3. Derek Bentley
Derek Bentley and his 16-year-old friend, Christopher Craig, tried stealing from a confectionery warehouse in 1952. When they were spotted climbing up the drainpipe, the police were called and the two youths hid behind the lift-housing. Craig brandished a revolver and began taunting the police. Frightened, Bentley shouted “Let him have it, Craig!” Which prompted him to pull the trigger. Both Bentley and Craig were charged with murder; however, because Craig was under 18, he was not sentenced to death. Bentley’s instruction, “Let him have it!” was regarded as constructive malice; however, his words were taken out of context as he had intended them to mean “Give him the gun”. Derek Bentley had a number of health development problems that left him with a mental age of around 10 years old at the time of his crime; therefore, he should have never been charged as an adult. After a 45 year family campaign, Bentley finally received a posthumous pardon.
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