crime & punishment – Page 5

On this day in history….14th November 1864

On this day in history : 14th November 1864 – German tailor Franz Muller is publicly hanged at Newgate Prison, for the murder of Thomas Briggs – the first killing on a British train….

On the 9th of July 1864 city banker Thomas Briggs had been travelling on the 9.50pm London Railway train between Fenchurch Street and Hackney Wick…. Train travel at the time was not without its risks – robberies were commonplace but as of yet nobody had been killed…. However, this was about to change…. Briggs was beaten, robbed of his gold spectacles, watch and chain…. He was then thrown from the train, to be later found by the driver of another train travelling in the opposite direction…. He was taken to a nearby public house but died of his injuries….

A pool of blood was found in the compartment of the train where Briggs had been sitting – along with a black beaver hat assumed belonging to the murderer…. Then John Death, a jeweller from Cheapside, gave a description of a German man who had exchanged a gold chain two days after the attack – this chain was identified as having belonged to Briggs….

Nine days after, by which time a substantial £300 reward had been offered, a cab driver by the name of Matthews came forward with information…. He claimed he had not heard about the murder (even though it had been widely publicised) – but said he had become suspicious about a jeweller’s box with Death’s name on it, in the possession of his future son-in-law…. The cab driver’s daughter was engaged to 24-year-old Franz Muller – and Matthews was able to provide a photograph of the German…. This was then identified by the jeweller as being the man who had exchanged the chain; a warrant was issued for Muller’s arrest….

However, Muller was now onboard a passenger liner heading for New York…. Fortunately two detectives from Scotland Yard managed to get passage on a much faster ship and were in New York three weeks before Muller – who was arrested upon his arrival….

Extradition was to prove a little tricky as diplomatic relations were not good between America and Britain at the time, due to the American Civil War…. But eventually Muller was brought back to face trial….

The trial caught the attention of the British public, who were becoming increasingly wary about the safety of travelling by train…. Many believed Matthews had only shopped his future son-in-law to get the reward money and speculated that he might even have been involved in the crime himself…. Much of the evidence against Muller was circumstantial and he pleaded not guilty, protesting his innocence throughout…. Nevertheless he was found guilty and sentenced to hang…. His was one of the last public executions and a large, unruly, drunken crowd of some 50,000 gathered to watch…. Muller’s last words were “Ich habe es getan” ~ “I did it”….

Engraving of Newgate Prison, early 1800s – Public domain

The case was to lead to the establishment of the communication cord onboard trains, giving passengers a way of contacting train staff…. Briggs had been murdered in a closed compartment with no way of exiting between stops…. As a result railway carriages were created with corridors….

On this day in history….24th October 1983

On this day in history : 24th October 1983 – Dennis Nilsen, a civil servant from North London, goes on trial at the Old Bailey – accused of six murders and two attempted murders….

Mug shot of Nilsen – Full Sutton Prison – Fair use

37-year-old Nilsen had been arrested after human remains were found in a blocked drain at his home in Muswell Hill…. The tenants at the flats had complained to the landlord about the drains smelling – it was a plumber who made the grisly discovery….

Cranley Gardens, Muswell Hill – where Nilsen occupied an attic flat – Image credit : Chris Whippet CC BY-SA 2.0

After a search of Nilsen’s flat the remains of three bodies were found; the bones from at least eight others were discovered at his former home in Cricklewood, Northwest London…. Nilsen admitted to further murders, telling police he had killed fifteen or sixteen….

Nilsen would meet his victims in pubs; they were always male – some were homeless, some were homosexual and some were prostitutes…. He would invite them back to his flat for a drink – and would then strangle them using a tie or electrical cable…. He would usually spend the night lying in bed beside the corpse and would invariably have, or attempt to have, sex with it….

He disposed of the bodies in a variety of ways…. He hid them under floorboards, in a wardrobe, in suitcases and even under the sink…. Having spent eleven years in the Army he had learned butchery skills in the Catering Corps…. He cut up many of his victims, burying limbs in the garden – or burning body parts on a bonfire…. He even flushed remains down the toilet….

When Nilsen came to trial he pleaded not guilty to all charges, citing diminished responsibility due to a mental defect…. The jury retired on the 3rd of November to deliberate but were unable to reach a unanimous verdict…. The next day the judge agreed to accept a majority verdict and at 4.25pm on the 4th of November a guilty verdict was delivered an all six counts of murder…. Nielsen was sentenced to life in prison and it was ordered that he should not be eligible for parole for 25 years….

During his time in prison Nilsen wrote his autobiography History of the Drowning Man – but this was denied publication…. On the 12th of May 2018 he died of a pulmonary embolism (a blockage in an artery of the lungs)….

