Patricia Cornwell – Portrait Of A Killer Jack The Ripper

Annie Besant and Charles Bradlaugh gave their lives to the poor. Wal­ter Sickert took the lives of the poor, and it was disgraceful that some newspapers began to suggest that the Ripper’s crimes were a socialist statement directed at graphically exposing the underside of the class sys­tem and the dirty secrets of the greatest city in the world. Sickert mur­dered sick and miserable prostitutes who were old long before their time. He murdered them because it was easy.

He was motivated by his lust for sexual violence, his hatred, and his insatiable need for attention. His murders had nothing to do with mak­ing socialist political statements. He killed to satisfy his uncontrollable violent psychopathic needs. No doubt when the papers and public hinted at motive – especially a social or ethical one – Sickert enjoyed a secret de­light and rush of power. “[H]a! ha! ha!” the Ripper wrote. “To tell you the truth you ought to be obliged to me for killing such a deuced lot of vermin, why they are ten times worse than men.”

CHAPTER NINE

THE DARK LANTERN

During the reign of George III, robbers ruled the high roads and byways, and most villains could buy their way out of trouble with a bribe.

London was protected by night watchmen armed with staves, lanterns, and wooden noisemakers called rattles that made a startling clack-clack-clack sound when the head was spun. It wasn’t until 1750 that times began to change. Henry Fielding, better known as an author than a mag­istrate, gathered a faithful group of constables under his command. With £400 allotted by the government, Fielding formed the first squadron of “thief-takers.”

They broke up gangs and other scoundrels who terrorized the lives of Londoners. When Henry Fielding was ready to move on, he was followed by his brother John, in whose case justice was truly blind. Sir John Field­ing had lost his eyesight and was famous for wearing a bandage over his eyes when he confronted prisoners. He was said to recognize criminals by voice.

Under Sir John Fielding’s supervision, the thief-takers were head­quartered on Bow Street and became known as the Bow Street Patrol and then the Bow Street Runners. At this stage, policing was somewhat pri­vatized, and a Bow Street Runner might investigate the burglary of a res­ident’s town house for a fee or simply find the perpetrator and coax him to agree on a settlement with the victim. In an odd way, criminal and civil law were combined, because while it was unlawful to commit bad deeds, order could be restored and a lot of fuss and bother could be avoided through dealmaking.

Better to have half of one’s belongings returned than none at all. Bet­ter to give back half of what one had stolen than to lose it all and end up in prison. Some Bow Street Runners retired as wealthy men. Nothing much could be done about riots and murders, which were rampant, as were other evil deeds. Dogs were stolen and killed for their hides. Cat­tle were tortured by “bullock-baiting,” and sporting mobs chased the pain-crazed animals until they collapsed and died. From the late 1700s until 1868, executions were public and drew tremendous crowds.

Hanging days were holidays, and the gruesome spectacle was consid­ered a deterrent to crime. During the days of thief-takers and Bow Street Runners, violations of the law punishable by death included horse steal­ing, forging, and shoplifting. In 1788, thousands gathered at Newgate to watch thirty-year-old Phoebe Harris burned at the stake for counterfeit­ing coins. Highwaymen were heroes, and admirers cheered them on as they dangled, but the convicted upper class were ridiculed no matter their crime.

When Governor Joseph Wall was hanged in 1802, onlookers fought over the executioner’s rope, buying it for a shilling per inch. In 1807, a crowd of 40,000 gathered to watch the execution of two convicted mur­derers, and men, women, and children were trampled to death. Not every prisoner died quickly or according to plan, and some of the agonal scenes were ghastly. The knot slipped or didn’t catch just right and instead of compression of the carotid causing unconsciousness fast, the strangling prisoner flailed violently as men grabbed his kicking legs and pulled down hard to hasten death along. Usually the condemned man lost his pants and twisted and writhed naked in front of the screaming mob. In the old days of the axe, a refusal to place a few coins into an executioner’s hand could result in bad aim that required a few extra chops.

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