The A6 Murder....James Hanratty - YouRepeat Add our chrome extension to repeat YouTube videos at the click of a button The A6 Murder....James Hanratty Choose your time range using the slider. Start: Use this link to share your repeat GIF Creation Settings Separate tags with commas or press enter (max 5 tags) Quick GIF Create The One Show on Capital Punishment James Hanratty James Hanratty was one of the last people in the UK to be sentenced to death for murder. He was hanged at Bedford Gaol on 4 April 1962, after being convicted of the murder of scientist Michael Gregsten, who was shot dead in his car near Clophill, Bedfordshire in August 1961. Gregsten's mistress Valerie Storie, was raped, shot and left paralysed in the same incident. According to Storie, the couple were abducted at gunpoint in their car at Dorney Reach, Buckinghamshire, by a man with a cockney accent and mannerisms matching Hanratty's. The gunman ordered Gregsten to drive in several directions, before stopping beside the A6 at Deadman's Hill, where the offences took place.

The prime suspects were Hanratty, a petty criminal, and Peter Louis Alphon, an eccentric drifter. Both these men changed their version of events several times and Storie picked out an innocent man at the first identity parade. The 'Guilty' verdict was questioned by many who felt the evidence was too weak to justify conviction. However, a DNA test in 2002 was to prove Hanratty's guilt, according to the Court of Appeal, "beyond doubt". Date of birth: October 4, 1936 Place of birth: Bromley Wrongly hanged: Hanratty is found innocent | The Independent Wrongly hanged: Hanratty is found innocent `Before his execution, Hanratty protested his innocence to his family: I'm dying tomorrow. Clear my name' Monday 27 January 1997 00:02 BST Click to follow The Independent Online James Hanratty, hanged for one of the most notorious crimes this century, is about to be cleared 35 years after his execution for the A6 murder.

Hanratty, 25, was convicted of brutally killing a married man before he raped the victim's lover and repeatedly shot her, leaving her paralysed for life. Home Office officials are understood to have concluded that Hanratty was innocent. This follows an unpublished police inquiry which concluded last year that he was the victim of a miscarriage of justice and that the murder was probably part of a wider conspiracy. Michael Howard, the Home Secretary, is expected to announce within the next few weeks that he is to refer the case to the Court of Appeal, where the conviction is expected to be quashed. The reappraisal of the case follows more than three decades of campaigning by members of Hanratty's family and his supporters. Many of the campaigners believe the real killer was Peter Alphon, who is alleged to have admitted to the crime on numerous occasions. There is also a string of evidence that links Mr Alphon to the murder, though in an interview with The Independent he protested his innocence.

Hanratty, a petty burglar, was convicted of abducting Michael Gregsten, 36, and his mistress Valerie Storie, 22, at gunpoint from a cornfield at Taplow, near Maidenhead, in Berkshire, in August 1961. The lovers were forced to drive about 60 miles to a lay-by on the A6 near Bedford, known as Dead Man's Hill. At the end of the two-hour trip Mr Gregsten, a research scientist, was shot dead. Miss Storie was then sexually assaulted before being shot repeatedly at close range. Hanratty was arrested in Blackpool two months later, on 9 October. Reports at the time said this followed the "amazing" identification of Hanratty by Janet Gregsten, the wife of the dead man, who saw him on a London street and her "intuition" told her he was the killer even though at that stage he was not a suspect. He was convicted largely on the identification evidence of Miss Storie, despite her only seeing her assailant for a few seconds and only identifying Hanratty in a second line-up. She later admitted that her memory of the attacker was fading.

On the morning of his execution at Bedford jail Hanratty wrote to his family, insisting he was innocent and asking them to clear his name. His brother, Michael Hanratty, 58, who has fought for the past three decades for the case to be taken to the Court of Appeal, said: "The day before Jimmy was hanged he said: `I'm dying tomorrow but I'm innocent. Clear my name.' This is what we need to be able to do." At first, the campaign was headed by Hanratty's father, also named James, who toured Britain showing a film in an effort to clear his son's name. He handed out leaflets to the public outside the House of Commons proclaiming his son's innocence. But any pardon will come too late for Mr Hanratty senior, who died 20 years ago. The campaign was taken up by Hanratty's mother, Mary, who is now suffering from Alzheimer's disease, along with Michael, and his other brothers, Peter and Richard. Other campaigners included two lawyers, John Justice and Jeremy Fox, who became convinced of Hanratty's innocence.

