Crime Monthly: Must Reads March 2025
Executions, Duels, Murder, and Misguided Efforts to Get Away with Murder
This month, we have gathered fascinating and disturbing stories from some of our favorite fellow Substack writers and a worrisome piece of news from multiple outlets. This selection of articles deals quite directly with death, murder, executions, and duels.
With this monthly section, we want to illuminate other stories that we consider worth reading. Please click on the subscribe button below to avoid missing any future editions.
1. How NOT to get rid of a body
Dr Angela Buckley’s post explored the use of quicklime to decompose bodies and the murderer’s efforts to utilize this substance to get away with murder. Interestingly, “when quick (also known as ‘unslaked’) lime is mixed with water, it does have an initial burning effect, but it then preserves, rather than destroys tissue, and actually slows down putrefaction by drying out the soft flesh.” A 21st-century study using pigs found that dry and wet quicklime preserve rather than decompose bodies. Nevertheless, the belief that this substance aided with decomposition shaped how it was used. This is a stunning story about how (mis)understandings shape how people act.
2. A Harrowing Story of Children Being Killed.
Sophie Michell who we interviewed for our March 12th post, shared one of the worst inquests she encountered. This case helps us understand judicial decision-making and life at the time. John Richard Cook was “not a nice neighbor.” Sophie recounts how a “policeman broke in through the kitchen window and there was a bucket of blood on the floor, and a razor covered in blood and hair on the mantel. He went into the front room and discovered an awful sight”. In this article, you can learn about John’s family and the society he lived in.
3. The History of Duels
Paul Lenz writes for histories — a publication providing insightful, intriguing, and incredible stories of everyday things. This week, he covers the wildly entertaining, fascinating, and disturbing history of duels.
“If you had the money, you could hire a proxy or champion to fight for you. The champions themselves would not fight to the death, rather to submission, with the losing champion having their right hand amputated. The stakes were somewhat higher for the people who employed them however. During a proxy fight duel involving a capital offence, the two principles would sit with nooses around their necks, and if their champion lost the fight they would immediately be hanged!” Duels were, in the UK, a legal recourse until the 1870s.
4. Convicted murderer executed by firing squad.
This is the first time this method has been used in fifteen years. After thirteen years, South Carolina has restarted the death penalty and, due to shortages, offers its inmates the firing squad, electric chair, or lethal injection. Recently, three cases of lethal injection resulted in prolonged deaths in South Carolina, so Brad Sigmon chose the firing squad. He decided to die by firing squad because he feared another botched lethal injection.
The Guardian condemned the use of this method. It was the fourth time since 1976 that a death row convicted was killed by firing squad. Also, the BBC remarked that South Carolina has never pardoned an inmate on death row, and NPR added that a few more death row inmates are likely to face a similar fate. A few more people will ask to be killed by firing squad. We do not think the death penalty is a good deterrent and are deeply appalled by botched executions.
One more thing
We are excited to continue our conversations with other writers, which is why we will bring you a deeply engaging interview we conducted with our friend Jason Frowley PhD. Jason publishes insightful letters that explore big issues in crime and psychology. It will be available on our Substack next April 13th. Don’t miss it!
In the meantime, you can check out our previous interview:
Beyond the Archives: Sophie Michell Reconstructs The Lives of Murder Victims
We are excited to engage with other Substack creators who write on related issues.
Please hit Subscribe. We celebrate every subscription, like, and restack. We are committed to bringing you articles exploring the intersection of science, medicine, and crime and highlighting other Substackers.
Thanks for the shout-out, guys, & for being so kind as to interview me!
Wow, these sound like some great reads. The lime story and the duel story particularly wet my beak. Awesome post.