Commentary
This report begins: 'A particular account of the EXECUTION of these three unfortunate young men Michael Macintyre, Wm. Paterson and Wardrope Dyer, who were executed at Glasgow, yesterday, 24th Oct. with their dying behaviour.' The sheet dates from 1821. McIntryre and Paterson were convicted of robbing a fairly large quantity of clothing from the house of John Niven, tanner, in Greenock. Both were habitual thieves and McIntryre especially was hardened to life, saying he 'didn't care a damn' on hearing the sentence. Paterson burst into tears when he was told his life was forfeit. Dyer's case was unconnected but he was also charged with theft by housebreaking. Their executioner was Thomas Young. The many crime reports that form part of the National Library of Scotland's broadside collection offer a fascinating insight into crime and punishment in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Scotland. Whilst the penalty of death might appear unusually harsh for these men, execution was in fact a common punishment for housebreaking and theft at this time, and was intended very much as a deterrent to others.
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Date of publication:
1821 shelfmark: L.C.Fol.74(076)
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