Scapegoat: the Inside Story of the Trial of Derek Bentley

by John Parris

198 pages, Hardcover

First published June 20, 1991

Reviews

[Jack Bush · Rating 4 out of 5]

Completely different to the memoirs of most barristers, this book is a savage attack on much of what went on in the days of capital punishment. The author was counsel for Christopher Craig in the infamous 1950s murder trial following which Craig's co-accused, Derek Bentley, was hanged. The author's account of what went on in that case, if accurate, is chilling. But other of the author's anecdotes and stories are fascinating too, referring as they do to some well known personalities of the time. A quibble is that he wrongly states that Elizabeth Jones was hanged (in 1945) for murder, together with her American co-accused. In fact, Jones was reprieved shortly before her execution, something which caused some controversy at the time because her co-accused wasn't so lucky. Only a small point, but easily checkable and it did make me wonder what else in the book might not be completely accurate.

[Kayla Vermaak · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book for school for my HPQ, basically you have to pick a topic and write a 2000 word essay on it. The topic I picked was relating to the death penalty and discussed Miscarriages of Justice. Bentley's story was a perfect example and I enjoyed Parris' clear and straight forward writing style and the amount of detail he went through to explain both sides of the story-- Bentley vs. Craig.