BritinBritain
Per Ardua Ad Astra
With many of the crimes committed in South Africa such as farmers who have been tortured then killed or the case of the young boy who had to watch his mother being raped then murdered, then he was drowned in boiling water, many people quite rightly demand the death penalty.
However, there have been too many people put to death who should never have been, for example Derek Bentley. In 1952 Derek Bentley and his mate Christopher Craig broke into a warehouse, they were spotted and the police called. Craig armed himself with a Colt New Service .455 Webley calibre revolver, of which Craig had shortened the barrel so that it could be easily carried in his pocket. Craig also carried a number of undersized rounds for the revolver, some of which he had modified by hand to fit the gun. Bentley carried a sheath knife and a spiked knuckle-duster, both of which Craig had given to Bentley.
When the police arrived, the two youths hid behind the lift-housing. Craig taunted the police. One of the police officers, Detective Sergeant Frederick Fairfax, climbed the drainpipe onto the roof and grabbed hold of Bentley. Bentley broke free of Fairfax's grasp. What happened then is a matter of controversy: police witnesses later claimed Bentley shouted the words "Let him have it, Chris" to Craig. Craig and Bentley denied those words were ever spoken; Craig maintained this denial when interviewed nearly 40 years later in September 1991.
Craig fired his revolver at Fairfax, striking him in the shoulder. Despite his injury, Fairfax was again able to restrain Bentley. Bentley told Fairfax that Craig was armed with a revolver and had further ammunition for the gun. Bentley had not used either of the weapons which he had in his pockets.
A group of uniformed police officers arrived and was sent onto the roof. The first to reach the roof was Police Constable Sidney Miles, who was immediately killed by a shot to the head. After exhausting his ammunition and being cornered, Craig jumped around 30 feet (10 metres) from the roof onto a greenhouse, fracturing his spine and left wrist.
To cut a long story short, Bentley was 18 years old but with a mental age of 10 years, his buddy Craig was 16. On being found guilty of the murder of P.C. Miles, Bentley was sentenced to death as he was 18 years old, Craig being 16 years old was sentenced to be detained at Her Majesty's Pleasure. He was eventually released in May 1963 after serving 10 years' imprisonment.
At 9am on 28 January 1953, Derek Bentley was hanged for murder at Wandsworth Prison, London by Albert Pierrepoint. When it was announced the execution had been carried out, there were protests outside the prison and two people were arrested and later fined for damage to property.
There were a number of anomalies during the trial, where evidence that could have saved Bentleys life were not allowed.
Following the execution there was a public sense of unease about the decision, resulting in a long campaign, mostly led by Bentley's sister Iris, to secure a posthumous pardon for him. In March 1966 his remains were removed from Wandsworth Prison and reburied in a family grave. In August 1970, Lord Goddard told Yallop that he thought Bentley was going to be reprieved, said he should have been, and attacked Maxwell-Fyfe for allowing the execution to go ahead.
On 29 July 1993, Bentley was granted a royal pardon in respect of the sentence of death passed upon him and carried out. However in English law this did not quash his conviction for murder.
Eventually, on 30 July 1998, the Court of Appeal quashed Bentley's conviction for murder. Craig welcomed the pardon granted to Bentley. However, Bentley's parents and sister had died by this date. Bentley himself would have been 65 years old.
Albert Pierrepoint Britains last hangman and the man who hanged Bentley. Pierrepoint kept his opinions to himself on the topic until his 1974 autobiography, Executioner: Pierrepoint, in which he wrote:
I have come to the conclusion that executions solve nothing, and are only an antiquated relic of a primitive desire for revenge which takes the easy way and hands over the responsibility for revenge to other people ... The trouble with the death penalty has always been that nobody wanted it for everybody, but everybody differed about who should get off.
However, there have been too many people put to death who should never have been, for example Derek Bentley. In 1952 Derek Bentley and his mate Christopher Craig broke into a warehouse, they were spotted and the police called. Craig armed himself with a Colt New Service .455 Webley calibre revolver, of which Craig had shortened the barrel so that it could be easily carried in his pocket. Craig also carried a number of undersized rounds for the revolver, some of which he had modified by hand to fit the gun. Bentley carried a sheath knife and a spiked knuckle-duster, both of which Craig had given to Bentley.
When the police arrived, the two youths hid behind the lift-housing. Craig taunted the police. One of the police officers, Detective Sergeant Frederick Fairfax, climbed the drainpipe onto the roof and grabbed hold of Bentley. Bentley broke free of Fairfax's grasp. What happened then is a matter of controversy: police witnesses later claimed Bentley shouted the words "Let him have it, Chris" to Craig. Craig and Bentley denied those words were ever spoken; Craig maintained this denial when interviewed nearly 40 years later in September 1991.
Craig fired his revolver at Fairfax, striking him in the shoulder. Despite his injury, Fairfax was again able to restrain Bentley. Bentley told Fairfax that Craig was armed with a revolver and had further ammunition for the gun. Bentley had not used either of the weapons which he had in his pockets.
A group of uniformed police officers arrived and was sent onto the roof. The first to reach the roof was Police Constable Sidney Miles, who was immediately killed by a shot to the head. After exhausting his ammunition and being cornered, Craig jumped around 30 feet (10 metres) from the roof onto a greenhouse, fracturing his spine and left wrist.
To cut a long story short, Bentley was 18 years old but with a mental age of 10 years, his buddy Craig was 16. On being found guilty of the murder of P.C. Miles, Bentley was sentenced to death as he was 18 years old, Craig being 16 years old was sentenced to be detained at Her Majesty's Pleasure. He was eventually released in May 1963 after serving 10 years' imprisonment.
At 9am on 28 January 1953, Derek Bentley was hanged for murder at Wandsworth Prison, London by Albert Pierrepoint. When it was announced the execution had been carried out, there were protests outside the prison and two people were arrested and later fined for damage to property.
There were a number of anomalies during the trial, where evidence that could have saved Bentleys life were not allowed.
Following the execution there was a public sense of unease about the decision, resulting in a long campaign, mostly led by Bentley's sister Iris, to secure a posthumous pardon for him. In March 1966 his remains were removed from Wandsworth Prison and reburied in a family grave. In August 1970, Lord Goddard told Yallop that he thought Bentley was going to be reprieved, said he should have been, and attacked Maxwell-Fyfe for allowing the execution to go ahead.
On 29 July 1993, Bentley was granted a royal pardon in respect of the sentence of death passed upon him and carried out. However in English law this did not quash his conviction for murder.
Eventually, on 30 July 1998, the Court of Appeal quashed Bentley's conviction for murder. Craig welcomed the pardon granted to Bentley. However, Bentley's parents and sister had died by this date. Bentley himself would have been 65 years old.
Albert Pierrepoint Britains last hangman and the man who hanged Bentley. Pierrepoint kept his opinions to himself on the topic until his 1974 autobiography, Executioner: Pierrepoint, in which he wrote:
I have come to the conclusion that executions solve nothing, and are only an antiquated relic of a primitive desire for revenge which takes the easy way and hands over the responsibility for revenge to other people ... The trouble with the death penalty has always been that nobody wanted it for everybody, but everybody differed about who should get off.
