Charles Dow Richards (June 12, 1879-September 15, 1956), born in Southampton

Southampton, New Brunswick

Southampton is a Canadian rural community in York County, New Brunswick.The community is located south of Southampton Junction, a station located within the village of Millville, created when the New Brunswick Railway was constructed in the 1870s....

, York County

York County, New Brunswick

York County is located in west-central New Brunswick, Canada. The county contains the provincial capital, Fredericton. Outside the city, farming and forestry are two major industries in the county, which is bisected by the Saint John River...

, New Brunswick

New Brunswick

New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...

, was a judge and New Brunswick politician.

He served as Conservative

Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick

The Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick is a centre-right political party in New Brunswick, Canada. It has its origins in the pre-Canadian confederation Conservative Party that opposed the granting of responsible government to the colony...

 house leader

House Leader

In Canada, each political party with representation in the House of Commons has a House Leader who is a front bench Member of Parliament and an expert in parliamentary procedure...

 and then Minister of Lands and Mines

Department of Natural Resources (New Brunswick)

The Department of Natural Resources is a department in the Government of New Brunswick, Canada. It is responsible for management of the Province's forests including timber utilization, trail management, insect and disease protection including spruce budworm and gypsy moth, fire protection,...

 under Premier

Premier

Premier is a title for the head of government in some countries and states.-Examples by country:In many nations, "premier" is used interchangeably with "prime minister"...

 John B. M. Baxter. In 1931 he became premier and tried to deal with the Great Depression

Great Depression

The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...

 without much success. His 2-year administration, in the depths of the Great Depression, instituted public bidding on crown land and fishing rights. In 1933 he left politics when he was appointed to the Supreme Court of New Brunswick, serving as its Chief Justice

Chief Justice of New Brunswick

The Chief Justice of the Province of New Brunswick, Canada holds the highest office within the Province's judicial system. He/she is part of the Court of Appeal, the highest court in the Province which includes five other judges plus any former judge of the Court of Appeal who is a supernumerary...

 from 1946 to 1955.

As Justice, Richards sentenced the last man to be executed in Charlotte County

Charlotte County, New Brunswick

Charlotte County is located in the southwestern portion of New Brunswick, Canada.In most of the county, fishing and aquaculture dominate the local economy, although the town of St. Andrews is a tourist mecca and St...

. He did not accept the jury's request "that mercy be shown to the accused," 22 year-old Thomas Roland Hutchings, and sentenced him to hang at St. Andrews, New Brunswick

St. Andrews, New Brunswick

St. Andrews is a Canadian town in Charlotte County, New Brunswick.It is sometimes referred to in tourism marketing by its unofficial nickname "St. Andrews-by-the-sea".-Geography:St...

 on Wednesday, December 16, 1942 for the rape

Rape

Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...

 and murder

Murder

Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...

 of Bernice Connors.

Personal life

Initially a schoolteacher, Richards was admitted to the bar at age 33. Richards married Grace Bolton. The couple had one daughter, who married a descendant of Philemon Wright

Philemon Wright

Philemon Wright was a farmer and entrepreneur who founded Wrightstown, the first permanent settlement in the National Capital Region of Canada...

.

He is best remembered not so much as a politician but as a dignified, scholarly lawyer and distinguished judge. Charles Richards died in 1956 and was buried in the Forest Hill Cemetery

Forest Hill Cemetery

Forest Hill Cemetery is located in Dane County, Madison, Wisconsin and was one of the first U.S. National Cemeteries established in Wisconsin.After the first permanent settlers arrived in Madison in the 1830s, the first non-native burials occurred on the current University of Wisconsin–Madison...

 in Fredericton

Fredericton, New Brunswick

Fredericton is the capital of the Canadian province of New Brunswick, by virtue of the provincial parliament which sits there. An important cultural, artistic, and educational centre for the province, Fredericton is home to two universities and cultural institutions such as the Beaverbrook Art...

.