In a play drawn from his non-fiction book of the same name, David Yallop combines dramatic reconstruction with direct documentary address to detail the miscarriage of justice which led to the hanging of Derek Bentley in 1953.
The tense opening film sequence shows 16-year-old Christopher Craig’s shoot-out with police, during which PC Sidney Miles is shot dead. Craig’s 19-year-old friend Derek Bentley is unarmed and placidly under arrest throughout. In court, however, both are found guilty of murder; Craig is too young to receive the death sentence but Bentley, despite widespread protests, is hanged. Yallop uncovers serious judicial failings, and denies that Bentley incited Craig, or that he ever said the famous phrase “let him have it, Chris”.Read More »