I received a free copy of, Failed Justice, by M J Trow, , from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. November of 1952 in England Derek Bentley and Christopher Craig were accused of murder of a cop. Derk was hanged for his crime, Christopher was 16 at the time and was sent to prison. This was a shocking read about failed justice.

2nd Nov 1952 in Croydon, Surrey & two teenagers, Derek Bentley (19) & Christopher Craig (16), tried to break into a warehouse from the rooftop. Police were called & in the ensuing minutes, one police officer was wounded & another was tragically killed. It's one of the worst examples of the British 'justice' quirk of joint felonious enterprise - where everyone complicit in the crime can be charged with murder if someone is killed in the carrying out of the crime - & brought about the frankly ludicrous situation where the person who fired the gun served time in prison, whilst the one who was not carrying a gun, didn't fire a shot, & was under custody of the police officers on the rooftop for almost all the time, was hanged.

This book is the second one about the case written by the author, the previous one based on evidence given by a police officer who purported to be on the rooftop that night but who had not been called to give evidence. The reticence of anyone involved to discuss this led to the writing of the initial book ('Let Him Have It, Chris'). Subsequent evidence has led to this second book by the author where Trow discusses the trial, the fallout, & the failure of the British justice system along with the setting the record straight about the claims of the aforementioned police officer who claimed to be on the rooftop. It's a well-written book that is, in my view, justifiably critical of many of those involved in the case especially the trial judge.

One of the most interesting chapters for me was about the history of the police in England. The author argues that the image of the 'salt-of-the-earth copper' was always a fantasy & did not represent the truth, that it has always been more 'The Sweeney' than 'Dixon of Dock Green'. Examples given from the nineteenth century all the way up to the recent murder of Sarah Everard back this up, & since this book has been written, the allegations of covers ups & worse regarding grooming gangs over the past 10-20 years should have us all questioning what we have been told. 4.5 stars (rounded up)

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Pen & Sword, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

I had never heard of this case before so I appreciated M J Trow sharing this story with the reader. It had that nonfiction element that I was looking for and was glad it had that research that I was looking for. I thought the new evidence worked well overall and thought this kept the respect.

M J Trow is no stranger to investigative true crime and many years ago, I read and enjoyed his book on the Infamous Bentley/Craig case. Failed Justice revisits that case in greater and up to date detail. I warmed to the author immediately when he outlined his childhood pleasure on receiving a toy gun. Of a similar age, I too enjoyed what were harmless games with toy guns and bows and arrows, Those days of innocence are long gone and Failed Justice explores the case from a new and persuasive perspective. He has interviewed one of the police officers present at the time (through serendipity he met his son and an introduction was arranged). What’s fascinating here is that Pain’s recollection does not accord with the official version and his evidence was not presented at court.

I’ve followed the case with interest over some five decades as various appeals have launched and failed. There is a strong argument for miscarriage of justice and the late Ludovic Kennedy was a great supporter of the appeals. Trow details events and there are useful pictures of the crime scene and environs. He analyses the facts and the court case and does so with clarity and an even handed approach. Having presented the facts, he leaves the reader to form their own conclusion. There have been numerous books and a film about this case. Failed Justice is, in my view, the most comprehensive and best overview and will appeal to anyone who enjoys true crime. Well written, some great photos at the end, an extensive bibliography and source reference. Ideal for further reading.

It's not unusual for a true crime writer to debunk earlier books when new evidence appears,what is quite unusual is when that author includes one of his own books in the debunking.
In 1992 MJ Trow wrote a book called "Let Him Have It Chris" about the infamous case that saw the hanging of Derek Bentley for basically being on the scene of the murder of a policeman by Christopher Craig, himself too young to hang. MJ's research for that book was largely centred around the memories of retired Policeman Claude Pain who gave him an eyewitness account of what occurred on the rooftop when PC Sidney Miles was shot.
The biggest problem MJ has was the lack of access to police records and hostility from the police ,individually and collectively,to his questions, hence the importance of Claude Pain's story.

In recent years and the advent of the Freedom of Information act MJ got access to the records he asked for,and was denied,decades ago............and a whole new can of worms is opened.
This is an immaculately researched and shocking book. The trial was a fiasco, these days the Judge would have been thrown out along with the verdict , and the police investigation ranks alongside , for corruption and dishonesty ,those of Stephen Lawrence and Private Investigator Daniel Morgan, an case that the Met are still very obviously determined not to solve.

This is an excellent book that shines a new light on a miscarriage of justice that still shocks over 70 years later, a book which contains even more shocks as a result of MJ Trow's new evidence.

Most of us who will read this book will know of the infamous case.

The famous words .. Let Him Have It have become immortal and now looking back could have different meanings depending on how it was spoken.

This book covers the case and shows that the investigation, trial and eventual sentence had so many flaws and that the police were so desperate to get a positive charge they would be underhand in their investigation and opinion.

The public baying of the boys, and yes they were just boys, was another factor.

This is a truly enlightening read and is both fascinating and troubling..

This is a fascinating and forensic re-examination of the famous if not notorious Craig/Bentley trial and execution of perhaps a far more innocent party in Derek Bentley. Trow has gathered more evidence to update his previous book on the case and uncovers an horrific story of policemen changing and agreeing their evidence with each other, an appalling judge who became the prosecutions's best witness and the feelings of the time which were that perhaps retribution was required for the killing of a police officer and if the actual murderer was too young to hang then joint enterprise could ensure that his accomplice who probably never shouted those immortal if now made up words "let him have it, Chris" should be the sacrificial lamb.

The feelings and nuances of the time are brilliantly captured by the author and this is an important, angry and opinionated book that is a difficult but essential read.