Launched Into Eternity

Launched Into Eternity is a fascinating account of crime and public punishment in Scotland; from bloody Viking penalties right through to Robert Smith's five minutes of fame in 1868. Until that time, after which executions were conducted within prison walls, this was public spectacle, tragic public theatre which drew huge crowds eager to see the latest victim being launched into eternity. It was on a wet Tuesday in May 1868 that the people of Dumfries gathered outside the town jail to witness the pathetic figure of teenager Robert Smith, condemned to hang for the appalling rape and murder of a nine-year-old girl. Moments later the hangman withdrew a bolt and Smith dropped to agonisingly struggle and writhe his life away. Newspapers reported he had been Launched Into Eternity.