20. What did “let him have it, Chris” mean?
Derek Bentley was convicted of the murder of a police offer, though he did not fire the fatal shot, and was hanged for the crime in 1953. Bentley had been participating in a burglary with Christopher Craig, who had armed himself with a Webley revolver and carried extra ammunition in case it was needed. They were seen by a witness who called the police, and the police arrived and attempted to take both Bentley and Craig into custody. When one police officer ordered Craig to surrender his drawn weapon, Bentley was heard to say “let him have it, Chris”. Craig fired at least two shots, wounding one officer and killing another, before jumping from a roof and breaking his back.
Did “let him have it, Chris” refer to surrendering the weapon, or was it a Bogart-like admonition to shoot the officer? The court decided it was the latter and Bentley was convicted of murdering a police officer, sentenced to death, and hanged in 1953. Craig, who indisputably pulled the trigger, served ten years in prison and was released. In 1993 Bentley was granted a Royal Pardon, but his murder conviction remained. In 1998 it too was quashed. Craig issued a statement welcoming Bentley’s pardon and apologizing to his family when the conviction was overturned. By then he was 62 years of age. Bentley had been 19 when he was hanged for the murder committed by Craig.