Pages tagged with: justice system

Depositions against the gang began on 2 August 1866 and attracted great excitement. It was only now that it was revealed that Sullivan had informed on the others.

Members of the Nelson Volunteers surrounded the gaol on the morning of the execution to ensure 'good order was maintained' by the public.

When Joseph Sullivan returned to Hokitika to give evidence about the robbery of the Hokitika police camp and the murder of George Dobson, a mob called for him to be lynched

The court of inquiry that met 10 weeks after the sinking pinpointed the build-up of water in the vehicle deck as the reason the ferry finally capsized.

With the death of so many people, it is not surprising that the investigations into the tragedy became a source of great debate and controversy.

Video about the baby-farmer Minnie Dean, the only woman to be hanged in New Zealand

Newspaper reports of the arrest and trial of Minnie Dean

Newspaper report of the execution of Minnie Dean on 12 August 1895

Further reading and links to information about the Maungatapu murders

The Act provided for women aged between 25 and 60 to have their names placed on the jury list on the same basis as men – if they so desired. The first female juror, Miss E.R. Kingsford, served at the Auckland Supreme Court in 1943.

Whanganui farmer Walter Bolton, aged 68, was hanged at Auckland's Mount Eden Prison after being controversially convicted of murdering his wife, Beatrice. The death penalty was abolished in 1961.

Ethel Benjamin (1875–1943) was the first woman to become a lawyer in New Zealand.