Early Life
He served eight years with the Bradford Police Force, then tried himself as a boot salesman. Since he did not earn enough for the upkeep of his family, he applied for the post of executioner after William Marwood's death in 1883 but was unsuccessful despite being shortlisted, until the short period of Bartholomew Binns in office was over.
Berry was the first British hangman literate and communicative enough to be able to write freely about his work. He considered that the hangman was the last link in what he called the "chain of legal retribution".
Read more about this topic: James Berry (executioner)
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