William Allen Butler was convicted of treason. Roger David Casement was a fifty one year old Irishman and a former member of the Foreign Office who was convicted of treason. Casement had been knighted for his work in Africa but his devotion to his native Ireland led him to make for Germany at the outbreak of the war. His aim was to persuade Irish prisoners of war to fight on the side of the Kaiser, hoping that the Germans in return would supply weapons to the Irish in their fight for independence. He was arrested as he alighted from a boat in Ireland. By the time he stood trial at the Old Bailey on 26th June, he had been the victim of a smear campaign whereby his personal diaries that referred to his homosexuality were hawked around British newspapers. His appeal was dismissed in July and he was hanged by John Ellis and Robert Baxter. The sentence was carried out on the 3rd August 1916 in Pentonville. Age:- 52 Date of Execution:- Thursday, 3rd August, 1916 Location of Execution:- Pentonville Hangman:- John Ellis Assistants:- Robert Baxter Tried At:- Old Bailey, London Trial Dates:- 26th - 29th June, 1916 Trial Judge:- Lord Chief Justice Isaacs, Justices Horridge and Avory Crime:- Treason