Four books and a number of television programmes, including two by Yorkshire Television, have also been instrumental in having the case reopened. In the 1992 programme, Hanratty: Mystery of Dead Man's Hill, a documentary for Yorkshire, the film-maker Bob Woffinden called for DNA tests to be carried out to establish the true identity of the murderer. These were eventually carried out at the beginning of 1995, by comparing semen found at the scene of the crime with DNA from Hanratty's exhumed body. But unfortunately the DNA retrieved was not of good enough quality to obtain a result.The campaign has gone on ever since. One of the most implausible aspects of the case was the acceptance that Hanratty, a city dweller, should by chance come across the couple in a cornfield and carry out a random killing. It emerged after his execution that Hanratty also had a good alibi. Fourteen witnesses came forward to back up his claim that he was in Rhyl, North Wales - 250 miles from the scene of the crime. Doubts about the identity of the killer were dismissed, however, by Mr Alphon.

In an interview with The Independent, in which he denied his own involvement, Mr Alphon set out his own theory. He said that Hanratty was a "psychopath" who had been hired by the wife of the dead man and her lover. Earlier this month, Mr Alphon sent a letter to the Home Secretary, saying "...the nightmare has persisted through four decades of controversy and speculation surrounding the case". He added: "My victimisation both at the hands of the police and my defamers in the media dates from when Scotland Yard quite unjustifiably caused my name to be blazoned across the headlines ..." But growing concerns about the safety of the conviction brought a Scotland Yard inquiry headed by Detective Superintendent Roger Matthews. He completed his report last year and is understood to have concluded that Hanratty was wrongly hanged. He was executed in April 1962, but doubts about his conviction played a significant role in the decision by MPs to abolish capital punishment in 1965. Geoffrey Bindman, the solicitor who represents the Hanratty family, said: "We have been asking for a referral to the Court of Appeal with the new evidence for more than a year.

The police officer appointed to look into the case came up with a view that he was innocent. Clearly, his conviction should by quashed by the Court of Appeal. "There are a lot of people who say bring back hanging. The fact that such a well-known hanged person turns out to be innocent will act as a powerful example against capital punishment." The Home Secretary will have to announce his decision on the Hanratty case by the end of March when the new independent Criminal Case Review Commission takes over the role of resolving claims of miscarriage of justice from the the Home Office's C3 department. It would be unusual for a Home Secretary to go against the advice of his officials in such cases. Crime of the century, page 8 The 35-year fight 22 August 1961: Michael Gregsten murdered; Valerie Storie assaulted and shot. 17 February 1962: James Hanratty convicted of murder at Bedford Crown Court. 4 April 1962: Hanratty hanged. 1967: Peter Alphon "confesses" to killing in Paris, but later denies it. 1971: Paul Foot's book Who Killed Hanratty? published.

1992: Television programme Hanratty: Mystery of Dead Man's Hill broadcast. 1995: Inconclusive DNA tests of Hanratty carried out. 1996: Police inquiry concludes Hanratty was innocent. More about: BBC NEWS | Middle East | Activists condemn Saddam hanging Activists condemn Saddam hanging Saddam Hussein was hanged in northern Baghdad on Saturday British human rights activists have spoken out against the death penalty after former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was hanged in Baghdad. Malcolm Smart, of Amnesty International, said the death penalty "in all cases was a violation of the right to life". Human Rights Watch's Tom Porteous said justice had "suffered a cruel blow" because of the "inhumane punishment". Capital punishment in the UK was suspended indefinitely in 1969. It is even more worrying that in this case the execution appeared a foregone conclusion once the original verdict was pronounced Malcolm Smart World views on death penalty Mr Smart said the death penalty was "the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment". "It is even more worrying that in this case the execution appeared a foregone conclusion once the original verdict was pronounced," he added. Saddam Hussein was hanged for crimes against humanity.

Mr Porteous, the London director of Human Rights Watch, told BBC News: "The very important thing to say is that this is a day when justice has really suffered a cruel blow. "This is an inhuman punishment - a hasty punishment - which comes after a deeply flawed trial and after an even more flawed appeals process." 'Shed tears' Manzoor Moghal, chairman of the Federation of Muslim Organisations in the UK said two wrongs did not make a right. Saddam was brutal, dictatorial and unjust but that does not give his executors the right to be slightly less brutal, slightly less dictatorial and not quite as unjust Federation of Muslim Organisations "Nobody must shed tears for Saddam Hussein as a person but they must shed tears for what has now happened to Iraq as a country and for its people," he said. "Saddam was brutal, dictatorial and unjust but that does not give his executors the right to be slightly less brutal, slightly less dictatorial and not quite as unjust." And Dashty Jamal, of the UK-based International Federation of Iraqi Refugees, said the organisation was "against the death penalty anywhere else in the world".

