The sad demise of z.D.H.38 Ernest Collins: suicide, informers and the debate on the abolition of flogging

In 1934, a convict was found hanged in his cell. His final words reveal the fearful state of his mind on learning his appeal against a sentence of flogging had been rejected. Historical records about his prison life offer insights into suicide and prison informers, subjects which have received little attention from historians. His activities as an informer increased the weight of imprisonment for him in the period prior to his death. He is a statistic in the Prison Commissioners’ annual report, but his death became a crucial component of rejuvenated campaigns for an enquiry into the use of corporal punishment.