Peppermint Billy

 

A talk by Jo Mungovin

Peppermint Billy was the last man publicly hanged  in Leicester in 1856.

William 'Peppermint Billy' Brown had previously been transported to Van Diemen's Land for theft, spent seven years in an asylum, and then after spending thirteen years on the other side of the world, he made his way back to England and back to Leicestershire .

Eight weeks later, he was executed - why did he come back? Was he truly guilty of murder?