William Knighton - a case of matricide.








William Knighton - a case of matricide.

William Knighton, a 22 year old coal miner, lived with his parents at 1 Bethel Street in Ilkeston, Derbyshire.

In the early hours of Tuesday the 8th of February 1927, Knighton went into his mother’s bedroom and cut her throat with a razor.  He gave himself up later in the day but could not offer police any real motive for the killing.  By all accounts he was on very good terms with his mother, 55 year old Ada Knighton.

Knighton was tried at Derby on the 26th of February 1927 before Mr. Justice Branson.  The prosecution relied principally upon his confession.  The defence was one of insanity due to Knighton suffering from epilepsy.  His counsel suggested that the killing took place during an epileptic fit.  The jury did not accept this and he was found guilty.

His appeal was heard on March the 21st, when the epilepsy issue was again raised and a special judgement of guilty but insane requested.  The Lords of Appeal, Justices Avory, Sankey and Shearman dismissed the case.

The defence lawyers then approached the Home Secretary, Arthur Henderson, with what they claimed was new evidence, provided by Knighton’s sister Doris.  She claimed to have heard her mother coughing around 1 a.m. Knighton had asked what was wrong with their mother soon afterwards. She had gone to check on her and found that her mother was dead.  It was suggested that their father had killed her.  Investigation showed this all to be nonsense and another execution date was fixed.  On Monday the 25th of April it was announced that the Home Secretary had found no grounds for a reprieve.

Knighton was hanged at Bagthorpe prison in Nottingham at 8.00 a.m. on Wednesday the 27th of April 1927 by Thomas Pierrepoint and Henry Pollard.  He weighed 166 lbs. and was given a drop of 6’ 6”.  He was described as “young, big and muscular”.   The inquest was held before the City Coroner, Mr. C. L. Rothera and the prison doctor testified that death had been instantaneous.  Mr. Rothera said that the death penalty was not a deterrent and that he hoped it would soon be abolished.

At the behest of the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), the case was once again brought before The Court of Appeal which in October 2002 ruled that Knighton was not wrongly convicted and did not feel that the CCRC should have intervened.

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