Last Words: The Hanging of Ronald Ryan

by Barry Dickins

From acclaimed playwright and writer Barry Dickins, Last Words is the story of Ronald Ryan, the last man hanged in Australia. Fifty years after his death, questions remain unanswered. Ryan had been found guilty of murdering prison officer George Hodson during an escape from Pentridge Prison with fellow inmate Peter Walker. But did he really fire the bullet that killed Hodson?

On 3 February 1967, despite public outrage and vocal protests from wide-ranging community groups, Ryan became the last person to be legally executed in Australia.

It was the first time in 20 years that the death penalty had been enforced by the state. Many thought that Ryan's execution was Victorian Premier Henry Bolte's attempt to bolster his chances of winning the upcoming Victorian election, during which he ran a campaign promoting his law-and-order agenda.

Last Words is as much about the hanged man as much as it is about the trauma of his family, and the political opportunism behind the decision to proceed with the hanging. In Dickins' lyrical prose he takes readers into the last weeks of Ryan's life and brings to life this infamous man whose personal story has gone undocumented until now.

Genres: True Crime

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2017

Reviews

[Calzean · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is not so much about the revelation of whether Ronald Ryan shot and killed the prison guard George Hodson during a prison break. The author makes it clear he believes Hodson was unfortunately shot by other prison guards who were shooting at Ryan and his fellow escapee Peter Walker. The author is of the clear opinion that Ryan was hung in order to help the State Bolte Goverment get reelected on a platform of law and order. In fact, there are little facts or analysis applied to answer the "unanswered questions".
Rather the book mainly covers how the author perceives what feelings, emotions and actions were taken by or to the people most impacted - Ryan, Ryan's wife and daughters, Ryan's solicitor and Ryan's mother. The key political players are almost invisible.
Dickins writes with great emotion, at times with anger, at the verdict and sentence. His writing is very powerful, raw and makes a lasting impression of people's indifference, the power of the state and the bleak, brutal world of Pentridge.

[Sean Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a bit of a strange one - part biography, part historical fiction. But the injustice of what happened to Ronald Ryan is a blight upon Victoria's past, as he was sacrificed to make sure a politician won another election. I guess things never change.

[Sean Barker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book. It doesn't pretend to be written impartially. The author is clear about his own strongly anti capital punishment opinions from start. Here is a lyrical and emotional look at what someone condemned to death might go through in waiting for the end and the effect of that on them and their loved ones. Also it's a look at the sort of society that calls for capital punishment, those that call for mercy and how some people who seek to inhabit the corridors of power will seek to exploit a populist current for their own political longevity.
Barry Dickins writes with an Australian vernacular all too rare in today's literature. Worth the read for his turn of phrase alone. Excellent.

[Saturday's Child · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Ronald Ryan was legally executed in Victoria in 1967 it caused public outrage. Even today it still divides opinions about his guilt and the law and order of the State Government of the time. This book revisits the event and the author shares his opinion that Ronald Ryan did not commit a murder.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written, but Barry Dickins seemed unsure if he was writing a history, or a historical novel based upon true events.
I would have hoped for some sort of reference list to back up his facts, as what he has written is heavily biased, but in no way attempts to treat the "unanswered questions", or even ask them.

[Dietmar Schäffner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having Barry read his own book on audible was wonderful.

[Greg · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hugely disappointing. This book is about the last legally sanctioned hanging in Australia - on 3 February 1967 - and purports to reveal 'Unanswered Questions, 50 years on'. The only unanswered question for me is why I persisted for the entire 184 pages? Expecting historical, all you pretty much get is hysterical. I have no problem with objections to capital punishment - a problem we no longer have in Australia - but when the author wants to rant about the piousness of the bloke in the street, it's nothing but hypocrisy in his less than deft hand. Perhaps the book is best reviewed by Louis Nowra in The Australian (4 February 2017) "At times I felt as if I were being buttonholed by a man driven crazy by the case, allowing no facts to spoil his monologue".