Britain was still a pitiless place for the poor at the dawn of the 20th century. An unemployed man could starve to death without wages. That thought depressed Samuel Rowledge, who didnt have a job, and therefore had no hope of marrying his sweetheart, Alice Foster.
When Rowledges brother found him a few hours work he was so despondent he couldnt summon up the energy to take it on. And when Alice heard about that she got cross and raged at him for being lazy.
Fed up with it all, Rowledge went to the pawnshop, redeemed his revolver, walked to Alices house in Kingsley Park and shot her dead from a distance of just three feet. He told police that he had intended to shoot himself as well, but he couldnt summon up the energy to do that either.
On Wednesday, JULY 13th, 1904, Samuel Rowledge, 37, paid for his crime on the gallows at Northampton Jail.