Catherine Murphy (counterfeiter)

Catherine Murphy, also known as Christian Murphy, was an English counterfeiter born in 1701. She is infamously recognized as the last woman in England to be officially burned at the stake, a grim distinction that highlights the harsh realities of 18th-century justice.

On September 18, 1788, Catherine and her husband, Hugh Murphy, were convicted of coining at the Old Bailey in London. Their sentencing led to a tragic execution on March 18, 1789, at Newgate Prison, where they faced their fate alongside seven other men convicted of various crimes.

While the eight men were executed by hanging, Catherine's gender dictated a different method of execution. The law mandated that she be burned at the stake. In a harrowing scene, she was led past the hanging bodies of her co-defendants and secured to a stake on a small platform. Following her final prayers, the executioner, William Brunskill, prepared the fire.

However, Catherine was not burned alive. In a practice established after the execution of Prudence Lee in 1652, she was strangled before the flames were ignited. Sir Benjamin Hammett, the Sheriff of London, ensured that she was strangled with a rope around her neck before the platform was removed, allowing for a more humane execution. This tragic event marked the end of an era, as the method of burning was abolished the following year by the Treason Act of 1790.