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The Last Woman Hanged In New Hampshire Was Executed For Giving Birth
In the 18th century, an unmarried pregnant woman named Ruth Blay saw her life end following the controversey surrounding her baby
Capital punishment has evolved greatly throughout history. At one time, it was practically universally accepted but over time many areas came to abolish or restrict it. In New Hampshire, it was formally ended in 2019, but had been rarely used for a long time before that. In fact, the last woman hanged in the state occurred in 1768, when Ruth Blay was executed because she gave birth to a stillborn baby.
Blay was a seamstress and schoolteacher, who was born in 1737 and lived her entire life in New Hampshire. In 1768, she was 31 and unmarried, classifying her as a spinster. Unfortunately, an event that year made her a criminal and wound up costing her life.
She was discovered to have given birth to a stillborn child after she fell down a flight of stairs, which hastened the arrival. Scared of anyone finding out about her pregnancy as an unmarried woman, she hid the lifeless body under the floorboards of her barn.
The infant was discovered after just a few days, and Blay was arrested. Given her marital status, she was accused of concealing the…
