But no one believed him and he was sentenced to death by hanging.
However, on the day of his execution, the door in the floor through which his body should fall would not open!
The executioner tried three times but each time the door stayed closed, although it had worked well the day before.
Finally, Lee was taken back to prison, where he remained for the next twenty-two years.
All this while, John Lee maintained his innocence.
He believed it was the 'hand of God' that had saved him from death by hanging.