The Last Words of Derek Bentley - Hanged at just 19 for a crime he did not commit

[FILMMAKERCHAP]

the warder wrote it and derek dictated it to him 2 hours before he was killed so you can see it centres on just his personal stuff really and you can see that his mind switched about of the various things going on in his mind at the time so its unlikely to have been concocted by the warder as such. Derek makes a deliberate comment to his mother about "a lot of people" who would one day get into trouble. That really would indicate the voice of a man knowing he was being set up to be honest.

[MrPolishedTurd]

Is this what he actually wrote to his mum and dad?

[FILMMAKERCHAP]

@MrPolishedTurd yes. they received it the day after he was hung. to them it was as if he was still alive (his dad's words)

[ILoveMuzicTV]

Checkout our channel to see The Spear singing his new track "Wandsworth Jail"

[A4est]

thank you for putting this online. since the executuin of Troy Davis people are really thinking about this crazy legal system that doesnt work and too many people a suffering needlessly

[drapermovies]

@A4est Yh. The evidence was solid. It is like Derek. I know that the truth will come out some day.

[SazzyRazzy]

Hey! I've seen your other comments on videos about Derek bentley and that horrendous miscarriage of so called 'justice' and I was just wondering how the hell you know so much about it? I've read all the books, watched all the videos and couldn't even find out half of what you know.

[FILMMAKERCHAP]

@SazzyRazzy The story is a bit of a passion of mine I have to admit. Plus Ive luckily met people from that time who knew Craig and also the Bentleys. If you look hard enough you will find out loads from all the clues people leave behind in official statements, court and public research available. Such as there was a gang but Craig wasnt the ringleader as there were worse members..Niven was trouble all the way through his jail sentence and stayed in jail for pretty much as long as Chris.

[FILMMAKERCHAP]

@SazzyRazzy I think you also have to dig deep and try and get stuff thats out of print really. I was lucky in that Ive also spoken to many locals still alive who knew the families. ..local policemen knew him but not as a troublemaker as such. Craig I can definitely say was a hothead and drawn to violence which set all this up. The bentley's wrote a couple of books detailing the personal stuff. But Iris's book although a brilliant read needs to be compared with her dads one to prove facts.

[FILMMAKERCHAP]

@SazzyRazzy the film let him have it is widely innaccurate by the way. Its a great movie dont get me wrong and you get an idea about the truth but it misses out a lot sadly. The way to find the truth is simply to look at one fact then locate its reference in every bit of print you can find. That way you can compare it all, but as I say if people who have never met, agree the same facts then you can logically assume they have no reason to lie if that makes sense? thats my research method.

[eastlight]

@FILMMAKERCHAP Thanks for the constructive comments you have posted - it is certainly refreshing from the usual foul mouthed garbage one has to wade through.

[FILMMAKERCHAP]

@eastlight Youre welcome.

[jezzeline]

watch the film. LET HIM HAVE IT. really sad

[FILMMAKERCHAP]

@jezzeline thats a great film. Sadly its part fiction but nonetheless a great movie to watch! :-)

[BluebirdintheSky]

@FILMMAKERCHAP Thanks for this. This case has also long been a passion of mine since finding out about it from a schoolfriend's dad who was a novice prison officer at Wandsworth at the time. I agree with you that the film took a certain amount of dramatic licence (as all these biopics do) but everything else about it is flawless, from the general 40s/50s feel to the performances, particularly from the very young at the time Christopher Eccleston and Paul Reynolds.

[peter12341000]

An interesting albeit tragic case. I would like to study it more. I think it quite likely that the policeman was hit by a police bullet. I think the judge did as much as anyone to pervert the course of true justice.

[FILMMAKERCHAP]

@peter12341000 the sad thing is that craig still believes he killed PC miles. after all these years I think that Its still in the balance. We cant really assume he did 100% anymore because of all the conflicting evidence and the fact that the police working on that case although brave, in fact lied. The bullet that hit miles was a ballistically accurate one designed to kill. Craigs bullets were inaccurate from just SIX feet, so if he did it was by chance not by skill.

[FILMMAKERCHAP]

@peter12341000 sorry I meant to say his gun was inaccurate to just 6 feet + sawn off. His bullets were all kinds of calibre, completely the wrong size. The bullet that killed Miles was from a police calibre bullet not craigs varied slugs shot from his .445 eley colt (ww1-ww2). That is the most disturbing fact. The bullet that shot fairfax's shoulder was a spent rebound from the ground that grazed it and ended up in his belt.I dont believe Craig was anything more than a scared kid now.

[FILMMAKERCHAP]

He was only in fact 19. People go on about him being a big guy but in fact he was average, about five ten tall and quite skinny. He had a strong London accent and in the words of Craig he was "flash", all of which went against him in court because he was judged largely on appearance. His mental capacity was limited and he only understood things as far as an 11 year old might so he was not emotionally mature at all. A local bobby described him as someone who "larked about", thats all.

[leeannakai1]

feel sorry for this man

[NickTion]

@leeannakai1

Me too

[dokkenratt]

I think it was absolutely disgusting that Derek Bentley was executed. A 19 year old with the mental age of an 11 year old boy. He didn't kill anyone. The Police wanted revenge for the loss of one of their own. They couldn't touch Craig so they murdered this young man in an act of sham legality. R.I.P. Derek