The Derek Bentley case

In November 1952, Derek Bentley, aged 19, and Christopher Craig, aged 16, tried to break into a warehouse in Croydon. The police arrived, and Bentley was arrested. Craig, who had a gun, shot and killed a police officer, PC Sidney Miles.

The police said that Bentley had shouted 'Let him have it, Chris'. Bentley and Craig both denied this, and it was unclear whether it meant 'shoot him' or 'give him the gun'.

Bentley had learning difficulties. He was under arrest when the shot was fired, and he had not fired the gun.

Both young men were found guilty of murder. Craig was too young to be hanged, so he was sent to prison. Bentley was sentenced to death.

The jury recommended mercy, and there was a public campaign, including a petition and protests, to save Bentley's life. But the Home Secretary refused to change the sentence, and Bentley was hanged on 28 January 1953.

Why it caused concern: many people felt it was deeply unfair that Bentley, who had not fired the gun and had learning difficulties, was hanged, while the person who killed PC Miles was not.

Bentley's family, especially his sister Iris, campaigned for decades to clear his name.

• In 1993, Bentley was given a partial royal pardon: the government accepted that he should not have been hanged, but his conviction for murder still stood.
• In 1998, the Court of Appeal quashed (cancelled) his conviction for murder, ruling that his trial had been unfair.

These decisions came long after his death, so the pardon was posthumous.

Significance: the Bentley case, along with other controversial cases such as Timothy Evans (1950) and Ruth Ellis (1955), made many people question the death penalty:

• It showed that the courts could get things wrong, and that an execution could never be undone.
• It made the death penalty seem unfair and harsh to many people.

Public unease grew, and led to the Homicide Act of 1957, then the abolition of the death penalty for murder in 1965, made permanent in 1969.

Factors: this shows attitudes in society influencing government.