The Hanging of Alice Riley

One of the first squares in Savannah, Wright Square was the hanging square. Permanent gallows once stood where tourists now tread. Gallows upon which swift “justice” was served to those so condemned. But justice didn’t always favor the innocent…nor did it favor the fairer sex. For it was with Irish immigrant Alice Riley that the first woman in Georgia was executed. Ms. Riley, like the majority of poor immigrants at the time, was an indentured servant—paying back through labor, the price of her passage to the new world. William Wise, the man to whom she was contracted, was a wealthy but particularly cruel bloke. He beat and abused Alice daily until she could take it no more. One night while giving the less than charming fellow a bath, Alice and a fellow servant held the old chap’s head beneath the water, drowning him. The servants fled but were quickly captured, convicted and sentenced to death. After watching her accomplice drop through the gallows, his neck snapping and body writhing, Alice began begging for mercy, claiming she was with child. The local physician verified her claim and Alice was allowed to live—for eight more months. She was held in the city jail until the time in which she delivered old William Wise’s son, then she was dragged back out of the jail, up the gallows and was hung by the neck until dead. Witnesses have claimed to have seen a woman in Wright Square, dressed in rags and wondering about looking for her lost baby. It is believed to be the spirit of Alice Riley. Unfortunately, Alice's search is in vain. Shortly after she was executed the infant died as well. Poor Alice will forever roam Wright Square looking for her lost baby.