Executed prisoners will need to be exhumed if Scottish Government sells off Barlinnie prison site
ONE of the biggest challenges facing the old Barlinnie will be removing the remains of prisoners buried there following their executions more than 60 years ago
If the Scottish Government decides to sell off the site then the bodies will have to be dug up and exhumed from their unmarked graves.
Serial killer Peter Manuel is among the 10 people put to death in Barlinnie between 1946 and 1960.
Before then all hangings, including those of women, took place in Duke Street Prison in Glasgow, which closed in 1955.
The last hanging in Britain was in 1965 and capital punishment was abolished in 1969.
It is understood the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) will have to apply to Glasgow Sheriff Court for permission to exhume remains left in the grounds.
Efforts will be made to contact any surviving family members to see if they want to receive the remains of their loved ones. If unclaimed, it likely the bodies will be cremated and their ashes scattered.
The SPS says it does not have any immediate plans for the remains while the new jail is under construction but says this will be something that it will look at in the future.
A source added: “Given the manner in which they were buried and the amount of time that has since passed, we wouldn’t expect there to be much to exhume.”
The last execution at Barlinnie was in December 1960, when 19-year-old Anthony Miller was hanged for killing a man during a robbery in Queen’s Park.
Manuel, the second last person to be hanged at Barlinnie, was executed in 1958 after he was convicted of murdering seven people in Glasgow and Lanarkshire.
It won’t be the first attempted exhumation of remains by the SPS.
In 2014, prison management applied for permission to exhume the remains of the last man hanged in Scotland before they shut Craiginches jail in Aberdeen.
Henry John Burnett went to the gallows for murder in 1963 and was buried in the prison grounds.
His remains were exhumed in August 2014 before being taken for a private ceremony at Aberdeen Crematorium.
Death came quickly for the 10 men hanged in the 14 years that executions were carried out at Barlinnie.
At 8am, a hood would be placed on the condemned man’s head and a noose around his neck, and seconds later the executioner would pull the trapdoor release. By 8.02am, it was over.
A notice would be placed on the gates of the prison to inform the public and waiting newspaper reporters.
Most of the executions were carried out by Thomas Pierrepoint and his nephew, Albert.
Harry Allen took over their role and hanged both Manuel and Anthony Miller.
As was the custom, the remains of all executed prisoners became the property of the state, and were therefore buried in unmarked graves within the walls of the prison.
Family and friends were unable to visit the plots or pay their respects.
In 1997, the old execution chamber in D Hall was dismantled as part of renovation work.
The remains of all the executed prisoners were exhumed for the first time then reburied nearby.