William Marwood (1818 – 4 September 1883) was a hangman for the British government.
William Marwood (1818 – 4 September 1883) was a hangman for the British government. He developed the technique of hanging known as the "long drop". Marwood was originally a cobbler, of Church Lane, Horncastle, Lincolnshire, England. At the age of 54 he persuaded the governor of Lincoln Castle Gaol to allow him to conduct an execution. The efficient way in which he conducted the hanging of William Frederick Horry without a hitch on 1 April 1872 assisted him in being appointed hangman by the Sheriffs of London and Middlesex in 1874, in succession to William Calcraft, at a retainer of £20 a year plus £10 per execution. Marwood developed the "long drop" technique of hanging, which ensured that the prisoners' neck was broken instantly at the end of the drop, resulting in the prisoner dying of asphyxia while unconscious. This was considered more humane than the slow death by strangulation caused by the "short drop" method, which was particularly distressing ...