A bungling executioner turned what was meant to be a swift death into a horrifying ordeal when a condemned Montgomeryshire man was left hanging alive before hundreds of spectators.
The grim scene unfolded in July 1821 when Thomas Tibbott, a farm labourer from Castle Forwyn, Abermule, was executed after being convicted of poisoning his father.
An account published in the Express on November 1, 1892 recorded the memories of an elderly Newtown resident who had witnessed what was believed to have been the last execution in Montgomeryshire.
Whether it was the county's final public hanging or the last execution of any kind remains unclear, but the eyewitness account paints a chilling picture of justice in the early 19th century.
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At the time, Montgomery's County Jail had not yet been built. Tibbott was instead held at the town's House of Correction, which stood on the site now occupied by Castle Terrace.
A gallows was erected in the grounds and, on the day of the execution, the condemned man was brought from the prison to face his fate.
Unlike later executions, there was no scaffold with a trapdoor. The method used was simple and brutal. Tibbott was placed on the floor of a cart with a noose around his neck. Once everything was ready, the cart was driven away from beneath him.
The elderly witness recalled how Tibbott, who was fettered, had to be carried to the gallows. Sitting on steps beside the cart, the witness said the condemned man gruffly ordered him to move before climbing aboard.
What followed horrified those gathered to watch.
The executioner, believed to have travelled from Shrewsbury, made a critical mistake. As the cart moved away, the noose slipped out of position and Tibbott was left hanging from the gibbet but still alive.
Instead of dying quickly, he reportedly remained suspended while the executioner scrambled to correct his blunder.
The account states that the hangman was eventually forced to return and complete the execution through what was described as a garrotting process.
For spectators, it must have been a dreadful sight. For Tibbott, it turned a death sentence into a prolonged and painful ordeal.
More than 70 years later, the witness still remembered the events vividly, describing a crude and heartless execution that left a lasting impression on everyone who saw it.
Today, the story stands as a stark reminder of the harsh realities of capital punishment in Montgomeryshire's past and of a botched execution that remained etched in local memory for generations.
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