In modern history, few names are as unsettling and controversial as Albert Pierrepoint. From the 1940s to the 1950s, this man built his career executing hundreds of people, from infamous serial killers to Nazi war criminals. With an estimated total of up to 550 executions, Pierrepoint was not just an executioner but an integral part of British legal history. His life was a complex story, interwoven with cold professionalism and a profound shift in his views on capital punishment.

Born in Yorkshire in 1905, Albert Pierrepoint’s fate seemed predetermined. At just 11 years old, he wrote in an essay: “When I leave school, I would like to be the Official Hangman.” This morbid dream was no accident; it was a family tradition. His father and uncle were executioners, and after his father’s death, Pierrepoint inherited his detailed notes and diaries on the art of hanging.

After numerous attempts, he was finally accepted as an assistant executioner in 1932. However, it wasn’t until 1941 that he carried out his first execution. Everything changed drastically after World War II, when his workload increased enormously.

2. The pinnacle of his career: the execution of Nazi war criminals

Albert Pierrepoint, right, with his uncle Thomas in a 1947 photograph, when the young man was Britain’s official executioner.

From 1945 to 1949, Albert Pierrepoint became a household name, executing approximately 200 war criminals, many of whom were notorious Nazi officers and guards. He traveled to Germany and Austria more than 20 times to carry out executions against some of the most brutal figures, such as Josef Kramer, “The Beast of Belsen” and commandant of Auschwitz, and Irma Grese, “The Hyena of Auschwitz.” On one occasion, he even executed 13 people in a single day.

After hanging so many enemies of Britain, Pierrepoint became something of an unofficial “war hero.” He earned enough money to buy a pub called The Poor Struggler, which became famous, and people flocked there to be served a pint by Britain’s Nazi executioner.

Irma Grese

3. A Change of Perspective

Pierrepoint’s life took a dark turn in 1950. One of his pub’s regular customers, James Corbitt, was sentenced to death for murdering his girlfriend. Pierrepoint carried out the execution. He later admitted that this was the only time he regretted his work.

Despite this, he continued his work for another five years, executing other high-profile criminals such as serial killer John Christie and Timothy Evans (who was unjustly hanged for one of Christie’s crimes). His last execution was that of Ruth Ellis, a woman who shot her abusive boyfriend. Her death sentence was highly controversial among the British public and began to shift the government’s opinion on capital punishment.

After a dispute over payment in 1956, Albert Pierrepoint resigned, ending his 24-year career.

4. Legacy and His Disturbing Art

Albert meticulously recorded the names, weights, and even neck sizes of condemned prisoners.

Albert Pierrepoint’s fame stemmed from his calm, swift, and efficient approach to his work. He was a master of his craft, meticulously calculating the length of rope to ensure a quick and “humane” death by breaking the neck.

He once described his process in detail: “Having an idea of ​​their physique, we can make the appropriate preparations for their execution. The execution chamber is usually next to the condemned person’s cell door… When the time for execution arrives, we do a final check of the equipment… I fasten their arms behind their back with a leather strap… While my assistant ties their legs, I place a white cap on their head and put a rope around their neck. The knot is the secret… As soon as I see everything is ready, I pull the lever, and the prisoner falls through, and it’s all over in an instant.”

Pierrepoint emphasized the need for neutrality and emotional detachment. “You must not get involved in any crime they have committed,” he said. “The person has to die. They must be treated with the utmost respect and dignity.”

5. Opinions on Capital Punishment

After his retirement, Pierrepoint spoke out against capital punishment. In his 1974 memoirs, he wrote that it was not an effective deterrent. “I have come to the conclusion that executions solve nothing and are merely an antiquated relic of a primitive desire for revenge,” he stated.

However, just two years later, in a BBC radio interview, he seemed to change his mind and suggested that crime in Britain had increased since the abolition of capital punishment and that it might be necessary to reinstate it.

Albert Pierrepoint died in 1992 at the age of 87. His life remains a complex reminder of the nature of justice and punishment. From a man who flawlessly executed his duties to one who had doubts about their effectiveness, his story reveals the inner conflicts of a man who spent his life ending the lives of others. He was one of Britain’s last and most notorious executioners, and his legacy continues to raise difficult questions about ethics and human rights to this day.