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Green’s Dictionary of Slang

stretching n.

(UK Und.) a judicial hanging.

c.1698		B.E. Dict. Canting Crew n.p.: Stretching hanging.
1725		New Canting Dict. [as cit. c.1698].
1737, 1759, 1760, 1776		Bailey Universal Etym. Eng. Dict. [as cit. c.1698].
1785, 1788, 1796		Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue.
1809		G. Andrewes Dict. Sl. and Cant.
1811		Lex. Balatronicum.
1823		Egan Grose’s Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue.
1835		G. Kent Modern Flash Dict.
1848		Flash Dict. in Sinks of London Laid Open.
1859		Hotten Dict. of Modern Sl. etc.

In compounds

stretching match (n.)

1. a judicial hanging.

1860		Hotten Dict. of Modern Sl. etc. (2nd edn).
1873		Sl. Dict.
1888		H. King Savage London 57: An audible breath of relief passes like a wave over the crowd [...] Billy would be saved his ‘stretching match’.
1894		Burnley Exp. 8 Aug. 4/8: An execution was a stretching match.

2. a double hanging.

1935

A.J. Pollock Und. Speaks n.p.: Stretching match, a double hanging (prison).

3. (US) a lynching.

1949

Monteleone Criminal Sl. (rev. edn).