Mary Ann Milner:
The Case That Changed Execution Protocol Forever
An inquest was held at Barnetby-le-Wold in July 1847, on the body of Hannah Jickels, wife of John, of that place, labourer, which terminated in the committal of 27 year-old Mary Ann Milner (the wife of John Milner, of Barnetby-le-Wold, farm labourer), to Lincoln Castle, for the wilful murder of her sister-in-law Hannah Jickels with arsenic. Evidence taken at the inquest led to the coroner requesting that the bodies of Ellen Jickels, a four months old child, daughter of Hannah, and which had been interred about three weeks; and that of Mary Milner, mother-in-law of the above-named Mary Ann Milner, and which had been interred about five weeks, to be exhumed.
At a subsequent inquest it was clearly proved that both had died of arsenic poisoning. Furthermore, it was stated that her father-in-law, John Milner, had undoubtedly had poison administered to him also, as he had been very ill ever since his wife died, and became so immediately after partaking of gruel which the prisoner prepared.
Mary Ann Milner was tried on July 20th for poisoning her husband`s mother The jury were told that Mary had bought arsenic from the village grocer on the pretext of poisoning rats. However, after a long trial she was acquitted. She was again put on trial, and this time was found guilty of poisoning her brother`s wife, and was condemned.
There was a third indictment against her for poisoning the infant daughter of her brother`s wife. The following day Mary confessed to the prison chaplain that she did poison her brother`s wife, by inviting her into her house to eat a cake made of batter into which she had put arsenic for the purpose.
No further confession was made ‘til the morning of Monday July 26th, when Mary said she poisoned the infant daughter of her brother`s wife by putting arsenic into her drink of tea. In the evening of the same day she confessed that she had intended to poison her husband`s father by putting arsenic into rice-pudding; but she declared solemnly that she never intended to poison her husband`s mother, and that if she died of poison it must have been by accidentally having eaten some of the rice-pudding that was put away after the father had partaken of it.
Mary Ann gave the following reasons for perpetrating the crimes. She said that with regard to her brother`s wife there had been much disagreement between her brother and his wife, in which she herself was mixed up; and that the wife was continually vexing her and making herself very unpleasant to her. In revenge she determined to rid both herself and her brother of the wife and child. Regarding her father-in-law, Mary said that both he and his wife did not treat her well. They came into her house on all occasions, as though it was their own, and took and did what they liked without regard to her. Also, her husband gave them money and things, which so exasperated her that she told him that she would leave him if he continued to do so; and that finally she determined to poison his father.
Mary consistently declared that she did not intend to poison her mother-in-law, and that she had made away with no one else, and that no one else was concerned in the crimes she committed, and which she had confessed.
Mary Ann Milner was to be executed on the gallows atop Cobb Hall in Lincoln Castle on Friday July 30th at noon. However, on the very morning of her execution Mary was found dead in her cell, having hanged herself with a silk scarf that she had worn at her trial. This caused great disappointment to the many who had come to watch her die.
After this event there was a change in prison procedure, whereby prisoners condemned to death were never left alone, right up to being hanged.
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