Murphy was the last woman to be officially burned at the stake. Murphy and her husband Hugh Murphy were executed along with seven other men who had been convicted of various offences. The eight men were executed by hanging. But as a woman the law provided that Murphy should be burnt at the stake. She was made to stand on a foot high 10-inch-square platform in front of the stake and secured to the stake with ropes and an iron ring. Murphy was reportedly tied with one rope around her neck after which the platform was removed from under her feet and 30 minutes passed before the fire was lit.