Execution of George Spencer
George Spencer (c. 1600 – April 8, 1642) was the second person in history to be executed in Connecticut. He was executed by hanging for charges of sodomy after being wrongfully convicted for an alleged sexual act with an animal, in which it was erroneously claimed that Spencer had fathered a female pig's offspring. His hanging was the first wrongful execution in Connecticut's history.
George Spencer | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1600 |
| Died | April 8, 1642 (aged 41-42) |
| Cause of death | Execution by hanging |
| Occupation | Servant |
| Criminal status |
|
| Conviction(s) | Sodomy (pardoned) |
| Criminal penalty | Death |
After a review of the case in 2015, Spencer was given a posthumous pardon by Superior Court Judge John C. Blue, concluding that Spencer's confession was coerced and thus inadmissible, while also stating that Spencer's alleged crime of fathering a piglet was "biologically impossible". Spencer's case was described by Blue as the "first verifiable false confession in American history".