British History

On this day in history….16th October 1902

On this day in history : 16th October 1902 – In the village of Borstal, in Kent, a detention centre for young offenders is opened…. It is the first of several such custodial institutions, which become known as borstals….

Young offenders in the schoolroom at Borstal (now known as Rochester Prison), circa 1906 – Public domain

It was in 1895 that the Gladstone Committee first proposed the concept of the ‘borstal’ – seeing a need to separate young people from the influence of older convicts in adult prisons…. Those under the age of 16 were already segregated after the introduction of Industrial Schools, a new reformatory system to correct wayward behaviour as an alternative to prison…. The Gladstone Committee sought to find a solution for those in the 16-21 age group….

An experimental scheme was conducted at Bedford Prison commencing in 1899…. This was then extended to a part of the existing prison in Borstal; the new institution being kept entirely separated from the main adult prison…. The young inmates were given physical exercise, schooling and training for future work…. The skills taught included trades such as brick-laying, carpentry, farming, agriculture, metalwork and cookery…. Sentences were generally between two and three years, with supervision after discharge….

The Prevention of Crime Act 1908 saw the scheme come officially into force; in 1910 a second institution was established at Feltham and was then followed by others, including Portland…. The first for girls was opened in Aylesbury in 1909 and offered training in skills such as housework, cookery, laundry, sewing, gardening and farming….

Aylesbury Prison, where the first Borstal for girls was established – Public domain

Discipline was strict but with corporal punishment used only as a last resort…. Other punishments such as withdrawal of privileges, docked wages, reduction of food rations and confinement were implemented instead…. The birch could only be imposed by a visiting magistrate and was only ever administered to males over the age of 18…. In the ten year period between 1926-36 it was only used on 7 occasions…. Caning was used in Northern Ireland but was not authorised in England, Scotland and Wales…. Borstals should not be confused with approved schools, which were a different type of youth correction institution, based more on boarding schools – the cane was used in approved schools….

The Criminal Justice Act 1982, officially abolished the borstal system in the UK, being replaced by youth custody centres, or detention centres…. Since the 1960s and 1970s the old borstal system had been viewed as out dated…. In 1972 Community Order sentences began to appear – with offenders undertaking unpaid work to provide services for the benefit of the community….

British History, Uncategorized

On this day in history….3rd January 1946

On this day in history : 3rd January 1946 – The execution for treason of William Joyce – the Nazi propaganda broadcaster, known to the British public as ‘Lord Haw-Haw’….

Photograph of Joyce taken some time between 1939 & 45 – No known copyright restrictions – Archives of the Law Society via Flickr

‘Haw-Haw’ was a term first coined by Jonah Barrington of the Daily Express…. It actually referred to a number of announcers, with their exaggerated English accents, broadcasting during WW2 to the United Kingdom from the German radio station ‘Reichssender’, in Hamburg…. However, in time the name was to become primarily associated with Joyce….

Broadcasts would always start with “Germany calling, Germany calling”…. The aim was to attempt to break the morale and spirit of the British people – along with that of the allied troops…. Inaccurate reports of the sinking of ships and the shooting down of aircraft…. Urging the British to surrender – attacking the government and the British way of life…. Of course, most people knew it was propaganda – but at a time of heavy censorship it was often used as a way to try and find out information as to what may have become of a missing loved one…. Whilst not illegal to listen to the broadcasts it was discouraged – despite this some 18 million people in Britain are believed to have listened on occasion….

From the collections of the Imperial War Museums

So, how did the likes of Joyce come to be working for the Germans during the war? To understand this it is necessary to learn more about the background of the man….

William Brooke Joyce was born on the 24th of April 1906, in Brooklyn, New York…. He was the son of immigrants – his father was Irish and his mother Anglo-Irish…. When Joyce was 3-years-old the family returned to live in Galway, Ireland….

In 1921, during the Irish War of Independence, Joyce was recruited as a courier by Captain Keating of British Army Intelligence, in the fight against the IRA…. After an attempted assassination on him Joyce was taken to England for his safety…. He was recruited into the Worcester Regiment – but soon discharged after it was discovered he was underage….

Joyce remained in England and finished his education at Kings College School, Wimbledon…. He then studied at Birkbeck College – part of the University of London – graduating with a first-class honours in English…. After being turned down for a position with the Foreign Office he took a job as a teacher….

He began to take a keen interest in Fascism…. It was on the 22nd of October 1924, whilst attending a meeting for Jack Lazarus, Conservative candidate for North Lambeth, that Joyce was attacked by Communists…. He received a deep razor slash across his right cheek, leaving him with a prominent scar from his ear lobe to his jaw….

