The Final Judgment and Execution of Mary Ann Cotton

Following detailed arguments from both sides, jurors withdrew to deliberate, returning after an hour and a half with a guilty verdict. Initially, Mary Ann showed signs of shock, but she quickly reverted to her stoic demeanor, masking any emotion she might have felt about the decision.

In March 1873, Mary Ann Cotton’s life came to an end by hanging at Durham County Gaol, branded a ‘monster in human shape.’ Facing her demise, Cotton displayed a range of emotions, from prayerful pleas to tearful sobs, before a crowd of 50 onlookers. Her final words sought divine forgiveness. Among Mary Ann’s 13 children, only George and Margaret Edith outlived their mother, bearing the weight of her infamous legacy.