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Whilst I was away researching for the new season of Murder Mile UK True Crime Podcast, I recorded a short video series called Places Which Changed The World. If you live and/or work in London, there are several places you pass every day and not realise how important they are to our lives. They're only short and are YouTube links so tyhey won't eat up your data. This is Part One - the junction at Southampton Row and Russell Square where the life's work of physicist Leo Szilard suddenly made sense. This is Part Two - 64 Baker Street, the former headquarters of SOE (Special Operations Executive), also known as Churchill's Secret Army and the Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. This is Part Three - the south-swest wing of St Pancras Hospital, where on 28th January 1943 a homeless man was admitted, having mistakenly eaten bread laced with rat poison,and later died. His name was Glyndwr Michael, he died unknown, but became a vital part of Operation Mincemeat, which changed the course of World War Two forever. To learn all about the life and death of Glyndwr Michael, click here This is Part Four - the Tyburn Tree at Marble Arch, one of the premiere public execution sites in London, used not onlyt as a deterant to those considering a life of crime in London, but also as a public spectacle. This is Part Five - a discrete little building on Palmer Street in St James. When you exit St James tube, you'd probably walk passed it without even realising its significance... as this was the former headquarters of GCHQ - Britain's information, codebreaking and intelligence gathering base. This is Part Six - You probably know this as The Old Bailey (it's real name is the Central Criminal Court) but prior to its construction, on this site stood Newgate Prison on the side of which was attached a hangman's gallows where more than 1000 people were publically executed. If you enjoyed this, please subscribe to my YouTube channel, or subscribe to the Murder Mile UK True Crime Podcast, available on all platforms.
Enjoy Mx
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When someone is convicted of MURDER in the United Kingdom, there are various sentences which can be handed down; whether "life sentence", "whole life sentence" and (previously up until 1965) "death sentence". But what do these terms actually mean and how long in prison does each term represent? Murder Mile blog investigates.
DEATH SENTENCE: The last official executions carried out in the United Kingdom were the dual hangings on the 13th August 1964 of Peter Anthony Allen at Walton Prison (Liverpool) and Gwynne Owen Evans at Strangeways Prison for the murder of John Alan West on 7th April 1964. After this, the Death Sentence was suspended for five years in 1965 and abolished on 16th December 1969. Although under very specific circumstances, a death penalty was still applicable until 1998. These include:
Under Section 5 of the Homicide Act 1957 'Capital Murder', there were five specifically defined acts of murder which warranted the death penalty:
LIFE SENTENCE: The act of murder in England & Wales carries a mandatory life sentence to anyone aged 21+, with those aged 18 to 20 years sentenced to life in custody and those under 18 sentenced to be detained at Her Majesty's pleasure*. Under Section 109 of the Powers of Criminal Courts Act 2000, life sentences are automatically applied for the following offences:
30 Years (before parole is considered)
12-15 Years (before parole is considered) - murder committed by a minor (ages 11-17) 15 Years (before parole is considered) - any other murder. not applicable above In the horrifying abduction, torture and murder of 2 year old James Bulger on 12th February 1993, Robert Thompson & Jon Venables (both aged just 12 years old at the time of the murder) were sentenced to custody until they reached 18, and in June 2001 were released under new identities on a lifelong licence. They are the youngest convicted murderers in modern English history.
WHOLE LIFE ORDER: Also known as a whole life sentence, it was established in 1983, and means that the prisoner will spend the rest of their life in prison without the possibility of parole. As laid down in Section 21 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, the following warrants a whole life order:
If you "enjoyed" this blog post, take a peek at; Famous British Serial Killers - Where Are They Now? Also Serial Killers & Murderers Who Were Never Caught, London's Deadliest & Often Forgotten Disasters, KIllers Born During a Full Moon, Killer's Birthdays / Star Signs, Serial Killers Who Were On TV, Celebrities Who Have Killed, London's Railway of Death, Serial Killers as Kids and the World's Weirdest Death Rituals
Michael J Buchanan-Dunne is a writer, crime historian and tour-guide who runs Murder Mile Walks, a guided tour of Soho’s most notorious murder cases, hailed as “one of the top ten quirky & unusual things to do in London” and featuring 12 murderers, including 3 serial killers, across 15 locations, totalling 75 deaths, over just a one mile walk.
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AuthorMichael J Buchanan-Dunne is a crime writer, podcaster of Murder Mile UK True Crime and creator of true-crime TV series. 
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Note: This blog contains only licence-free images or photos shot by myself in compliance with UK & EU copyright laws. If any image breaches these laws, blame Google Images.
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