Book excerpt: Treason, witchcraft, robbery and murder, just a few of the crimes that could incur the penalty of death in the early days of Britains justice system. Domestic violence was rife and alcohol was often the fuel that culminated in the murders of a wife or sweetheart. DNA, blood grouping & fingerpinting are now used to place a person at the scene of a crime. Before the use of forensics, evidence was often circumstantial and there is no doubt that in some cases an innocent person would have been hanged