Tuesday 22 July 2008
Wednesday 9 July 2008
Another Life
Another Life is an appropriate name for this film based on the life and death of Edith Thompson as it didn't seem much like the life I have been learning of over recent weeks. I know there is a certain poetic license attached to any film that is based on a true story but I'm not sure Edie would have been happy with this representation.
Had I seen the film with no knowledge of the case I am sure I would have thought it was OK. However with even just a litle knowledge of the true story I found myself yelling at the TV over and over that 'that never happened!' The casting didn't seem quite right and it was a shame that the film only focused on the affair - the trial (which in reality lasted weeks) was given only a few minutes in the film version. I was left feeling that the important issues had been skimmed over - and that's why I suspect Edie would have been disappointed.
Delays
It is very irritating how little things like having to work can get in the way of campaigning for posthumous pardons. Still, I have finally sent off my letter to The Rt Hon Jacqui Smith and will await her office's reply.
Friday 13 June 2008
I Receive a Reply!
Dear Clare Christian
Home Secretary,
Home Office,
Yours sincerely,
The Hon Nicholas Soames MP
House of Commons
SW1A 0AA
Tel 020 7219 4143
Fax 020 7219 2998
soamesn@parliament.uk
www.nicholassoames.org.uk
Wednesday 11 June 2008
Write to your MP
'I don't know where to start' I said.
'Write to your local MP' they replied.
'OK' I said.
To: Nicholas Soames, MP
From: Clare Christian
Subject: Posthumous Pardons
Dear Mr Soames
I have been researching the case of Edith Thompson, a woman who was hanged in 1923 on a charge of murder and I believe there are more than ample grounds to argue that this charge and the subsequent sentence were entirely unjust. I am hoping that following this (what I believe to be) miscarriage of justice that I can work towards securing a full posthumous pardon for Mrs Thompson. Please could you let me know what steps I should take to effect this.
'Write to your local MP' they replied.
'OK' I said.
To: Nicholas Soames, MP
From: Clare Christian
Subject: Posthumous Pardons
Dear Mr Soames
I have been researching the case of Edith Thompson, a woman who was hanged in 1923 on a charge of murder and I believe there are more than ample grounds to argue that this charge and the subsequent sentence were entirely unjust. I am hoping that following this (what I believe to be) miscarriage of justice that I can work towards securing a full posthumous pardon for Mrs Thompson. Please could you let me know what steps I should take to effect this.
With thanks
Yours sincerely
Clare Christian
Tuesday 10 June 2008
How a podcast can lead to a campaign for a full posthumous pardon (Part 2)
The last post left me awaiting the arrival of a formal account of the affair, the murder of Edith's husband and the subsequent trial and execution of both Edie and Fred.
René Weis's book arrived shortly after I placed the order and once I started reading I found it almost impossible to put down.
The cover quote from Ludovic Kennedy in the Observer sums it up well: 'Even today, sixty-five years later (my edition was published in 1990), one cannot read Mr Weis's graphic account without a sense of outrage.'
This is true. I have now had the opportunity to read other accounts, both formal and informal of Edith Thompson's life and death and I believe that her execution for the murder of her husband was a miscarriage of justice of dreadful proportions.
Convicted on the basis of the letters she sent to her lover Frederick Bywaters I believe she was entirely innocent of the crime she was charged with (i.e. of the murder of her husband) but that she was guilty, in the eyes of the public and of the court, of a crime of immorality; that the explicit letters she sent her lover were unacceptable in the social mileu of 1920s London.
Without going into too much detail here, the murder of Percy Thompson took place as he and Edith were walking back from a theatre visit one evening. A man (later identified as Frederick Bywaters) leapt from the shadows and stabbed Percy, leaving him to die as his wife struggled to find help.
Freddy Bywaters admitted his deed but strongly denied any involvement of Edith Thompson in his action. During the length of his incarceration and right up until his execution he protested Edith's innocence, as did she.
It is interesting to note that during the latter part of 1922 the handsome Bywaters commanded a petition (via a London paper) numbering some thousands to secure his acquittal (even after his admission) whereas the sinful Edith received far less support. A married woman taking a much younger lover was always going to cause some suspicion in that era.
Still, the fact remains that there was no hard evidence on which to convict Edith; the perpetrator of the crime pleaded her innocence from beginning to end and the one flimsy accusation they had (that Edith had been slowly poisoning her husband) was completely quashed by two of the country's leading coroners who each said, entirely seperately, that there was no evidence of any toxins in Percy's body at the time of his death.
On 9 January 1923 Edith Thompson and Frederick Bywaters were hanged. Following an horrific haemorrhage at the time of the hanging she was widely rumoured to have been pregnant and her executioner eventually committed suicide, with his closest associates stating that he had remained haunted by the horror of Edith's final moments.
I remain haunted by them too and that's why I hope to achieve a posthumous pardon for Edith, I have no idea what I need to do but I understand your local MP is the best place to start. I am drafting an email now.
René Weis's book arrived shortly after I placed the order and once I started reading I found it almost impossible to put down.
The cover quote from Ludovic Kennedy in the Observer sums it up well: 'Even today, sixty-five years later (my edition was published in 1990), one cannot read Mr Weis's graphic account without a sense of outrage.'
