Gabriel Milan - Trial and Death

Trial and Death

Mikkelsen left St. Thomas with his rather uncongenial company on July 5, and did not arrive in Copenhagen until October 12, 1686. Besides the two governors with their families and negro servants, the list of passengers included Niels Lassen, Gerhart Philipsen, and John Lorentz, whose testimony was desired in the suits. A commission was appointed within a week to try the case against Milan, but delays in getting the tangled evidence straightened prevented a decision being reached before November 17, 1687. An appeal to the Supreme Court brought further delays, but finally the case was opened on February 14, 1689. The judges rendered their individual opinions on March 14, and judgment was finally pronounced on March 21. The sentence was not a surprise to those who had followed the case. After a fair, impartial trial Gabriel Milan was found guilty and condemned to lose his property, honor, and life, and his head and hand were to be put upon a stake. A royal pardon saved him from the last grim disgrace, and at dawn on March 26, 1689, he was beheaded on Nytorv Square in Copenhagen.