Agnes Magnusdottir

Agnes Magnusdottir was a real person. She was tried and convicted of murdering two men and then setting the farm where they were killed on fire. She was the last woman to be executed in the country of Iceland.

Agnes had two accomplices who were also convicted of the crimes. They were all sentenced to be executed by beheading. Agnes was considered by the general public to be a devil. It was speculated that she had led, Sigga, the other murderess astray, because Sigga was young and not very bright. The authorities believed that Agnes had a motive for the murder and concluded that Agnes had killed one of the victims, Natan Ketilsson, because he had reportedly spurned her.

Since there were no adequate prisons in Iceland, it was decided that Agnes would spend her last days under the custodial control of a government official. Jon Jonsson...