“For the sake of decency, gentlemen, don’t hang me high.”On 30th November 1752, 31

“For the sake of decency, gentlemen, don’t hang me high.”On 30th November 1752, 31 year-old Mary Blandy was sentenced to death for poisoning her father - established lawyer Francis Blandy - with substances laced with arsenic.Five years earlier, Mary had met and fallen in love with a man named Captain William Henry Cranstoun. Cranstoun was from a respected family descended from Scottish roots, and his military ranking prompted approval from Mary’s parents. However, Francis became aware that Cranstoun was already married, and his current wife was not willing to agree to an annulment. The approval that Mary’s father had given was therefore revoked, along with the £10,000 dowry the couple were to receive from him once married.In light of this setback, Cranstoun returned to Scotland and sent Mary a parcel containing some powder, which he claimed was a ‘love potion’. He instructed her to give the powder to her father, and once he ingested it his feelings would change towards their relationship. Mary therefore administered the powder in Francis’ tea and breakfast, and it only took a few days for him to become ill. A household servant who finished off some of Francis’ leftovers also became unwell, which aroused suspicion.Mary sent for a doctor when her father had become bedridden, who informed her that she could be held accountable for murder if her father died. Upon receiving this news, she attempted to dispose of the remaining powder by burning it along with Cranstoun’s letters. However, this was witnessed by a housemaid, who then managed to salvage some of the powders from the fire and had them analysed by a local chemist. The chemist was able to determine the powder was actually arsenic, and Francis Blandy passed away on 14th August 1751. Mary was arrested the same day.During her trial, Mary attested that she was completely unaware of the fatal effects of the powder. However, it did not take the jury long to find her guilty of murder and pass a death sentence. Mary was sent to the gallows on Easter morning - 6th April - in 1752. She was hung outside Oxford Castle & Prison from a wooden beam placed horizontally between two trees. Upon Mary’s request, her hands were bound in front of her instead of behind, so that she could be hanged while holding her prayer book. Although she showed a distinct lack of fear in the face of her demise, her last words revealed her worry that male spectators might peer up her dress once she was dead: “For the sake of decency, gentlemen, don’t hang me high.”After hearing about Mary’s arrest, William Cranstoun completely abandoned his lover of over 5 years and fled to France, where he died penniless soon after in 1952.  -- source link

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