Another chance for the last man hanged in Dundee?

A re-examination of the medical evidence which led to the execution of William Bury, the last man hanged in Dundee 129 years ago, will be staged at a public mock trial next month, organised by the University of Dundee.

Bury was found guilty of the murder of his wife Ellen, and hanged on April 24, 1889. In his initial confession he made a claim to be Jack the Ripper.

His conviction rested largely on medical evidence which drew some uncertainty from the jury at the time. Now students from the mooting societies at the Universities of Dundee and Aberdeen will take part in a re-consideration of the information that was available at the time and will present evidence by today’s forensic science standards.

The mock trial will be overseen by Lord Matthews. The prosecution case will be led by the Dundee University Mooting Society, who will be mentored by Alex Prentice QC and Dr Stuart Hamilton will be called as their expert witness.

Defence of William Bury will be led by Aberdeen University’s Mooting Society, who will be mentored by Dorothy Bain QC and they will call Professor Richard Shepherd as their forensic witness.

The jury who will decide on the verdict will be drawn from the local public, with an appeal for 15 people to take part.

The event will be held in Dundee Sheriff Court on Saturday February 3 and is being staged as part of the celebrations to mark the 130th anniversary of the establishment of the Cox Chair of Anatomy at the University of Dundee.

Unfortunately, due to limited space there is no access for the public to the court on the day. The event is being filmed for a planned documentary by HistoryHit TV - Dan Snow’s new online History Channel, and there will be social media updates throughout the day, with a verdict expected by 5pm on February 3.

“The William Bury trial and his subsequent execution is a fascinating story in so many respects, from the reaction of the Dundee public, who were very much against the death sentence at the time, to the claims linking him to the Jack the Ripper case, and the circumstances of the death of his wife,” said Professor Dame Sue Black, director of the Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification at the University of Dundee.

“We have excellent records of the original case, through documents held in the National Records of Scotland and press reports of the time. William Bury’s body was transported to the University for anatomisation and the bones from his neck remain in my office. He had been hanged and his neck snapped at his second cervical vertebra – the classical hangman’s fracture.”

Professor Black added: “When the jury returned the first time they found Bury guilty but asked for mercy as they found the medical evidence to be conflicting. However they could only return with one of three verdicts – guilty, not guilty or not proven. On the second return to the courtroom they found him guilty and he was sentenced to death by hanging. We will now look at this evidence again in the light of modern thinking and see what the jury decides – will he still be found guilty? We will find out on February 3.”