Hundreds Were Forced To Witness The Death Of Agnes Magnúsdóttir

True Crime Conversations · May 28, 2025 · 50m

She was young, poor, and alone in a harsh, unforgiving Icelandic landscape — and then she was sentenced to die. In 1830, Agnes Magnúsdóttir became the last person executed in Iceland, beheaded by axe for the murder of a powerful man. Nearly 200 years later, her story still lingers. Was she a cold-blooded killer, or a woman trapped by circumstance? In this episode, we speak to author Hannah Kent, whose bestselling novel Burial Rites reimagines Agnes’s final days. We explore how one woman’s life — and death — became legend, and why capital punishment…