different realities and reactions picture add that a life of slavery in the mines of Siberia sounds like something that could induce a wish to flee somewhere else, even to death. Some cases are also known from British colonies in North America and Australia. Fromthe USAof today at least two cases from the 1760’s are known. One of them concerns a man recently arrived from Germany which in order to be executed murdered a twelve years old boy.646 In van Diemens land, Tasmania today, in 1827, nine men were hanged for one murder. They had strived to escape from a penal colony on a small island in Maquarie Harbour. They tied guards and others and tried to leave the island. The raft they built could, however, not carry them all. Three of them then drowned the constable in charge. To a cook it was said that by doing this they were to escape further floggings. Three of them then went with the raft while the others released their prisoners and waited for their destiny. The next morning they summoned the guards on a nearby island. The three on the raft were soon found and all nine were taken to court, sentenced, and hanged.647 They came from Britain and appear to have found that hanging would have been better than the reality of transportation. Those transported from Britain sometimes, at least in London, feared that the experience would be worse than being executed and in New South Wales in the 1830's many executed is said to have stated that they preferred being hanged to being sent to the prison colony on Norfolk Island.648 On Norfolk Island itself a habit is said to have spread of prisoners casting lots to decide who should be murdered and who should be the murderer and later hanged. In this thus some release was found both for the murderer and victim, dying without committing suicide and also the witnesses were given the treat of leaving the island for a period and maybe to be able to escape in Sydney. Action was then taken in order to quell 646 Banner 2002 p 106. 647 Byard and Maxwell Stewart 2018 p 1146 sq, Maxwell-Stewart 2008 p 207 sqq, see also West 1852 p 211 sq. 648 Ullathorne 1963 p 30, 40, Hitchcock and Shoemaker 2010 p 342. 184
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