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
Over 27 million records
This record is held at The National Archives, Kew
1,720,231 records
Within the department: HO
Records created or inherited by the Home Office, Ministry of Home Security, and related...
19,921 records
Within the series: HO 17
Home Office: Criminal Petitions, Series I
184 records
Within the piece: HO 17/30
Petitions referenced, Dh, Dk, Dl and Dm. (Described at item level).
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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