Since the mid-1800s, the Don Jail has left its stamp on the skyline, and the psyche, of Toronto. Over the years it developed a fearsome reputation as a dehumanizing snake pit where tuberculosis and other diseases caused by overcrowding were rife. And between 1872 and 1962, thirty-four men were hanged there. But, as is shown in the following excerpt from Drop Dead: A Horrible History of Hanging in Canada, it all started off with such great promise…….

To find out the rest, please visit the John Howard Society of Canada’s blog.