Joseph Townsend, A Journey Through Spain in the Years 1786 and 1787 (1791):
It is curious to observe this mark of contempt for the Moors, in clothing their vilest criminals, and even their hangman, in green, the sacred colour of Mahometans, more especially in Africa.
I wonder if Townsend is correct in his supposition. Francisco de Holanda (De la pintura antigua, 1548) and Diego López (Declaración magistral sobre las emblemas de Andrés Alciato, 1615) both clothe the virtue Hope in green, and López explains why:
I wonder then whether dressing prisoners in green was not an ironic take on Zechariah 9:12:
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