A6 murder In 1969, Parliament voted to suspend the death penalty indefinitely. Notorious killer James Hanratty, 25, was one of the last people to be executed before its abolition. He went to the gallows on 4 April 1962 after he was convicted of the notorious A6 murder in Bedfordshire in which scientist Michael Gregsten, 36, was shot dead. A mandatory life sentence was introduced in place of the death penalty. Repeated calls for its return have been consistently rejected. James Hanratty was hanged after his conviction for the A6 murder In 2002, Tory former Home Office minister Ann Widdecombe - then MP for Maidstone and the Weald MP - said the death penalty should be "available" to the UK justice system for the most heinous of crimes. She was speaking following the murders of schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in Soham, Cambridgeshire. Last year, former Met Police head Lord Stevens called for the death penalty to be reinstated for those who kill police officers. Opinion polls have repeatedly suggested that a significant percentage of the UK population was in favour of capital punishment being reintroduced for certain crimes.

A survey carried out by pollsters Mori in January suggested that more than half of the readers of the Sun newspaper were in favour of the death penalty for child killers and terrorists. But despite these results, the issue of the death penalty has not featured on the political agenda in recent years. 'Clear my name': hearing into 1962 hanging begins | UK news | The Guardian 'Clear my name': hearing into 1962 hanging begins Staff and agencies Share on Messenger Close James Hanratty, who was hanged for murder 40 years ago, was the victim of an unfair and "fatally flawed" trial, three court of appeal judges were told today. At the beginning of a courtroom bid to clear Hanratty's name and have his conviction quashed, his barrister, Michael Mansfield QC, said the trial process in 1962 had been distorted. This, he said, was in "large measure" due to the actions of the senior police officer in the case, detective superintendent Robert Acott, who is now deceased.

Lord Woolf, the lord chief justice, sitting with two other judges in London, is reexamining the safety of Hanratty's conviction in a hearing expected to last 10 days. Hanratty, 25, went to the gallows on April 4 1962, for the notorious A6 murder in Bedfordshire, in which married scientist Michael Gregsten was shot dead and his mistress, Valerie Storie, a laboratory assistant, was repeatedly shot and left for dead. It was alleged that after surprising the lovers in a cornfield in Dorney Reach, Berkshire, Hanratty forced them to drive to Deadman's Hill, south of Bedford, where Miss Storie was raped and they were both shot. Since his execution at Bedford prison, Hanratty's family and supporters have fought to prove that, though a petty crook, he was not a killer. The Hanratty case - one of the country's longest-running alleged miscarriages of justice - was recently referred back to the appeal court by the criminal cases review commission.

Opening the appeal before Lord Woolf, Lord Justice Mantell and Mr Justice Leveson, Mr Mansfield told a packed court: "Put shortly it comes to this: 40 years ago, in April 1962, almost to the day, James Hanratty was executed and he was executed at the end of a near month-long trial. "And, we say . . . the material that provided the foundation for the conviction that led to the execution was in fact fatally flawed. It was fatally flawed in the sense that there was extensive and inexcusable non-disclosure." Mr Mansfield said that the non-disclosure amounted to 17 grounds of appeal, but they could be distilled into three groups. One related to identification evidence, including that of the main eyewitness, Miss Storie. Another centred around the finding of two cartridge cases associated with the murder weapon. Prosecuting counsel said the revolver was found on a bus. However, the cartridges were found in room 24 of the Vienna hotel, west London, where Hanratty had stayed for one night in August 1961, Mr Mansfield said.

The third group related to what the prosecution had described as a suspect or late alibi: "In other words the change that took place between what Hanratty told the police in the first place, that he was in Liverpool, and a development of that which led to him saying at the trial that in fact he had been in Liverpool and Rhyl." "These were the three main strands upon which the crown relied," said Mr Mansfield, who argued that the case against Hanratty was founded on evidence and inferences that were "highly tenuous". His conviction was based largely on Miss Storie's recollection of the voice of her attacker. She saw him for only a few seconds during the six-hour ordeal, and failed to pick him out of the first police identity parade. Hanratty said that at the time of attack he was 400km (250 miles) from the scene, in a bed-and-breakfast in Rhyl, north Wales. The landlady backed up his claim, and in the years after his execution, numerous witnesses came forward to support the story.

The court has heard that the prosecution will seek to rely at the appeal on findings of the appellant's DNA on two exhibits, a fragment of Miss Storie's underwear and a handkerchief wrapped around the murder weapon. Mr Mansfield will argue that it is impossible to exclude the possibility that the DNA had been deposited as a result of contamination. An appeal against conviction was heard by the court of appeal on March 13 1962, but dismissed. Hanratty, who was among the last people to go to the gallows in Britain, told his family: "I'm dying tomorrow but I'm innocent. Clear my name." Miss Storie, now 62, has been confined to a wheelchair since the attack. She is not expected to give evidence at the appeal. The hearing continues. James Hanratty - Micheal Gregston - Murder UK - The UK's leading murder database FACTFILE 22nd August 1961, Michael Gregsten and his mistress Valerie Storie, were sitting in his car in a field, they were hijacked by a man with a gun, the man made them drive around for hours, eventually ending up at Deadmans Hill on the A6 just outside Clophill, Bedfordshire.

