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Description

‘He fired three shots at him, two of which took effect in the head and spine, and he fell to the ground...’ 

On a spring morning in 1888, an enraged labourer stormed into his workplace, a brickworks, with a small revolver. Striding decisively towards William Berridge - the foreman who had fired him just hours ago - the man fired three shots into Berridge’s leg, head and torso. By midday, he’s in a cell, charged with intent to kill. But how was this violent crime prosecuted?  

In part two, Jen and David are looking at another shooting which took place in Barnsley, just weeks apart from the murder of Eileen Burke. They compare how the criminal justice system handled these two cases, reflecting on the role of class in sentencing and punishment. 

Discover the details for yourself in the episode's Case Files - a collection of all the key newspaper reports - available to browse for free on Findmypast: www.findmypast.co.uk/wasjusticeserved 

Was justice served? Share your judgement with the WJS community: 

@wasjusticeservedpod #wasjusticeserved 

Producer - Madeleine Gilbert 

Assistant Producer - Daisy Goddard 

AV Editor - Callum Main 

Video Lead - Andrew Farrell 

Researcher - Jen Baldwin 

Voiceover - Tanya O’Sullivan 

AV Lead - Mark Asquith 

Executive Producer - Helen Kaye