biography
pronunciation:
[hanratee]
| sex:
| male
|
| lived:
| (c.1936–62)
|
| biography:
| Convicted murderer, whose case has remained controversial. One of the last persons to be executed in Britain, he was found guilty of the murder of Michael Gregsten, who was shot while in his car with his lover, Valerie Storie, in a layby on the A6 on 22 August 1961. Hanratty was arrested on 11 October. Storie, who had been raped, and paralysed by several bullets, picked out Hanratty from an identity parade. Hanratty, reportedly a feeble-minded petty criminal, was charged on 14 October. He denied the charge but refused to name his alibis, saying that to do so would be to betray his friends' trust. He then changed the location of his alibi from Liverpool to Rhyl. The jury found him guilty. After he was hanged on 4 April, 1962, several witnesses came forward who said that they believed they had seen him in Rhyl. His case was reopened in 1997, and in 1999 the Criminal Cases Review Commission referred the case to the Court of Appeal for fresh consideration. His conviction was upheld by the court of Appeal in 2002. |
|
|
