Commentary
This report of an execution begins: 'An account of the Behaviour and Execution of JAMES GLEN, who was Executed at Glasgow on Wednesday the 12th of December, 1827, for the inhuman Murder of his own son, by Drowning him in the Canal, near Port-Dundas.' It was published on 12th December 1827 by John Muir of Glasgow. Several broadsides were produced covering Glen's case, which suggests the high level of public outrage and interest it provoked. The broadside author notes that this is the third recorded case of a father being executed for infanticide in Glasgow. Infanticide was a crime traditionally more associated with women, because of the social stigma of having an illegitimate child, but here the author explains that the church's abolition of compulsory public repentance for single mothers had reduced the number of women killing their children. Broadsides are single sheets of paper, printed on one side, to be read unfolded. They carried public information such as proclamations as well as ballads and news of the day. Cheaply available, they were sold on the streets by pedlars and chapmen. Broadsides offer a valuable insight into many aspects of the society they were published in, and the National Library of Scotland holds over 250,000 of them.
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Date of publication:
1827 shelfmark: L.C.Fol.73(110b)
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