Frances Kidder

Frances Kidder (born c. 1843) became, on 28 April 1868, the last woman to be publicly hanged in Britain. [ [http://www.richard.clark32.btinternet.co.uk/timeline.html Richard Clark] "(retrieved 20 October 2007)]

Sentenced for the murder of her stepdaughter, the execution took place at Maidstone Prison in Kent

Twenty-five year-old Kidder was executed in front of Maidstone prison at 12 noon on Thursday, 2 April 1868, following her conviction on 12 March. The jury returned their verdict in only 12 minutes. The Judge was Mr Justice Byles.

She had been charged with drowning her 11 year old stepdaughter, Louisa Kidder-Staples, in a ditch.

Around 2,000 people, many of them women, witnessed the execution.

Notes