On 11th August 1873 James Gaffney came to the aid of a woman who had been assaulted by a local boxer and paid with his life, becoming the victim of a stabbing.
Mary Fortune had been to a concert at Cambridge Music Hall in Mill Street, Toxteth. On leaving, she was asked out by James O'Connor but declined. He responded by accusing Mary of stealing money from him and when she argued back, O'Connor punched her twice, making her fall to the ground. James Gaffney came over to intervene and was stabbed in the neck in response to him asking O'Connor why he had struck Mary. A friend of Gaffney's named Metcalf then punched O'Connor who responded by stabbing him in the torso. Both victims were taken to hospital, where Gaffney died from internal injuries the next morning.O'Connor was well known to police and arrested soon after.
O'Connor was found guilty of the murder of Gaffney and attempted murder of Metcalf, but his execution at Kirkdale gaol did not go smoothly. The first attempt saw the rope snap, leaving O'Connor screaming in pain at the bottom of the pit, thinking for a moment he had gone over to the other side. He was eventually hanged second time around, but took some time to die after the rope length required was miscalculated. Calcraft, an experienced executioner who had hanged thousands, was not used by the gaol again following this error of judgement. |