Ripley, WV 26271   

Ripley, West Virginia Prior Conviction Search

Ripley is a city in Jackson County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 3,263 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Jackson County.

On December 16, 1897 the last public hanging in West Virginia was executed in Ripley. John F. Morgan was hung for the murder of Mrs. Chloe Greene and her two children on November 3, 1897. Morgan was hung before an immense crowd of spectators from Jackson and surrounding counties.

A bill was introduced in the next session of the Legislature to abolish public hangings, which was enacted into a law. Morgan was the last man in the state to be publicly hanged after a trial by jury.

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