Record revealed
Hoax letter signed by ‘Jack the Ripper’
This is one of hundreds of letters in police files claiming to have been written by the infamous Whitechapel Murderer – otherwise known as 'Jack the Ripper'.
Item
Prisoner name(s): John Greenwood. Prisoner age: 31. Prisoner occupation: Labourer....
Catalogue reference: HO 17/30/48
What’s it about?
This record is about the Prisoner name(s): John Greenwood. Prisoner age: 31. Prisoner occupation: Labourer.... dating from 1821 Sept 19 in the series Home Office: Criminal Petitions, Series I. It is held at The National Archives, Kew.
Is it available online?
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Full description and record details
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Reference (The unique identifier to the record described, used to order and refer to it)
- HO 17/30/48
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Date (When the record was created)
- 1821 Sept 19
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Description (What the record is about)
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Prisoner name(s): John Greenwood.
Prisoner age: 31.
Prisoner occupation: Labourer.
Court and date of trial: Summer Assizes held at York 1821.
Crime: Horse stealing from Charles and John Long.
Annotated (Outcome): [Death] respited.
Petitioner(s): The convict - John Greenwood formerly of Manchester now of Leeds and 21 people.
Grounds for clemency (Petition Details): Prisoner was sentenced to death but has been reprieved; has a distressed wife and two children who will become chargeable to the Parish; prisoner could have brought evidence to show that he was not guilty if he had been provided with the means; no previous crime; he has obtained the prosecutors' signatures; previous good character.
Other papers: A letter from James Beaver Holt of Petergate, York forwarding and reiterating petitioners' support.
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Held by (Who holds the record)
- The National Archives, Kew
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Former department reference (Former identifier given by the originating creator)
- Dh 48
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Legal status (A note as to whether the record being described is a Public Record or not)
- Public Record(s)
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Language (The language of the record)
- English
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Closure status (Whether the record is ‘open’ (available to the public) or ‘closed’ (not available due to a legal exemption))
- Open Document, Open Description
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Subjects (Categories and themes found in our collection (our subject list is under development, and some records may have no subjects or fewer than expected))
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Record URL
- https://beta.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/id/C14462985/
How to order it
- View this record page in our current catalogue
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Series information
HO 17
Home Office: Criminal Petitions, Series I
See the series level description for more information about this record.
Catalogue hierarchy
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You are currently looking at the item: HO 17/30/48
Prisoner name(s): John Greenwood. Prisoner age: 31. Prisoner occupation: Labourer....
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