Bathsheba Ruggles Spooner | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 15, 1746 |
| Died | July 2, 1778 (aged 32) Worcester, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Criminal status | Executed |
| Spouse | Joshua Spooner |
| Parent(s) | Timothy Ruggles, father Bathsheba Ruggles (Bourne), mother |
| Conviction(s) | Inciting, abetting and procuring the manner and form of murder |
| Criminal penalty | Death by hanging |
Bathsheba Ruggles Spooner (February 15, 1746 – July 2, 1778)[1] was the first woman in American history to be executed following the Declaration of Independence.
The daughter of prominent Loyalist brigadier general and jurist Timothy Ruggles, Bathsheba Ruggles had an arranged marriage to wealthy farmer Joshua Spooner. After becoming pregnant by her lover, Continental Army soldier Ezra Ross, she enlisted the assistance of Ross and two others to murder her husband. On the night of March 1, 1778, Spooner was beaten to death and his body deposited in a well. Bathsheba and the three conspirators were soon arrested, tried, and convicted of Spooner's murder and sentenced to death.
Bathsheba petitioned to have her execution delayed because of her pregnancy, which was first denied and then supported by some members of a group charged with examining her to verify the pregnancy. After the four were executed, a postmortem examination revealed that she was five months pregnant. Historians have pointed out that the trial and execution may have been hastened by anti-Loyalist sentiment.