Francis Joseph Huchet
Encyclopedia
Francis Joseph Huchet was the last convicted criminal to be executed by hanging in the Channel Islands
. He was 32 years old.
He was sentenced to death on 10 September 1959 by the Deputy Bailiff of Jersey for the capital murder of John Perrée on the night of 30 March 1959. Perrée, a 45-year-old unmarried labourer from St Brelade, Jersey
, had been killed by a shotgun blast after spending an evening drinking with Huchet. Perrée’s body was recovered from a shallow grave on the sand dunes near Mont à la Brune on 4 April 1959.
Several incriminating pieces of evidence – including clothing belonging to both Huchet and his wife - were found near the crime scene. Furthermore, tracks in the sand at the crime scene pointed to an attempt to free Huchet’s car after it had become bogged down in the dunes.
At Huchet’s trial, which began in September 1959, witnesses were to testify that Perrée had been carrying a wallet containing a considerable amount of money on the night of his death. The existence of a bogus confession to the crime – written on the fly-leaf of a book and smuggled out of Newgate Street Prison in Saint Helier
where Huchet was being held – also came to light. It had been accompanied by a covering note requesting that the ‘confession’ be copied out in ink and forwarded to the police. It reached the hands of the investigating officers, helping to seal Huchet’s fate.
Huchet was hanged at Newgate Street Prison on 9 October 1959.
It was the first civil execution in Jersey for over 52 years and only the second execution in Jersey in the 20th century (excepting executions carried out by the German occupying forces in Jersey during the Second World War
). All further death sentences in Jersey were commuted to life imprisonment until 1986, when the death penalty was abolished.
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands are an archipelago of British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey...
. He was 32 years old.
He was sentenced to death on 10 September 1959 by the Deputy Bailiff of Jersey for the capital murder of John Perrée on the night of 30 March 1959. Perrée, a 45-year-old unmarried labourer from St Brelade, Jersey
Jersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...
, had been killed by a shotgun blast after spending an evening drinking with Huchet. Perrée’s body was recovered from a shallow grave on the sand dunes near Mont à la Brune on 4 April 1959.
Several incriminating pieces of evidence – including clothing belonging to both Huchet and his wife - were found near the crime scene. Furthermore, tracks in the sand at the crime scene pointed to an attempt to free Huchet’s car after it had become bogged down in the dunes.
At Huchet’s trial, which began in September 1959, witnesses were to testify that Perrée had been carrying a wallet containing a considerable amount of money on the night of his death. The existence of a bogus confession to the crime – written on the fly-leaf of a book and smuggled out of Newgate Street Prison in Saint Helier
Saint Helier
Saint Helier is one of the twelve parishes of Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands in the English Channel. St. Helier has a population of about 28,000, roughly 31.2% of the total population of Jersey, and is the capital of the Island . The urban area of the parish of St...
where Huchet was being held – also came to light. It had been accompanied by a covering note requesting that the ‘confession’ be copied out in ink and forwarded to the police. It reached the hands of the investigating officers, helping to seal Huchet’s fate.
Huchet was hanged at Newgate Street Prison on 9 October 1959.
It was the first civil execution in Jersey for over 52 years and only the second execution in Jersey in the 20th century (excepting executions carried out by the German occupying forces in Jersey during the Second World War
Occupation of the Channel Islands
The Channel Islands were occupied by Nazi Germany for much of World War II, from 30 June 1940 until the liberation on 9 May 1945. The Channel Islands are two British Crown dependencies and include the bailiwicks of Guernsey and Jersey as well as the smaller islands of Alderney and Sark...
). All further death sentences in Jersey were commuted to life imprisonment until 1986, when the death penalty was abolished.