Edinburgh Napier University

  Scotland’s historic and contemporary representation of capital punishment remains relatively unexplored in existing scholarship. This study aims to determine how capital punishment was presented to Scots in eighteenth and nineteenth century press publications. This research explores the representation and function of execution broadsheets from the National Library of Scotland’s collection through thematic analysis. Furthermore, in applying a case study approach this study analyses the press representation of two notorious capital convicts in the early nineteenth century, namely William Burke and Mary McKinnon. In addition, through analytical research this study aims to understand how Scotland’s legacy of capital punishment is presented to contemporary audiences on Edinburgh walking tours.
This study supports existing scholarship which suggests that execution broadsides are complex representations, containing contradictory discourses. However, in adding to existing scholarship, this study finds that the degree of complexity in representation is subject to variation depending on the identity and crime of the convict in focus. Henceforth, this study posits that several factors relating to the convicts’ identity and circumstances factored into representation, including: gender, nationality, age and offence. Findings demonstrate that whilst execution was generally reported on as an accepted consequence for committing crime, certain convicts were depicted more sympathetically and favourably than others.
In addition, findings establish that stories of execution are found to contribute significantly to the content presented on Edinburgh walking tours. Sensationalism is marked as a recurring theme in historic and contemporary representations of capital punishment in Scotland, indicating that stories of execution in Scotland have consistently served to entertain as well as to inform audiences. This study finds that cultural and societal shifts have impacted representations of capital punishment and presents an argument that factors such as time, scale and culpability impact contemporary representations of capital punishment, ultimately distinguishing sites of execution from other dark tourist sites.