Condemned
On January 28th 1953 Derek Bentley aged nineteen was Hanged for murder. Although he was being held by the Police when his accomplice, Christopher Craig, shot and killed a Police officer, Derek was deemed party to the crime and received the death sentence whereas Christopher only being sixteen at the time was sentenced to ten years in Prison.
He sat in silence in the condemned cellLike many likewise men beforeWhere guilty men were sent to HellIn the gallows suite, the room next door The police had framed him for the crimeThey knew Derek was of slow witConvinced that he would just 'do time'As the murder, he did not commit He was under arrest and being heldWhen his accomplice shot and killed a Cop"Give it to him Chris" is what he yelledAnd those words sent him for the 'drop' In the prison door,through the 'Judas hole'Albert estimated his height and weightUnless an M.P. could save his soulHe must prepare to meet his fate Home secretary David Maxwell FyfePoint-blank refused the clemency caseHe could have spared Derek Bentleys lifeNow the hangmans noose, he'd have to face With the Lord Chiefs Justice's sentence passedThey said Derek had shown no remorseAfter much debate, the die was castThe British law must take it's course Derek Bentley was just nineteenIlliterate, with a childlike mindA victim of the 'death machine'Once clemency had been declined At nine o'clock on a January mornDerek was led to the gallows suitePlaced on the trap door, he stood forlornWith straps around his hands and feet Albert released the 'drop,trap door'As Derek took his final breathPlunging through the scaffold floorAn innocent man ,thus meets his death Although the jury requested mercyThe police force wanted retributionThe question, one of controversyIs hanging really the solution?