Prisoner name: Thomas Cannell. Prisoner age: 26. Prisoner occupation: Captain of...

Prisoner name: Thomas Cannell.

Prisoner age: 26.

Prisoner occupation: Captain of the Laurel brig of Liverpool.

Court and date of trial: Central Criminal Court, Old Bailey, 3 February 1837.

Crime: Manslaughter of a seaman, Campbell, a member of his crew, by severe punishment by flogging, on 10 November 1836 on the high seas on the voyage home from Benin to Liverpool.

Initial sentence: 14 years transportation.

Gaoler's report: Character not known.

Annotated (Outcome): Nil.

Petitioner(s): Thomas Cannell, the prisoner. 33 inhabitants of Castletown, Isle of Man. John Archer and Co, owners of the brig Laurel, and 63 inhabitants of Liverpool. M Hutchinson and Co, owners of Laurel and six inhabitants of Liverpool. Isabella Cannell of Castletown, Isle of Man, widow, the prisoner's mother, undersigned by 29 inhabitants of Castletown, testifying to the prisoner's good character.

Grounds for clemency (Petition Details): The punishment was not unnecessarily violent or severe; witnesses give conflicting evidence and may have conspired against prisoner; the deceased was 'a man of the most disgusting and filthy habits' who 'continually evaded his duty'; provisions were in short supply and the weather was very cold; the crew had shown signs of mutiny; the prisoner was afflicted by fever in Africa, which left him fretful and irritable; if a nautical person had been on the jury he would have been acquitted; he has a widowed mother and sisters to support; he has conducted himself well in Van Diemen's Land.

Other papers: Covering letters for petitions from William Ewart, Eaton Place and University Club, Frederick Gelling, Castletown, and Hamilton Jackson and Co, Liverpool.

Additional Information: Prisoner from Castletown, Isle of Man. Held on Fortitude hulk at Chatham. Transported to Van Diemen's Land.