During the second half of the nineteenth century, Queensland courts tried, convicted and hanged sixteen men for the crime of rape. Of these, one was Caucasian, three were Pacific Islanders and twelve were Aboriginal. The Indigenous total would have been fourteen but for the fact that two other men convicted and sentenced for this offence evaded the gallows: one died in custody, the other was shot dead while attempting to escape. In each case of execution, the victims were European women or girls.