Judge Jeffreys
Judge Jeffreys, full title George, first Baron Jeffreys (c. 1645-89). Notorious English judge. He became widely known and hated as the merciless judge associated with the state trials of suspected Catholic conspirators against Charles II. During the ‘Bloody Assizes’ of 1685following the Duke of Monmouth’s unsuccessful rebellion against James II, Judge Jeffreys sentenced 320 people to death and several hundreds to be sold as slaves. Following James’s flight overseas in 1688, Jeffreys attempted to escape the country disguised as a sailor but was recognized and arrested at Wapping, London. He died in the Tower of London.
