They were thought in their attempt on their first targets & finally chose to break into a warehouse belonging to a company called Parker & Barlow in Croydon Surrey. As they climbed over the gates of the warehouse they were noticed by a little girl who lived opposite & who’s father phoned the police. The nearest patrol car arrived very quickly and contained a detective constable (Pc Fairfax) and a uniformed constable. Craig & Bentley were on the roof as the police arrived and attempted to run but Pc Fairfax quickly detained Bentley (Pc Fairfax had already arrested Bentley when he was detained). Craig decided to shot his way out and fired at Pc Fairfax wounding him in the shoulder. At some time during the shooting Bentley is alleged to have said the now famous word, which could have meant anything, “Let Him Have It, Chris”. Bentley offered no resistance to Fairfax and stood by the injured policeman without any restraint for the next 30 minutes or so. (Hardly the action of a desperate young Thug, who could very probably have easily overpowered the wounded & unarmed Fairfax).
Other officers arrived onto the scene within minute s, some of them armed. Craig continued shooting at anyone that moved and as the first of the reinforcement, Pc Sidney Miles, came up the stairs and through the door onto the roof he was shot through the head and died almost instantly.
Craig eventually ran out of bullets & threw him self off the roof in a vain attempt to avoid capture. He landed on a greenhouse roof 30 feet below & broke his back. Both Derek and Craig were charged with the murder of Pc miles.
They came to trial at the Old Baileys on Thursday the 9th of December 1952 before the lord Chief Justice, Lord Goddard, and both pleaded not guilty. The case against Craig wasn’t actually as conclusive as one would imagine. There was some debate as to whether the bullet that had killed Pc Miles had been Fired from a .455 Eley Revolver and the bullet exhibited in court had no traces of blood on it. However this was passed over and Craig was convinced. One could argue that Craig was still responsible for Pc Miles death as wherever the bullet came from; it would never have been fired if Craig had not been armed and started shooting at the police.
The case against Derek Bentley was on 3 main points:
- The famous word “let him have it, Chris”. It’s by no means clear that Bentley or whether they were invented later to strengthen the case against him showing common purpose, said these words. If the words “Let him have it, Chris” could be shown to be an encouragement to shot, there would be an indication of the common purpose. This was the prosecution’s interpretation of them.
- The law states that if two (or more) people commit a crime they can be held equally responsible where there was a common purpose, i.e. they both intended or could have reasonably be aware of the out-come. This is fair where, for instance, a man & a woman have an affair and wishes to get rid of her husband. She lures the husband to a suitable place where the lover kills him. Although it may be possible to prove that she did not strike the fatal blow, she is equally guilty because she wanted & intended the outcome.
- Whether or not Bentley was actually under arrest at the time of the shooting. It wasn’t argued the Fairfax had detained him and that he had made no attempt to escape. However, Fairfax did not formally arrest Bentley, (i.e. read his rights & charged him with something). It is not surprisingly that, wounded and in the excitement of the situation, Fairfax didn’t formally charge Bentley, it was probably the last thing on his mind at that time. If Fairfax had done so, it could have easily have saved Bentley as being under arrest is a strong defence. In the witness box Bentley was unclear as to whether he was under arrest and generally made a poor and confused witness.
The fact was that Bentley had voluntarily gone with Craig to break into the warehouse and was armed with a knife and a particularly vicious knuckle-duster of which Lord Goddard had said.
It has often been said that Lord Goddard was being biased against them and his summing up was certainly not up to their case. It just took a short time, about 75 minute to return guilty verdicts against both boys. Lord Goddard proceeded to sentence Craig to be detained at Her Majesty’s Pleasure and then passed the mandatory death sentence on Bentley. (Craig actually served just over 10 years in prison). Derek Bentley’s appeal was heard and dismissed on the 13th of January 1953. If Lord Goddard had been against the two accused, the court of appeal found no reason to question his handling of the case.
His fate now rested entirely with the Home Secretary, Sir David Maxwell Fife. The Home Secretary had the right to recommend to the Queen that she exercise the Royal Prerogative of Mercy (in plan English to reprieve the condemned prisoner) without giving his reasons for these decisions. This right had developed upon the Home Secretary When Queen Victoria came to the throne in 1837.
It was standard practice at this time, that when a person was sentenced to death, a Home Office Psychiatrist to make sure they were mentally competent examined them, but I do not know if it was done on Bentley which does not show in the film.
There was a considerable campaign against the execution led by Derek Bentley father and also in parliament (who, in law, were unable to debate the individual case until after the execution) 200 Mp’s signed the petition calling for a reprieve.
An enormous crowd gathered outside wandsworth prison on the morning of the hanging and there was general disquiet about the case.
So why wasn’t Derek Bentley reprieved? In my view the Home Secretary had decided, someone must pay”. As Craig could not be hanged Bentley had to be. He was for all practical purposes under arrest at the time constable Miles Died. His retarded mental state and his low IQ meant that he should have been held less responsible. It is reasonable, based upon available evidence, to view Bentley as a retarded young man who was easily led by the much more intelligent and dominant (influential/ powerful) Craig.
These words “let him have it, Craig” are clearly susceptible (influenced) to two meanings.
I think most reasonable people would take them to mean give him the gun instead rather than shoot him. Had it been alleged that Bentley had shouted, “Shoot the bastard Chris” his intentions would have been all too clear.
Credence was taken of his mental state, although a lot of condemned prisoners were reprieved because of theirs. At that time the death sentence could only be passed on persons of 18 or over.
Lord Goddard wasn’t taking any attention to what the shooting was about, and who was to blame. So I think he was being biased, making Derek the Main person.
1520 words… by Keith Ngan 10.03.
