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Jack Ketch (died 1686) was one of (As Charles II he was Holy Roman Emperor and as Charles I he was king of France (1630-1685)) Charles II's (An official who inflicts capital punishment in pursuit of a warrant) executioners who became famous through the way he performed his duties during the tumults of the (Click link for more info and facts about 1680s) 1680s, when he was often mentioned in (An advertisement (usually printed on a page or in a leaflet) intended for wide distribution) broadsheet accounts that circulated throughout (A division of the United Kingdom) England. He executed Lord Russell in (Click link for more info and facts about Lincoln's Inn Fields) Lincoln's Inn Fields in 1683 and the (Click link for more info and facts about Duke of Monmouth) Duke of Monmouth in 1685 after the (Click link for more info and facts about Monmouth Rebellion) Monmouth Rebellion. He was either very awkward or (Click link for more info and facts about sadistic) sadistic with his technique, and his victims were known to have suffered at their deaths.

Jack Ketch is the default nickname for all English executioners. The name in this context is likely a slight anachronism, as the original namesake Jack Ketch isn't recorded in the position until 1678, remaining the Public Hangman of London until 1686. He remains renowned in the annals of capital punishment for being profoundly bad at his profession. Sir Charles Lyttelton reports that in the (ultimately successful) attempt to behead Lord William Russell, Ketch "gave him 3 blows, besides sawing wth ye ax, before he cut his head of." Even worse was the final end of the Duke of Monmouth after Sedgemoor, who took five blows and some improvised knife-work before his caput was finally kaput.

The fate of non peers of the realm was half hanged, drawn, castrated and then quartered by four horses.