Ronald Turpin Explained

Ronald Turpin
Birth Date:29 April 1933
Birth Place:Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Criminal Penalty:Death
Criminal Status:Executed
Death Date:11 December 1962 (aged 29)
Death Cause:Execution by hanging
Death Place:Don Jail, Toronto, Canada
Conviction:Capital murder
Victims:Frederick Nash, 31
Date:12 February 1962
Country:Canada
Locations:Toronto
Motive:To avoid arrest

On December 11, 1962, Ronald Turpin was one of the two last people to be executed in Canada. Turpin had been convicted of the murder of Metropolitan Toronto police officer Frederick Nash, 31. On 12 February 1962, Nash pulled Turpin over for a broken taillight while the latter was fleeing from a robbery. The two men got into a shootout, and Nash suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the abdomen. Turpin was hit twice, once in the arm and once in the face, giving him a scar on his left cheek.

The method of execution was hanging, and the sentence was carried out at the Don Jail. The other prisoner simultaneously executed was Arthur Lucas, who had been convicted of an unrelated murder. When both men were informed that they would likely be the last people ever to hang in Canada, Turpin said, "Some consolation."[1] [2]

Notes and References

  1. "Capital punishment in Canada" https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.795391
  2. News: 2012-12-10. The end of the rope: The story of Canada’s last executions. en-CA. Toronto Star. 2022-01-07. 0319-0781.