Drop Dead: A Horrible History of Hanging in Canada

A darkly humorous book that illustrates how trial, conviction, and punishment operated in Canada’s first century.

A light-hearted look back on the dark history of hangings in Canada — filled with fascinating stories and colourful characters, such as the gun-toting bootlegger who was the only woman ever hanged in Alberta. Take a journey through notable cases in Canada’s criminal justice history, including well-known and some not-so-well-known Canadian historical figures. You’ll even meet Arthur Ellis, Canada’s most famous hangman, whose working outfit was a frock coat and striped trousers, often with a flower pinned to his lapel.

Drop Dead: A Horrible History of Hanging in Canada illustrates how trial, conviction, and punishment operated in Canada’s first century, and examines the relevance of capital punishment today. Along the way, learn disturbing facts about wrongful convictions as well as the mathematics and physics behind hangings, and meet the victims, murderers, convicts, and executioners.