On 4th April 1962 James Hanratty, a twenty six year old petty criminal and car thief, was hanged for an apparently motiveless shooting of two lovers on the A6 main road near London. However, much of the evidence had been circumstantial, and pointed equally well towards another name, Peter Alphon.
Hanratty was hanged at Bedford Prison on the 4th April, 1962.
When the latter confessed during an interview that he had carried out the murder, many people were amazed that no charges were ever brought and controversy still rages as to whether Hanratty was wrongly executed. The murder may have led to a major miscarriage of justice in a British court.