(just round the corner from the authors house). Gregsten moved and made Hanratty jump, Hanratty fired two shots into Gregsten's head, after a while Hanratty made Miss Stone get out of the car, in the dark he fired five shots into her, she slumped next to Gregsten and passed out, she survived, but the injuries left her paralysed from the wait down, for the rest of her life. 9th October 1961, Hanratty was arrested in Blackpool, and picked out by Valerie Storie from an identification parade , and sent for trial. The whole trial centred on the issue of identification. Hanratty claimed to have been in Rhyl on the day of the murder, 200 miles away from the murder scene in Clophill, Bedfordshire. Following 9ï¿½ hours of deliberations, the jury convicted Hanratty of the murder of Michael Gregsten. James Hanratty was then sentenced to death by hanging. 4th April 1962, He was hanged at Bedford Prison. The Aftermath There has been a great deal of controversy regarding the conviction and execution of James Hanratty.

The controversy is mainly concerned with the question of correctly identify the suspect. Also the need to established beyond reasonable doubt that the suspect was the guilty person. James Hanratty's remains have since been exhumed from Bedford Prison, and reburied in Carpenter's Park Cemetery, which is located near Bushey in Hertfordshire. 22nd March 2001, James Hanratty's remains were exhumed so that a DNA sample could be taken for analysis. The results showed there was a 2.5 million to one chance that the samples came from someone other than Hanratty. DNA sample extracted from Hanratty's exhumed body was matched by forensic experts to two samples from the crime scene. 10th May 2002, the Court of Criminal Appeal (Lord Chief Justice Woolf, Lord Justice Mantell and Mr Justice Leveson hearing the appeal) ruled that Hanratty's conviction was not unsound and that there were no grounds for a posthumous pardon.

DNA tests show Hanratty was guilty | Daily Mail Online DNA tests show Hanratty was guilty by BEN TAYLOR, Daily Mail James Hanratty was guilty of the notorious A6 murder for which he was hanged, sensational scientific evidence has revealed. A DNA sample taken from his exhumed body has been matched by forensic experts to two samples from the crime scene. They now believe that there is only a 1-in-2.5million chance Hanratty was innocent. The results of the tests, released to Hanratty's defence team, are a crushing blow to campaigners who have insisted he was not guilty. The 25-year-old petty crook was hanged in April 1962 for shooting dead scientist Michael Gregsten, raping Gregsten's mistress Valerie Storie and shooting her five times. He left her for dead in a Bedfordshire lay-by while he drove off in Gregsten's car. It was said he kidnapped the couple during their liaison at a cornfield at Dorney Reach, Buckinghamshire, then forced them at gun-point to drive to Deadman's Hill, on the A6 in Bedfordshire.

Hanratty was not the initial suspect but was arrested after cartridge cases from the murder weapon were found in a London hotel where he stayed the night before the murder. There was no forensic evidence against him, however, and his conviction quickly became a cause celebre. For 39 years campaigners have claimed he was the victim of an appalling miscarriage of justice. They argue that Hanratty was in North Wales, 250 miles from the crime scene, when the murder took place in August 1961. There have also been suggestions that he was framed as part of an elaborate plot to kill Gregsten. In 1975 a review of the case concluded that his conviction was safe. But in March 1999, following a two-year Scotland Yard re-investigation of the case, it was referred to the Court of Appeal by the new Criminal Cases Review Commission, which investigates miscarriages of justice. Last October, in an attempt to discover once and for all if Hanratty was guilty, three Appeal Court judges ordered his body to be exhumed. The move had been requested by lawyers for the Crown Prosecution Service in advance of the new hearing.

Lord Woolf, the Lord Chief Justice, sitting with Mrs Justice Steel and Mr Justice Richards, concluded that the exhumation would be 'desirable' in the interests of justice. It was carried out 12 days ago at Carpender's Park cemetery near Watford. In the dark and under cover of a marquee, Hanratty's body was removed to allow experts from the Forensic Science Service to take samples. Afterwards the body was reburied in a private ceremony attended by the Han-ratty family and conducted by a priest. Last night it emerged that a complete DNA profile had been obtained and it matched samples taken from items of Miss Storie's clothing and a handkerchief found wrapped around the gun used to kill Gregsten. The new findings appear to confirm similar tests carried out last year on profiles from Hanratty's living relatives which also pointed strongly to his guilt. Hanratty's family opposed the exhumation but decided not to fight the court order. The campaign for a posthumous pardon has been led by his brother Michael. Their lawyers will claim at the appeal hearing later this year that both the sample taken from Hanratty's body and the evidence from the crime scene are contaminated and therefore unreliable.

