| Kill
Total: |
1
|
Kill place: |
Crodon,
London |
| Kill
date: |
2nd
November 1952 |
Victim(s): |
Sidney George Miles |
| Date
of Birth: |
1933,
1936 |
Marital
Status: |
Unknown |
| AKA: |
Unknown |
Occupation: |
Unknown |
Derek
Bentley (aged 19) and Christopher Craig (aged 16) broke into a London
warehouse on 2 November 1952. Craig was armed with a revolver. The 2
youths were seen entering the premises and the police were called.
Bentley and Craig then went on to the flat roof of the building (Barlow
& Parker's Warehouse, Tanworth Road, Croydon) and hid behind a
lift-housing.
Detective
Sergeant Frederick Fairfax climbed on to the roof, and managed to grab
Bentley. Craig shouted defiantly at the detective and Bentley managed
to break Fairfax's grip. At this point, Bentley is supposed to have
shouted "Let him have it Chris". Craig then fired the gun grazing the
police officer's shoulder. Despite being wounded Fairfax continued
after Bentley and managed to finally arrest him. Bentley told Fairfax
that Craig had a Colt .45 and plenty of ammunition.
Following
the arrival of more police officers, a group were sent on to the roof.
The first policeman to appear on to the roof was Police Constable
Sidney George Miles (age 42). He was immediately shot dead by Craig;
being hit in the head. After exhausting his supply of ammunition, Craig
leapt from the roof on to the road 30 feet below. He landed badly,
fracturing his spine and left wrist. Craig was then arrested.
It
was clear that even if Craig was found guilty of murder, he could not
be sentenced to death; being 16 he was below the minimum age of 18 for
execution. However, Derek Bentley was over 18 years' of age and could
be sentenced to death.
The
case appeared to be a relatively simple one for the prosecution.
However, as the trial progressed before Lord Chief Justice Lord Goddard
at the Old Bailey, the prosecution case appeared far less certain. The
police seemed unsure how many shots were fired and by whom. A
ballistics expert failed to positively identify Craig's gun as the
weapon that fired the bullet that killed PC Miles. Also what was meant
by Bentley's phrase "Let him have it Chris"? Did he mean that Craig was
to give the gun to the officer and surrender? Did he mean that Craig
was indeed to shot the officer?
What
was clear was that Derek Bentley was illiterate and mentally subnormal.
He was ill prepared to undergo cross-examination and did not present a
'good image' to the jury; not surprising considering his mental age of
11.
The
jury took just 75 minutes to find both Craig and Bentley guilty of PC
Miles' murder. Due to his being below 18 at the time of the offence,
Craig was sentenced to being detained at Her Majesty's Pleasure.
Bentley was sentenced to death.
Various
appeals highlighted the ambiguous evidence, Bentley's mental age and
the fact that he did not fire the fatal shot, were all rejected by the
then Home Secretary.
28th January 1953, Derek Bentley was
hanged at London's Wandsworth Prison.
Christopher
Craig served 10 years in prison before being released.
Since
Bentley's execution in January 1953, there have been numerous campaigns
to obtain a posthumous pardon for Bentley. In 1991 observers were
surprised when the Home Secretary of the time, Kenneth Clark, rejected
a report by the Metropolitan Police stating that there were "reasonable
doubts in this case" for a review.
30th July 1998,
the Court of Appeal overturned the controversial conviction of Derek
Bentley who was hanged for the murder of a policeman over 45 years ago.
In an unprecedented and very damning attack, the Lord Chief Justice,
Lord Bingham, ruled that his predecessor and Bentley's trial judge,
Lord Chief Justice Goddard, had denied Bentley "that fair trial that is
the birthright of every British citizen." In a 52-page judgment, Lord
Bingham placed the blame for the miscarriage of justice with Lord
Goddard. Describing Lord Goddard as "blatantly prejudiced", Lord
Bingham concluded that he had misdirected the jury and that in his
summing-up had put unfair pressure on the jury to convict.
