Anthony Miller

Who was Anthony Miller?

Anthony Joseph Miller became the second-last criminal to be executed in Scotland when he was hanged on the gallows at Glasgow's Barlinnie Prison by Harry Allen, assisted by Robert Leslie Stewart, on 22 December 1960. Miller had been convicted of murdering John Cremin at Queen's Park Recreation Ground in Glasgow on 6 April 1960. At 19 years of age, Miller was the last teenager to be executed in the United Kingdom.

The murder of John Cremin was a robbery that went wrong. Miller and his accomplice James Denovan were in the habit of working together as a team, robbing gay men. They would use Denovan 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.

As a 19 year old Miller was legally an adult, and because the murder took place during the course of a robbery, this made him eligible for the death penalty under the terms of the Homicide Act of 1957.