Susan Newell (1893 – 10 October 1923) was the last woman to be hanged as capital punishment in Scotland. She was arrested after acting suspiciously and the discovery of the body of a thirteen year old newspaper boy, John Johnston. Although there were no witness accounts of him being killed, circumstantial evidence was presented at her trial. She was found guilty of his murder, a plea of insanity was rejected and she was sentenced to death.
John Johnston had left his house in the afternoon of 20 June and had not returned. Another boy had met him at 6pm and given him nine papers to sell. The following day Newell and her daughter set off on foot with an unwieldy bundle carried on a Go Cart. While walking out of Coatbridge on the Glasgow Road a truck driver offered them a lift. He took them as far as the East end of Glasgow and dropped them off in Duke Street. Locals were suspicious of Newell and the police were called. Newell was followed as she went into a back court and emerged without the bundle. She was apprehended and the boy's body discovered . The plea of insanity was rejected..
Susan Newell
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