Thornton was his parish priest, and was conscious of his responsibility in that regard, so he visited Burgess in prison and heard his confession. Burgess then also confessed to being responsible for an arson attack at a local farm some years previously. This had resulted in three deaths. Thornton visited the other two Burgess children, working in service and told them of their sister’s death at the hands of their father. He tried to persuade them to see Burgess, but they refused. Burgess shook his hand before he died. 