Anthony Miller

Anthony Joseph Miller (1941–22 December 1960) became the second-last criminal to be executed in Scotland when he was hanged on the gallows at Glasgow's Barlinnie Prison on 22 December 1960. Miller had been convicted of murdering John Cremin at Queen's Park Recreation Ground (near Hampden Park) in Glasgow on 6 April 1960. At 19 years of age, Miller was the last teenager to be executed in the United Kingdom. At the time of his arrest, he was an apprentice cabinet-maker who lived with his family in Dixon Road in Crosshill, in the South Side of Glasgow. Miller's accomplice James Denovan and his family lived in Calder Street in nearby Govanhill. The murder The murder of John Cremin was a robbery that went wrong. Miller and Denovan were in the habit of working together as a team, robbing homosexual men who would not report the crimes as homosexuality was illegal at the time. They would use Denovan (a 16-year-old boy) as bait to attract victims. After Denovan had lured the victims to a secluded area of the park out of public view, Miller would suddenly appear, threatening the victims with violence unless they handed over all their valuables. During this particular robbery Cremin was beaten to death and his body hidden under bushes, where it was later discovered by a man out walking his dog. Denovan was arrested on 11 August 1960 while committing an act of indecency with another man on the Recreation Ground. A newspaper cutting relating to the death of John Cremin was found on his person; Denovan would finally confess his guilt and lead the police to Miller.