Hanratty was originally buried at Bedford Prison, the body being interred in quicklime, and only later moved to Hertfordshire. Scientists say this would not affect their tests, which were introduced to Britain only 14 years ago. Lawyers for the family of James Hanratty today said they would press ahead with an appeal on behalf of the convicted murderer. Geoffrey Bindman, solicitor for the Hanratty family, said no details of the tests had been handed over for examination by experts acting on their behalf. "The suggestion is that Hanratty is proved guilty by these tests," Mr Bindman said. "We have not seen these tests and our experts have not seen them. "In any case, it is a logical impossibility for these tests to prove that Hanratty was guilty. "The most that they can prove is that Hanratty's DNA was similar or the same to that which was found on clothing at the scene of the crime. "That leaves open the question of how it got there. Obviously one possibility was that it got there because he was the murderer. "Another possibility was that it got there because the clothing came into contact with his DNA from some other sources.

"There are other sources and other possibilities because we know that at the time of the trial exhibits were handled freely because of course people did not know about DNA." The saga of the A6 murder has divided both the legal profession and police. Former detective superintendent Roger Matthews, who conducted the last reinvestigation, is among those convinced Hanratty was innocent. In 1999 he wrote: 'It took me a year of painstaking work before I reached the conclusion that a grievous miscarriage of justice may have taken place. James Hanratty should not have been found guilty and certainly should not have been hanged.' Miss Storie, now 61, who was left paralysed by the shooting, said last year she believed Hanratty was guilty. But to the end Hanratty claimed he was innocent. Subsequently a hardened criminal, Peter Louis Alphon, confessed to the crime on a number of occasions. He claimed he was a hitman hired by a third party to end the affair between Gregsten and Miss Storie, who was then 22. He later retracted his story. Hanratty's case attracted the attention of a number of writers, film-makers, lawyers and celebrities who all campaigned to clear him.

They included John Lennon, who offered his help in 1969. The Beatle made a film about the case and helped arrange and publicise meetings to whip up support. Investigative journalists Bob Woffinden and Paul Foot have spoken of discrepancies in the police case and trial. These include question marks over location and identification evidence. For example, when the killer kidnapped the couple and made them drive around London, Miss Storie mentioned roadworks and located them in Kenton Road, Kingsbury, in her evidence. The location was extremely damaging to Hanratty because his parents lived in Kingsbury. However, it was later discovered that the roadworks were several miles away in Stanmore, Middlesex. Also, police knew that the killer's clothes must have been bloodstained and while Hanratty immediately volunteered his clothing for forensic examination, Alphon refused. But at Hanratty's trial, the Crown was adamant that he happened to be wandering across the cornfield with a gun in his pocket and that, by complete chance, stumbled across the parked car containing the lovers. According to the prosecution he was 'turned on' by the idea of sex and forced himself into the car to begin the fateful journey.

James Hanratty - 必应 Sign in James Hanratty James Hanratty (4 October 1936 – 4 April 1962) was one of the last people in the UK to be executed for murder. He was hanged at Bedford Gaol on 4 April 1962, after being convicted of the murder of scientist Michael Gregsten, who was shot dead in a car on the A6 at Deadman's Hill, near Clophill, Bedfordshire in August 1961. Gregsten's mistress, Valerie Storie, aged 22, was raped, shot five times and left paralysed. According to Storie, the couple were abducted at gunpoint in their car at Dorney Reach, Buckinghamshire, by a man with a Cock ... (展开) ney accent and mannerisms matching Hanratty's. The gunman ordered Gregsten to drive in several directions, before stopping beside the A6 at Deadman's Hill, where the offences took place. The prime suspects were Hanratty, a petty criminal, and Peter Louis Alphon, an eccentric drifter.

In police line-ups, Storie did not recognise Alphon, but positively identified Hanratty. This testimony was critical in securing a guilty verdict at the trial. The verdict was questioned by many who felt the supporting evidence was too weak to justify conviction. However, a DNA test in 2002 proved Hanratty's guilt, according to the Court of Appeal, "beyond doubt". James Hanratty (4 October 1936 – 4 April 1962) was one of the last eight people in the UK to be executed before capital punishment was effectively abolished. James Hanratty (* 4. Oktober 1936 in Bromley; † 4. April 1962 in Bedford) war eine der letzten Personen, die in Großbritannien hingerichtet wurden. James Hanratty was guilty of the notorious A6 murder for which he was hanged, sensational scientific evidence has revealed. A DNA sample taken from his exhumed … View the profiles of professionals named James Hanratty on LinkedIn. There are 37 professionals named James Hanratty, who use LinkedIn to exchange information, … View the profiles of people named James Hanratty.

