The tale of Christopher Craig (aged 16) who shot a policeman in 1952 in the course of burgling a warehouse, and Derek Bentley (aged 19) who suffered the death penalty for the act his friend committed.
In this case the Lord Chief Justice misdirected the jury about the law and appeared to act as prosecutor rather than impartial judge. A public outcry and a petition from members of parliament was not enough to make the Home Secretary commute the sentence. But this case paved the way for the abolition of the death penalty in 1965. It was not until, rather too late, in 1998 Bentley's conviction was quashed.
