Zsiga Pankotia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Zsiga Pankotia was a Hungarian-born murderer who was hanged on the 29th June 1961 at Armley Gaol, (Leeds, now HMP Leeds)[1]. He was hanged by Harry Allen for the murder of Eli Myres in a house burglary in the city's affluent Roundhay district. Under the 1957 Homocide Act, Pankotia could be sentenced to hang because he had murdered Myres during a robbery (which was considered an exceptional circumstance, therefore hanging was an option open to the judiciary). He became the last man to be hanged at Armley Gaol.[2]
Pankotia was tried, convicted and sentenced at Leeds Crown Court and did not appeal against the decision. The hanging had been the first in Leeds since 1959 and caused particular controversy in the area as, by this time, hanging was particularly unfavoured in the UK and was abolished in 1965.[3]