Join Facebook to connect with James Hanratty and others you may know. Facebook gives people the power... BBC News | WALES | Court dismisses Hanratty appeal Friday, 10 May, 2002, 19:45 GMT 20:45 UK Court dismisses Hanratty appeal James Hanratty claimed he was in Rhyl at the time Three judges at the Court of Appeal have dismissed the appeal on behalf of James Hanratty, who was hanged for the A6 murder in Bedfordshire 40 years ago. The court ruled that 25-year-old Hanratty was not wrongly convicted in 1962 of murdering scientist Michael Gregsten. The victims were shot in a lay-by on the A6 Hanratty, one of the last people to be executed before the abolition of capital punishment in the UK, had always claimed he was 250 miles away from the scene - in Rhyl, north Wales. But on Friday, the three judges ruled that DNA evidence had established his guilt "beyond doubt".

Lord Woolf, the Lord Chief Justice, said: "In our judgment ...the DNA evidence establishes beyond doubt that James Hanratty was the murderer." He added that the DNA evidence "made what was a strong case even stronger". Family fury Reacting angrily to the judgement, Hanratty's brother Michael claimed it was "the last cover-up". "I waited 40 years to get here thinking I would get justice to have it thrown up in my face," he said. Michael Hanratty said he had been denied justice "This is not just a miscarriage of justice - this is murder." But Detective Inspector Stewart Trail of the Metropolitan Police, who led the re-examination of evidence, said modern DNA techniques had supported the original verdict. "We hope that today's result will finally draw a line under the speculation which has surrounded this case for nearly 40 years," he said. "We have carried out a full and thorough investigation which has served only to reinforce the original trial verdict." Notorious case James Hanratty was convicted of murdering scientist Michael Gregsten on the A6 in Bedfordshire by shooting him twice in the head.

Mr Gregsten's girlfriend Valerie Storie was raped, shot five times and left for dead - she survived but was paralysed from the waist down. I'm dying tomorrow but I'm innocent - clear my name James Hanratty on the eve of his execution Hanratty's family insisted he was the victim of a "distorted and fatally flawed trial". They claimed that DNA evidence linking him to the crime may have been contaminated at the time of the original trial. In April, Lord Chief Justice Woolf, Lord Justice Mantell and Mr Justice Leveson began to re-examine the safety of the 1962 conviction. At the Appeal Court, barrister Michael Mansfield QC for Hanratty said the "distortion" of the original trial process was "in large measure" due to the actions of the senior police officer, who has since died, in covering-up evidence in several key areas. It was alleged at the time that Hanratty came across the 36-year-old victim, Mr Gregsten and his 22-year-old girlfriend, Valerie Storie, inside a parked Morris Minor in August 1961.

They were confronted by a man with a gun who ordered them to drive to a remote lay-by, where Mr Gregsten was shot dead and Ms Storey was raped. Hanratty was arrested, tried and convicted for murder. Alibi ignored The jury did not believe his story that he was in Rhyl at the time of the attack - despite the landlady of a B&B backing his claim. In the years after his execution, numerous witnesses have come forward to support that story. Valerie Storie: Conviction relied on her memory His conviction was based largely on Miss Storie's recollection of the voice of her attacker. Mr Mansfield, however, argued over the course of the appeal that she saw him for only a few seconds during the six-hour ordeal. In 1999, the case was referred to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), the independent watchdog set up to investigate alleged miscarriages of justice. After carrying out its own investigation, it sent the case to the Court of Appeal. But the case took another twist when DNA samples were taken from members of Hanratty's family. DNA issue They were checked against samples found on Miss Storie's underwear and a handkerchief wrapped around the murder weapon.

The results showed there was a 2.5 million to one chance that the samples came from someone other than Hanratty. In March 2001, DNA sample extracted from Hanratty's exhumed body was matched by forensic experts to two samples from the crime scene. The family believed that the DNA sample could have been contaminated. Hanratty protested his innocence until his death. On the eve of his execution, he told his family: "I'm dying tomorrow but I'm innocent. Clear my name." Key stories Crime Files Reopened: Was James Hanratty in Rhyl the night a scientist was murdered 200 miles away? - Daily Post News Crime Files Reopened: Was James Hanratty in Rhyl the night a scientist was murdered 200 miles away? Michael Gregsten, was shot dead in a car on the A6 in Bedfordshire in August 1961, but Hanratty claimed to be in North Wales resort Share Get daily updates directly to your inbox + Subscribe Thank you for subscribing! Could not subscribe, try again laterInvalid Email James Hanratty was one of the last people in the UK to be executed for murder.