Joyce took a paid job in the British Union of Fascists (BUF), under Sir Oswald Mosley – and in 1934 he was made Director of Propaganda…. It was after being sacked by Mosley in 1937 that he joined a splinter group, the National Socialist League…. On learning that the British authorities intended to arrest him Joyce fled with his wife in August 1939 to Germany – just before the outbreak of WW2…. He became a naturalised German citizen in 1940 and managed to get a job at the Rundfunkhaus (the German equivalent of Broadcasting House)…. Here he made radio announcements and wrote scripts – but he was to go on to become the best-known of the propaganda broadcasters….

Still frame from 1943 – Allied propaganda cartoon – ‘Tokio Jokio’ – depicting Joyce as Lord Haw-Haw – ‘Lord Hee-Haw, Chief Windbag’

His final broadcast was made on the 30th of April 1945, during the Battle of Berlin…. He finished the broadcast with “Heil Hitler and farewell” – the following day Radio Hamburg was seized by the British – but Joyce had managed to make his escape….

Nearly a month later, on the 28th of May, Joyce was captured at the German/Danish border by British intelligence officers…. During his arrest he was shot through the buttocks – as he had gone to his pocket to produce his false passport but the officers had believed him to be armed….

THE CAPTURE OF WILLIAM JOYCE, GERMANY, 1945 (BU 6910) William Joyce lies in an ambulance under armed guard before being taken from British 2nd Army Headquarters to hospital. He had been shot in the thigh at the time of his arrest. Copyright: � IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205192927

Initially it was thought that due to his American nationality Joyce would have to be acquitted – it was reasoned that he could not be convicted of treason against a country that was not his own…. However, at his trial it was successfully argued that since he had obtained a British passport, by not revealing his true nationality, he had in fact had allegiance to the King and country whilst the passport was valid – and this happened to be the period of time during which he was working for Germany…. Joyce was convicted and sentenced to death on the 19th of September 1945….

The sentence was upheld on the 1st of November 1945 after an appeal – and he was executed at Wandsworth Prison on the 3rd of January 1946 by hangman Albert Pierrepoint…. As he went to the gallows Joyce was unrepentant – as he fell the pressure from the drop split the old scar on his face wide open….

Joyce was buried in an unmarked grave within the prison walls but – after a long campaign by his daughter – in 1979 his body was reinterred in Galway, Ireland….

British History

On this day in history….28th October 1986

On this day in history : 28th October 1986 – Jeremy Bamber is jailed for life for the White House Farm murders – where he killed five members of his own family….

Bamber shortly after his arrest – Fair use

The Bambers were a wealthy farming family, living at White House Farm, a large Georgian property near to Tolleshunt D’Arcy in Essex…. Jeremy was legally adopted by the family as a baby…. Four years previously they had also adopted a baby girl, Sheila….

White House Farm (in 2007) – Image credit : Glyn Baker CC BY-SA 2.0

After leaving school Bamber’s adoptive father paid for him to travel to Australia and New Zealand…. Here he reputedly became involved in drug smuggling – and also broke into a jewellery shop, stealing two valuable watches….

Once he had returned to the UK and after a few casual jobs, Bamber began to work for the family farm…. However, he was resentful of the low wage – despite living rent free in one of the family’s cottages and having been given a car…. He further showed his lack of appreciation by committing a robbery at the caravan park owned by his family….

Bamber’s adoptive parents Neville and June Bamber – Fair use

Bamber’s adoptive sister, Sheila, had been treated in hospital for schizophrenia…. On the 7th of August 1985 at 3.30am 24-year-old Bamber phoned the police to say his father had phoned him and told him that Sheila had got hold of his gun and had gone berserk with it…. When the police arrived at the house they found her dead, with the gun lay on her chest – along with a Bible…. Her mother lay dead in the same room, her father was found dead in the kitchen and Sheila’s 6-year-old twin boys lay dead in their beds upstairs….

Sheila and her twin boys, Daniel and Caffell (around 1984) – Fair use

At first police believed that Sheila had killed them all before turning the gun on herself…. But when Bamber’s girlfriend came forward and said that he had talked about killing his parents forensic tests were carried out and revealed his fingerprints on the gun…. Bamber had been set to inherit £436,000….

As the guilty verdict was read out at Chelmsford Crown Court Bamber showed little reaction…. Judge Mr. Justice Drake described him as “Warped and evil beyond belief”…. He then handed down five life sentences….

Bamber has always protested his innocence…. In July 2001 an inquiry was launched into the case and it was referred back to the Court of Appeal…. In December 2002 Bamber lost his appeal….