The Hanged Man: The Life and Death of Ronald Ryan

Ronald Joseph Ryan was hanged in Melbourne on 3 February 1967, following his conviction for the shooting murder of a prison warder during a daring escape from the maximum-security Pentridge prison thirteen months before.

This biography of Ronald Ryan, the last man to be executed by the state in Australia, provides a definitive account of the life and death of the man whose sentence stopped a nation. Drawing on previously unpublished documents and personal accounts, this book includes details of Ryan's childhood and his early turn to crime and reveals the truth about Ryan's guilt. It also goes behind the scenes to tell for the first time of the lifelong anguish of the judge who pronounced the death sentence, the inner workings of the Cabinet meeting that decided Ryan's fate, and the political process that resulted in the rejection of appeals to save Ryan.