He was hanged at Bedford Gaol in April 1962, after being convicted of the murder of scientist Michael Gregsten, who was shot dead in a car on the A6 in Bedfordshire in August 1961. Gregsten’s mistress, Valerie Storie, 22, was raped, shot five times and left paralysed. But the jury concluded James Hanratty had lied to police about his whereabouts on the night of the murder leaving himself exposed and tragically unable to reverse his fateful conviction. Hanratty’s change of story that he was in Rhyl on the night of the murder became a cornerstone of the family’s appeal to clear his name in the High Court. Read: Peter Moore murdered four men in 20-year reign of terror Supporters claim witness reports of Hanratty in the North Wales seaside resort on the day of the murder had not been properly followed up. Hanratty’s claim he was 250 miles away from the murder scene at a country lane on the A6 in Bedfordshire was dismissed during the trial as a lie. In the summer of 1961, Hanratty’s habit for petty thieving took him to Liverpool to sell jewellery to raise money.

Days earlier, Hanratty had been in Cardiff on the run from the police after stealing a car. Penniless, he spent the night in the Bute Street Salvation Army Hostel before obtaining a new National Insurance card at the Labour Exchange in the morning. He then hitched a ride to Liverpool where he broke into a house stealing silver. Rhyl High Street in the 1960s Hanratty sold some of the items at a jeweller’s and then sought out an acquaintance, Terry Evans, in Rhyl on July 25. He asked Evans to help him find a job at Rhyl’s Ocean Beach amusement park, but he quit as a dodgems attendant after just one night, complaining the seafront was “draughty”. Hanratty then went back to London, but repeated his trip to the Liverpool area a month later in August for three days from August 22-24 - covering the time of the A6 murder. It is thought possible he went back to Liverpool to try and sell more jewellery. But his efforts were in vain and Hanratty travelled by bus to Rhyl to try and find Terry Evans again and sell him the jewellery.

Boarding house in Rhyl which James Hanratty claims he stayed at the time of the A6 murder By this time Evans had left his job at the fairground and a frustrated Hanratty spent the night at a guesthouse in Kinmel Street run by Grace Jones. In the morning, he went to a barber’s shop for a shave and then had lunch at a cafe called Dixie’s, which he knew was often frequented by Evans. Read: Strikers cleared of intimidating quarrymen During the afternoon, Hanratty passed time in Rhyl’s amusement arcades and visited the Woolworth’s store. Having failed to find Evans, Hanratty returned to Dixie’s for another coffee before spending a second night in Rhyl. The following morning, more than 36 hours after the A6 murder had taken place, Hanratty claims he returned to Liverpool and bought a ticket for the midnight train back to London. Before he left, he sent a telegram to a friend, Dixie France, in Finchley Road, London, saying he would be back on Friday. He spent part of the journey talking to two cockney plumbers, who boarded the train at Stafford.

We're testing a new site: This content is coming soon Ironically, they discussed details of the A6 murder. “We thought what a shocking thing it was”, Hanratty later told police. After arriving back in London, he visited Mr France in Finchley Road and Hanratty later claimed he was shown the telegram he had sent. A series of police inquiries later led officers to arrest Hanratty for Gregsten’s murder. It was not until February 7 that details of Hanratty’s Rhyl alibi were disclosed to the general public. But the witnesses who came forward to give statements to police were not made known to the defence team. Hanratty’s defence relied heavily on the testimony of Grace Jones, the B&B landlady in Rhyl, who could clearly recall Hanratty. Her credibility was undermined in court - fair-haired Hanratty had dyed his hair before going to Liverpool and Mrs Jones failed to recognise him in a police photograph; she was accused of drumming up publicity for the B&B, and her visitors’ book was messed up by the prosecution.

Hanratty’s appeal was dismissed on March 13, 1962, and despite a petition signed by more than 90,000 people, Hanratty was hanged three weeks later still protesting his innocence. In March 1997, the Home Office referred the case to the new Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) and four years later Hanratty’s body was exhumed to extract his DNA. This was compared with other DNA extracted from the victims. DNA samples from both sources exactly matched James Hanratty’s DNA. At the subsequent appeal hearing in 2002, Michael Mansfield QC, the barrister acting for the Hanratty family, admitted that, if contamination could be excluded, the DNA evidence demonstrated James Hanratty had committed the murder and rape. He argued the evidence may have been contaminated because of lax handling procedures. The DNA evidence convinced the Court of Appeal judges in 2002 that Hanratty’s guilt was proved “beyond doubt” but Hanratty’s family and their supporters have continued to contest this conclusion and to press for a further review of his conviction.

Like us on Facebook About: James Hanratty About: James Hanratty An Entity of Type : person , from Named Graph : , within Data Space : dbpedia.org James Hanratty (4 October 1936 – 4 April 1962) was one of the last people in the UK to be executed for murder. He was hanged at Bedford Gaol on 4 April 1962, after being convicted of the murder of scientist Michael Gregsten, who was shot dead in a car on the A6 at Deadman's Hill, near Clophill, Bedfordshire in August 1961. Gregsten's mistress, Valerie Storie, aged 22, was raped, shot five times and left paralysed. Property abstract James Hanratty (* 4. Oktober 1936 in Bromley; † 4. April 1962 in Bedford) war eine der letzten Personen, die in Großbritannien hingerichtet wurden.

