Editing Jack Ketch (section)

{{short description|English executioner (died 1686)}}
{{For|the racehorse|Jack Ketch (horse)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2014}}
{{Infobox person
| name          = Jack Ketch
| image         = Monmouth's Execution.gif
| alt           =
| caption       = James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth's execution, on [[Tower Hill]], by Jack Ketch, on 15 July 1685, on a playing card.
| birth_name    = John Ketch
| birth_date    = <!-- {{Birth date and age|YYYY|MM|DD}} or {{Birth-date and age|birth date†}} for living people supply only the year unless the exact date is already widely published, as per WP:DOB -->
| birth_place   =
| death_date    = November 1686
| death_place   =
| years_active  = c.1663&ndash;1686
}}
'''John Ketch''' (died November 1686) was an infamous English [[executioner]] employed by King [[Charles II of England|Charles II]].<ref name="Kronenwetter2001" /> He became famous through the way he performed his duties during the tumults of the 1680s, when he was often mentioned in [[broadsheet]] accounts that circulated throughout the [[Kingdom of England]]. He is thought to have been appointed in 1663.

He executed the death sentences against [[William Russell, Lord Russell]], in [[Lincoln's Inn Fields]] on 21 July 1683, and [[James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth]], on 15 July 1685, after the [[Monmouth Rebellion]]. Ketch's notoriety stems from "barbarity at the execution of Lord Russell, the Duke of Monmouth, and other political offenders".<ref name="Green2005">{{cite book|last=Green|first=Jonathon|title=Cassell's dictionary of slang|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5GpLcC4a5fAC&pg=PA782|year=2005|publisher=Sterling Publishing Company, Inc.|isbn=978-0-304-36636-1|page=782}}</ref>

Because of his botched executions, the name "Jack Ketch" is used as a proverbial name for death, [[Satan]] and executioners.<ref name="Kronenwetter2001">{{cite book|last=Kronenwetter|first=Michael|title=Capital punishment: a reference handbook|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SOiuzOv061EC&pg=PA172|year=2001|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-57607-432-9|page=172}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://lists.washlaw.edu/pipermail/deathpenalty/2006-February/004222.html|title=[Deathpenalty]death penalty news----worldwide|last=Halperin|first=Rick|date=12 February 2006|access-date=23 August 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720044514/http://lists.washlaw.edu/pipermail/deathpenalty/2006-February/004222.html|archive-date=20 July 2011}}</ref><ref name="Grose2008">{{cite book|last=Grose|first=Captain|title=1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j9We0UI-TXUC&pg=178|access-date=23 August 2010|date=September 2008|publisher=BiblioBazaar, LLC|isbn=978-0-559-13810-2|page=178}}</ref>