Ronald Turpin was born on April 29, 1933, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

On December 11, 1962, Ronald Turpin was executed by hanging in Canada. He was one of the last two people to be executed in the country. Turpin had been convicted of murdering a police officer named Frederick Nash. This event took place on February 12, 1962.

On that day, Officer Nash had pulled Turpin over for a broken taillight while Turpin was trying to escape from a robbery. During the confrontation, both men ended up in a gunfight. Nash was shot in the abdomen and died from his injuries. Turpin was also injured; he was shot in the arm and the face, leaving him with a scar.

The execution was carried out at the Don Jail in Toronto. Alongside Turpin, another prisoner, Arthur Lucas, was also executed for a different crime. Before their execution, both Turpin and Lucas learned they would likely be the last people ever hanged in Canada. Turpin reportedly remarked, “Some consolation.” He also said in his final hours that if their deaths helped abolish capital punishment, they would not have died in vain.