This is true. I have now had the opportunity to read other accounts, both formal and informal of Edith Thompson's life and death and I believe that her execution for the murder of her husband was a miscarriage of justice of dreadful proportions.
Convicted on the basis of the letters she sent to her lover Frederick Bywaters I believe she was entirely innocent of the crime she was charged with (i.e. of the murder of her husband) but that she was guilty, in the eyes of the public and of the court, of a crime of immorality; that the explicit letters she sent her lover were unacceptable in the social mileu of 1920s London.
Without going into too much detail here, the murder of Percy Thompson took place as he and Edith were walking back from a theatre visit one evening. A man (later identified as Frederick Bywaters) leapt from the shadows and stabbed Percy, leaving him to die as his wife struggled to find help.
Freddy Bywaters admitted his deed but strongly denied any involvement of Edith Thompson in his action. During the length of his incarceration and right up until his execution he protested Edith's innocence, as did she.
It is interesting to note that during the latter part of 1922 the handsome Bywaters commanded a petition (via a London paper) numbering some thousands to secure his acquittal (even after his admission) whereas the sinful Edith received far less support. A married woman taking a much younger lover was always going to cause some suspicion in that era.
Still, the fact remains that there was no hard evidence on which to convict Edith; the perpetrator of the crime pleaded her innocence from beginning to end and the one flimsy accusation they had (that Edith had been slowly poisoning her husband) was completely quashed by two of the country's leading coroners who each said, entirely seperately, that there was no evidence of any toxins in Percy's body at the time of his death.
On 9 January 1923 Edith Thompson and Frederick Bywaters were hanged. Following an horrific haemorrhage at the time of the hanging she was widely rumoured to have been pregnant and her executioner eventually committed suicide, with his closest associates stating that he had remained haunted by the horror of Edith's final moments.
I remain haunted by them too and that's why I hope to achieve a posthumous pardon for Edith, I have no idea what I need to do but I understand your local MP is the best place to start. I am drafting an email now.
Thursday 5 June 2008
How a podcast can lead to a campaign for a full posthumous pardon (Part 1)
One of the most exciting things about everyday life is that the smallest decision can occasionally set you on a path which you would never have actively considered or sought out. For me it began with a podcast.
I subscribe to the Book Panel with Simon Mayo and some weeks ago he had Catherine O'Flynn on there, discussing her Costa Prize-winning book, What Was Lost. She was really nice and the book sounded great so I ordered a copy and read it as soon as it arrived. To be honest I was disappointed. It was an easy read but I felt let down by its simplicity and the superficial plot. I turned to Amazon to see if my conclusions were mirrored and although most were five-star reviews, there were a few that voiced my general feelings on the book. One was a review by John Self, someone whose reviews and recommendations are always worth reading. His Amazon review echoed my feelings and ended, 'For what I thought was a subtler and richer discussion of lost children, I'd recommend Jill Dawson's Watch Me Disappear (which didn't get a sniff of the Booker lists!).'
I duly bought Watch Me Disappear and was blown away by this compelling book. It was a far more insightful look at lost children and the impact their disappearance has on many lives. It was this book that unwittingly led me to the campaign for a posthumous pardon referenced in this post title. I enjoyed Jill Dawson's books so much that I searched for other books by her. I found one called Fred and Edie which I knew nothing about but which I ordered on the strength of the fact that Edie is the name of my little girl.
It turned out to be a fascinating novel based on the infamous love triangle of Edith and Percy Thompson and Edith's younger lover, Freddy Bywaters. I raced through it, totally absorbed in the romance and tragedy of the story and finished it desperate for more of the facts. Dawson had referenced several key works at the back of the book so I duly ordered a copy of Criminal Justice: The true sory of Edith Thompson, by Rene Weis.
I sat back and waited for it to arrive.
I subscribe to the Book Panel with Simon Mayo and some weeks ago he had Catherine O'Flynn on there, discussing her Costa Prize-winning book, What Was Lost. She was really nice and the book sounded great so I ordered a copy and read it as soon as it arrived. To be honest I was disappointed. It was an easy read but I felt let down by its simplicity and the superficial plot. I turned to Amazon to see if my conclusions were mirrored and although most were five-star reviews, there were a few that voiced my general feelings on the book. One was a review by John Self, someone whose reviews and recommendations are always worth reading. His Amazon review echoed my feelings and ended, 'For what I thought was a subtler and richer discussion of lost children, I'd recommend Jill Dawson's Watch Me Disappear (which didn't get a sniff of the Booker lists!).'
I duly bought Watch Me Disappear and was blown away by this compelling book. It was a far more insightful look at lost children and the impact their disappearance has on many lives. It was this book that unwittingly led me to the campaign for a posthumous pardon referenced in this post title. I enjoyed Jill Dawson's books so much that I searched for other books by her. I found one called Fred and Edie which I knew nothing about but which I ordered on the strength of the fact that Edie is the name of my little girl.
It turned out to be a fascinating novel based on the infamous love triangle of Edith and Percy Thompson and Edith's younger lover, Freddy Bywaters. I raced through it, totally absorbed in the romance and tragedy of the story and finished it desperate for more of the facts. Dawson had referenced several key works at the back of the book so I duly ordered a copy of Criminal Justice: The true sory of Edith Thompson, by Rene Weis.
I sat back and waited for it to arrive.
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