Anthony Miller (murderer)
| Anthony Joseph Miller | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1941 |
| Died |
22 December 1960 (age 19) HMP Barlinnie, Glasgow, Scotland |
| Criminal penalty | Death by hanging |
| Criminal status | Executed |
| Conviction(s) | Murder |
Anthony Joseph Miller (1941–22 December 1960) became the second-last criminal to be executed in Scotland when he was hanged on the gallows at Glasgow's Barlinnie Prison by Harry Allen, assisted by Robert Leslie Stewart, on 22 December 1960. Miller had been convicted of murdering John Cremin at Queen's Park Recreation Ground (near Hampden Park) in Glasgow on 6 April 1960. At 19 years of age, Miller was the last teenager to be executed in the United Kingdom.
The murder of John Cremin was a robbery that went wrong. Miller and his accomplice James Denovan were in the habit of working together as a team, robbing gay men. They would use Denovan (a 16-year-old boy) as bait to attract victims. After Denovan had lured the victims to a secluded area of the park out of public view, Miller would suddenly appear, threatening the victims with violence unless they handed over all their valuables. During this particular robbery Cremin was beaten to death and his body hidden under bushes, where it was later discovered by a man out walking his dog.
As a 19-year-old Miller was legally an adult, and because the murder had taken place during the course of a robbery (Cremin had been robbed of his watch, bankbook and £67), this made him eligible for the death penalty under the terms of the Homicide Act of 1957. However, as a 16-year-old, Denovan was considered a child in the judicial system and therefore too young to face the death penalty. Consequently, he was sentenced to be detained at Her Majesty's Pleasure.
Miller's family organized a petition to the Secretary of State for Scotland calling for a reprieve, with a stall in Glasgow city centre. It received 30 000 signatures, but it was turned down.
Miller's execution was the last to take place at HMP Barlinnie.
A theatre play about Miller's last days in the condemned cell – Please, Mister (the title comes from Miller's alleged last words on the scaffold) – was written by Patrick Harkins and first performed in 2010. The initial production starred Iain de Caestecker (in the role of Miller) and David Hayman.
The last ever judicial execution in Scotland was that of Henry John Burnett, which took place in Aberdeen on 15 August 1963.
References
Skelton, Douglas Glasgow's Black Heart: A City's Life of Crime
External links
- Daily Record article from December 2010.
- Glasgow Herald article from June 1995.
- Daily Record article which mentions the case briefly.
- 'Hanging With Frank' (video showing UK execution protocol at the old gallows in Barlinnie Prison)