Only seven were hanged

by Stuart Martin

"Only Seven Were Hanged" by Stuart Martin is a crime novel written in the early 20th century. Framed as a sharp debate over capital punishment, it follows a Criminal Court judge and a mysterious waiter inside the exclusive Clue Club as they trade real-case narratives to test whether death sentences can ever be just. The stories unfold as dueling proofs, blending courtroom logic, moral philosophy, and twist-laden crime tales. The opening sets the scene on Christmas Eve at the Clue Club, where the chairman-judge presides and a substitute waiter quietly subverts proceedings. After the club affirms its support for capital punishment, the waiter interrupts, drugs the members into unconsciousness, and challenges the judge: for each case the judge proves deserving of death, one member will be revived; for each unjust case, one remains under. The judge first cites the chilling murder by Ammar Baddan, a Tamil who calmly admits killing an innkeeper; the waiter counters with an honor-and-religion motive that recasts the act within a different code. The waiter’s own case follows: he argues that John Davis, hanged for drowning his former partner Lorry Black, was framed—then reveals he is Black, alive, having staged his “death.” The judge, shaken but resolute, begins a second example about Abe Lammie, a ruthless burglar dubbed “The Mole,” as the duel of stories—and stakes—intensifies.