Derek Bentley Case
Derek William Bentley (30 June 1933 – 28 January 1953) was a British teenager hanged for the murder of a police officer, committed in the course of a burglary attempt. The murder of the police officer was committed by a friend and accomplice of Bentley's, Christopher Craig, then aged 16. Bentley was convicted as a party to the murder, by the English law principle of common criminal purpose "joint enterprise". This created a cause célèbre and led to a 45-year-long campaign to win Derek Bentley a posthumous pardon, which was granted partially in 1993, then completely in 1998. The judge in court sentenced Bentley to death because of his interpretation of "Let him have it" and described him as "mentally aiding the murder of Police Constable Sidney Miles".
Read more about Derek Bentley Case: Early Life, Health and Mental Development, Attempted Burglary and Murder, Trial, To Encourage The Others, Posthumous Pardon, In Popular Culture
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