The Murderous Mother and the Meanings of Minnie McGee, December 6
The December Island Studies Lecture is Tuesday, December 6, at 7 pm in the SDU Main Building Faculty Lounge on the 69传媒campus, featuring Dr. Sharon Myers speaking about 鈥淭he Murderous Mother and the Meanings of Minnie McGee."
In July 1912, 36-year-old Minnie McGee (nee Mary Cassidy, 1875-1953) of St. Mary鈥檚 Road, was tried and sentenced to hang for the murder of her son. While charged only in the death of 10-year-old John, evidence suggests she had killed all six of her children during the same week that spring. More than 130 people in the larger Georgetown area signed a petition for clemency, requesting the federal Minister of Justice to 鈥渃ommute her sentence on a plea of insanity.鈥� The commutation was awarded and McGee would spend the rest of her life in a variety of provincial and federal institutions. Dr. Myers鈥� research follows McGee鈥檚 life in and out of institutions, showing a pattern of occurrences in McGee鈥檚 鈥渃riminal鈥� life where the state chose to discipline and punish with far lighter touch than might be expected.
Watch for details for another lecture about islands 鈥� near and far 鈥� January 17! For more information, please contact Laurie at iis@upei.ca or (902) 894-2881.
