James Johnson was hanged - for the murder of his wife. 43 year old James Johnson lived in lodgings at 68 Cannon Street in Newcastle upon Tyne with his wife 35 year old Mary Annie and daughters, 13 year old Nancy, 8 year old Jenifer and 3 year old Irene and five year old son James. He was a bookmaker but was also well known to the police for gambling offences, drunkenness, assault and petty theft. He began a two month prison sentence for the latter two offences in December of 1928. While he was incarcerated Mary had been seeing one William “Billy” Ridley. She denied that the relationship was anything more that platonic but the two older daughters told a different story. This inevitably led to friction between Johnson and Mary. On the evening of the 9th of May 1929 Mary left the house after a row and sought out a policeman. Constable George Urwin accompanied her back to Cannon Street and “had a word” with Johnson, as was the typical procedure of the t...