Description
Thomas Picton (1758-1815) was a British army officer, known for his courage but feared for having a foul temper. He came to the attention of the public during his governorship of Trinidad and was put on trial for the torture in 1801 of a 14-year-old girl, Louisa (or Luisa) Calderon to extract a confession that she had assisted a man to burgle a house. The torture involved Calderon being trussed up and standing on one toe on a peg on two occasions. Picton’s conviction was later reversed because it complied with local laws.