Let Him Have It: The death of Sidney Miles and the trial of Derek Bentley

In this week's episode, Rachel takes us back to the chilling atmosphere of 1952 Croydon to unravel the tragic and highly controversial case that gripped Britain: the fate of Derek Bentley. What started as a routine callout to a warehouse roof quickly descended into chaos and tragedy, leaving one police officer dead, one injured, and two teenagers under arrest for murder, setting the stage for a judicial disaster.

We delve into the lives of the young men caught in the crosshairs of the law: 19-year-old Derek Bentley, a vulnerable young man easily led and struggling with significant learning disabilities, and 16-year-old Christopher Craig, the charismatic, but dangerous, leader who fired the fatal shot.

The entire case hinged on four disputed, ambiguous words: "Let him have it." We expose the brutal and unforgiving realities of the British justice system in an era of mandatory capital punishment, dissecting the trial that sent a vulnerable defendant to the gallows. Join us as we trace the devastating impact of an adult court on a young man with a developmental delay, and follow the decades-long, passionate campaign for justice that sought to correct a massive miscarriage of justice.

Trigger Warnings: Murder, capital punishment/execution and pure, unadulterated rage.

Sources include:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derek_Bentley

https://www.casebook.org/forum1998/messages/3608/39192b66.html?1025427879

https://www.yourlocalguardian.co.uk/news/9835248.book-retells-controversial-death-of-croydon-copper/

https://insidecroydon.com/2023/03/26/let-him-have-it-murder-the-abdication-and-new-year-revels/

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/28/newsid_3393000/3393807.stm

https://murderpedia.org/male.C/c/craig-christopher.htm

https://ccrc.gov.uk/decision/bentley-derek/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95wj4Ij1cCk

https://www.chalfonts.org/_site/data/files/users/CC4DC19FD20818CCC2C6EABB5E1ACB51.pdf

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Produced and hosted by Hannah Williams & Rachel Baines
Mixed & edited by Purple Waves Sound (A.K.A Will)