Judge James Cardwell Makins

1872 - 1946  (73 years)

• Name	James Cardwell Makins
  Prefix	Judge
  Born	31 May 1872	North Easthope Twp., Perth Co., Ontario, Canada   [1, 2]
  Gender	Male
  Name	J. C. Makins
  Eby ID Number	Waterloo-223852
  Died	22 Feb 1946	Stratford, Perth Co., Ontario, Canada   [1, 2]
  Buried	Avondale Cemetery, Stratford, Perth Co., Ontario   [1, 2]
  Person ID	I223852	Generations
  Last Modified	19 Dec 2024

  
  

• Notes

  KITCHENER - Reg White was a simple man who could barely write his name, but he'll go down in history forever as the last man ever to be hanged in Waterloo Region. His crime was sordid and brutal, and his life was nothing extraordinary, but the story of his final days still has the power to capture the imagination, even today, 82 years later. The 35-year-old Hespeler man was convicted in February 1940 for the double axe murder of 78-year-old John Milroy, a retired farmer, and his 73-year-old sister Annie. The pair were savagely killed the summer before, after White, desperate for money so he could get married, confronted his former employer with demands for cash. The psychiatrist who examined him testified at the trial that White was able to distinguish right from wrong but was "a borderline case as regards intelligence. He is a little subnormal." The trial was short, and the jury deliberated for just three hours and 20 minutes before convicting White of both murders. The imposition of the heaviest penalty \emdash death by hanging \emdash was rare and could weigh heavily even on a seasoned jurist. The judge at White's trial, James Makins, was briefly overcome with emotion and had to pause to collect himself before he could pronounce the death sentence..... "The Final Hanging: The Last Execution In Waterloo Region". 2022. Therecord.Com. https://www.therecord.com/news/waterloo-region/2022/03/08/the-final-hanging-the-last-execution-in-waterloo-region.html.

  
  

• Sources

  [S116] Vit - ON - Death Registration. Name:James Cardwell Makins Gender:Male Race:Irish Age:73 Birth Date:31 May 1872 Birth Place:Ontario North East Hope Twp Death Date:22 Feb 1946 Death Place:Stratford, Perth, Ontario, Canada Father:William Makins b. North Ireland Mother:Ann Cardwell b. New York, USA Spouse:Janet McNab Occ: Justice Supreme Court of Ontario [S3231] Find A Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/152476179/james-cardwell-makins.

  
  

• Event Map

  Born - 31 May 1872 - North Easthope Twp., Perth Co., Ontario, Canada Died - 22 Feb 1946 - Stratford, Perth Co., Ontario, Canada Buried - - Avondale Cemetery, Stratford, Perth Co., Ontario  = Link to Google Earth