 1862 murders in the United Kingdom Scottish people