Hanratty war des Mordes an Michael Gregsten und der Vergewaltigung von Valerie Storie angeklagt und wurde trotz widersprüchlicher Zeugenaussagen zum Tode durch den Strang verurteilt. Sein Fall führte zu einer breiten Diskussion über die Todesstrafe in der britischen Öffentlichkeit und galt lange Zeit als Justizirrtum. Eine 2002 durchgeführte DNA-Analyse bestätigte mit relativ hoher Wahrscheinlichkeit seine Schuld. Obwohl der Court of Appeal of England and Wales im Mai des Jahres 2002 entschied, dass Hanrattys Schuld ohne jeden Zweifel bestätigt sei, gilt seine Hinrichtung nach wie vor als eine der umstrittensten Entscheidungen der britischen Justiz. (de) James Hanratty (4 October 1936 – 4 April 1962) was one of the last people in the UK to be executed for murder.

He was hanged at Bedford Gaol on 4 April 1962, after being convicted of the murder of scientist Michael Gregsten, who was shot dead in a car on the A6 at Deadman's Hill, near Clophill, Bedfordshire in August 1961. Gregsten's mistress, Valerie Storie, aged 22, was raped, shot five times and left paralysed. According to Storie, the couple were abducted at gunpoint in their car at Dorney Reach, Buckinghamshire, by a man with a Cockney accent and mannerisms matching Hanratty's. The gunman ordered Gregsten to drive in several directions, before stopping beside the A6 at Deadman's Hill, where the offences took place. The prime suspects were Hanratty, a petty criminal, and Peter Louis Alphon, an eccentric drifter. In police line-ups, Storie did not recognise Alphon, but positively identified Hanratty. This testimony was critical in securing a guilty verdict at the trial. The verdict was questioned by many who felt the supporting evidence was too weak to justify conviction.

However, a DNA test in 2002 proved Hanratty's guilt, according to the Court of Appeal, "beyond doubt".

(en) ハンラッティ事件（James Hanratty）とは1961年にイギリスで発生した殺人事件である。なおタイトルは刑事被告人となり処刑された人物の名であるが、事件発生現場（幹線道路）にちなんでA6事件とも呼ばれる。なお裁判では決定的な証拠も得られぬまま有罪となり、死刑が執行されたため、一部で冤罪との指摘もあったが、当時は出来なかった遺留品のDNA鑑定が行われ、犯人であったと断定されている。 (ja) Bedford Prison, Bedford, Bedfordshire, England (en) ハンラッティ事件（James Hanratty）とは1961年にイギリスで発生した殺人事件である。なおタイトルは刑事被告人となり処刑された人物の名であるが、事件発生現場（幹線道路）にちなんでA6事件とも呼ばれる。なお裁判では決定的な証拠も得られぬまま有罪となり、死刑が執行されたため、一部で冤罪との指摘もあったが、当時は出来なかった遺留品の

DNA鑑定が行われ、犯人であったと断定されている。 (ja) James Hanratty (4 October 1936 – 4 April 1962) was one of the last people in the UK to be executed for murder.

He was hanged at Bedford Gaol on 4 April 1962, after being convicted of the murder of scientist Michael Gregsten, who was shot dead in a car on the A6 at Deadman's Hill, near Clophill, Bedfordshire in August 1961. Gregsten's mistress, Valerie Storie, aged 22, was raped, shot five times and left paralysed. (en) James Hanratty (* 4. Oktober 1936 in Bromley; † 4. April 1962 in Bedford) war eine der letzten Personen, die in Großbritannien hingerichtet wurden. Hanratty war des Mordes an Michael Gregsten und der Vergewaltigung von Valerie Storie angeklagt und wurde trotz widersprüchlicher Zeugenaussagen zum Tode durch den Strang verurteilt. Sein Fall führte zu einer breiten Diskussion über die Todesstrafe in der britischen Öffentlichkeit und galt lange Zeit als Justizirrtum. Eine 2002 durchgeführte DNA-Analyse bestätigte mit relativ hoher Wahrscheinlichkeit seine Schuld.

Obwohl der Court of Appeal of England and Wales im Mai des Jahres 2002 entschied, dass Hanrattys Schuld ohne jeden Zweifel bestätigt sei, gilt seine Hinrichtung nach wie vor als eine der umstrittensten Entscheidungen der britischen Ju (de)

Question: In the UK, who was hanged in April 1962 for the A6 murder of scientist Michael Gregston?
Answer: James Hanratty