Call for Fire: Sea Combat in the Falklands and the Gulf War

Product Information

A group of uniformed police officers arrived and were 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 30 feet (10 metres) from the roof onto a greenhouse, fracturing his spine and left wrist, and had to remain in hospital. Bentley had a series of health problems. His parents reported that in a childhood accident he had broken his nose and since then he had three seizure fits, including one in which they said he nearly died of choking. [1] The family also said they were bombed out three times during the Second World War, and in one of these incidents the house in which he lived collapsed around him, but a court did not find any indication that he was physically injured in the incident. However, Bentley was later seen to have epilepsy. [2] :102 Had this evidence been available at trial," Mr Fitzgerald said, "it would have cast doubt on some of the assumptions invited". Eventually, on 30 July 1998, the Court of Appeal quashed Bentley's conviction for murder. [1] However, Bentley's sister Iris had died of cancer the year before. [14] Her daughter, Maria Bentley-Dingwall, who was born 10 years after Derek Bentley's execution, continued the campaign after her mother's death. [15] Edward Fitzgerald QC, counsel for Bentley's family, said his trial in 1952 was "grossly unfair". His execution was "nothing short of cruel given his mental age, mental defects and epilepsy".

Kilmuir, 1st Earl of (1964). Political adventure: the memoirs of the Earl of Kilmuir. Weidenfeld and Nicolson. p. 206. {{ cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list ( link)Francis Selwyn (1988). Gangland: the case of Bentley and Craig. Crimes of the century. Taylor & Francis. p.101. ISBN 0-415-00907-3.

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 to shot the officer? This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Bentley (Deceased), R v | [1999] Crim LR 330 | England and Wales Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) | Judgment | Law | CaseMine". www.casemine.com . Retrieved 28 September 2020.

The Derek Bentley case - Key takeaways

Mr Fitzgerald told the court that there was the "gravest doubt" as to whether those words were ever spoken and there was "good reason to doubt the veracity" of the officers involved in the case.

Lane, Brian (1991). The Murder Guide to Great Britain. London: Robinson Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1-854-87083-1. Bentley was examined twice by EEG: a reading on 16 November 1949 [1] indicated he was an epileptic and a reading on 9 February 1950 was "abnormal". Both were taken at the Burden Neurological Institute in Bristol. [4] Release from Kingswood [ edit ] Christopher Craig, by then aged 62 (born May 1936), issued a statement welcoming the pardon for Bentley, stating that "his innocence has now been proved". He also apologised to the families of both PC Miles and Bentley for his actions, as well as his own family for the press intrusion they had suffered over the years. [16] There was uncertainty as to how many shots were fired and by whom. In the forensics investigation, the bullet that killed Miles was not found. Furthermore, a ballistics expert cast uncertainty over whether Craig could have shot Miles deliberately. Craig had used undersized bullets and had sawn off the end of the gun's barrel, making the weapon inaccurate. There was little evidence to suggest that the death penalty stopped people from committing serious crimes.Bentley was originally scheduled to be hanged on 30 December 1952 but this was postponed to allow for an appeal. Bentley's lawyers filed appeals highlighting the ambiguities of the ballistic evidence, Bentley's mental age and the fact that he did not fire the fatal shot. Bentley's appeal was heard on 13 January 1953 and was unsuccessful. A play Example, starring Harry Miller as Bentley, was devised by the Coventry Belgrade TIE Team for fifth and sixth form students and toured from 1975. The play, with an introduction by Miller, was included in a 1980 book Theatre in Education – Four Secondary School Programmes.