VPRS 16631 Returns of Criminals Executed in Victoria and Prisoners Sentenced to Death Whose Sentence Has Been Commuted

Full description

This series was used to record details of prisoners who were executed in Victoria and of prisoners who were sentenced to death but whose sentence was subsequently commuted to a lesser charge.

The provenance of this volume is unclear but it is thought the volume was initially commenced by the Melbourne Gaol and subsequently continued by Pentridge prison. This is also supported by the reference to proisoners in the latter return and some loose documentation held within its pages.

Information is recorded in two separate returns which commence from either end of the volume. The following information is recorded in the return of criminals executed:

- date of execution
- name, age, sex, birthplace and religion of the executed criminal, and
- nature of the of the offence.

From 1865 onwards a number of entries are also annotated to indicate those criminals who were buried in the grounds of the prison where the execution took place.

The return of prisoners whose sentences were commuted records the following information:

- prisoner number (either that recorded in VPRS 515 Central Register of Male Prisoners and/or the registers of the specific gaol/prison)
- date of conviction
- name, age, sex, birthplace and religion of the prisoner
- the original sentence
- the offence, and
- details about the decision to commute.

This series was transferred to PROV during 2010 after it had remained in private hands for a period of at least 35 years.