Christian burial for man wrongly hanged.Byline: BY WILL BATCHELOR Daily Post Correspondent THE body of a man executed for a murder he did not commit was re-buried yesterday. George Kelly was hanged exactly 56 years ago at Liverpool Prison for shooting dead a cinema manager during a bungled bun·gle v. bun·gled, bun·gling, bun·gles v.intr. To work or act ineptly or inefficiently. v.tr. To handle badly; botch. See Synonyms at botch. n. burglary. The 27-year-old labourer, whose conviction was quashed in June 2003 by the Court of Appeal, was buried in an unconsecrated prison grave, later turned into a car park. His remains were exhumed earlier this month and reburied yesterday in a proper cemetery. A funeral was held at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King in Liverpool. Father David Potter
for the American science fiction fan/critic/writer go to Gharlane of Eddore (Pen-name) David Edwin Potter, CBE told the dead man's relatives: "George's burial was not an act of Christian charity, and it was not performed as a work of mercy. "You have had to wait 56 years to honour him with the reverence due to a baptised Adj. 1. baptised - having undergone the Christian ritual of baptism baptized son of the Church. "And George has had to wait 56 years to receive the burial in holy ground which as a child he was taught to expect." Hymns including Abide With Me and Make Me A Channel Of Your Peace were sung during the ceremony in the Crypt Chapel. Mr Kelly's remains were then interred at Allerton Cemetery Allerton Cemetery in Liverpool, England opened in 1909 and is still open. It covers 150 acres (607,000 m²) in total and may be the third largest cemetery in Europe. In August 2003 the total customer number was 74,109. . Leonard Thomas, the 44-year-old manager of Liverpool's Cameo Cinema, was cashing up when a gunman burst into his office and shot him in the chest. His assistant, 30-year-old John Catterall, was also shot dead in the incident, in March, 1949. Mr Kelly was arrested following a tip-off from a petty criminal who was seeking police protection. The Crown also relied on an alleged jail cell confession by Mr Kelly. A jury initially failed to reach a verdict but Mr Kelly was re-tried and convicted of murder on February 8,1950, at Liverpool Assizes as·size n. 1. a. A session of a court. b. A decree or edict rendered at such a session. 2. a. and sentenced to death. In 1998 an application for a review of the case of George Kelly was submitted to the Criminal Cases Review Commission. His conviction was overturned by the Court of Appeal in 2003 after it emerged that police had not disclosed a statement which claimed another man had confessed to the crime. The new evidence was only discovered in 1991 by an member of the public who was researching the case. CAPTION(S): The coffin of George Kelly is carried from the Metropolitan Cathedral Picture: MARTIN RICKETT' George Kelly |
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