1833
Elisha Sinkler was reprieved, his death sentence officially commuted to Transportation For Life.
It’s hard to determine a specifc date for Elisha’s reprieve. Do we take the date it was signed off, the date the prison was informed, or the date Elisha was told?
It isn’t clear exactly when Elisha learned his life had been saved, but some newspapers reports give the 29th as the date of his reprieve. We know that the Under Sheriff & Gaoler were sent a letter from Baron Gurney on the evening of Thursday 28th, with the Deputy Clerk of the Assizes receiving the news on the morning of Friday 29th. So I think it’s most likely that Elisha was told on the 29th, the day before he was due to hang. However, it is entirely possible someone told him the night the letter arrived, or he may not have been told until the Saturday morning of the scheduled executions.
Whatever the precise time and date, this was a pivotal moment for Elisha; his life had been spared but he could now expect to leave England forever, and never see his wife and children again.
Main Image – York Castle Prison Cell
