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Executions: Henry Fauntleroy Painting mini documentary
Henry Fauntleroy was one of the most notorious criminals of the 19th century. As a banker and fraudster, he soon became a condemned man after it was discovered he’d been stealing money from the bank he worked at.
Captured in a painting are his final moments while an estimated 100,000 Londoners awaited his arrival to the scaffold – it was also one of the last times someone was to be executed for forgery as it was decided by the 1820s that this was no longer punishable by death.
The painting is signed by William Thompson, a fellow inmate of Fauntleroy at Newgate Prison, giving a whole new perspective on the art piece.
William and his brothers were convicted in 1824 for robbing a house, though William was not actually involved in the theft and assisted the police in tracking down his brothers. Thompson likely would’ve known Fauntleroy having shared their time in Newgate Prison together, though only one was able to walk free…
