George Dean (poisoner) - Perjury and Conspiracy

Perjury and Conspiracy

On 18 July, Meagher boasted to Julian Salomons that after Dean's sentencing he had pretended to Dean that the police had found out where he had purchased the poison and Dean had admitted his guilt and named the chemist, R. J. Smith. Although Dean's confession to his lawyer was a matter of solicitor-client privilege, Salomons found himself compelled to pass on this information to the Attorney General, John Want. Rumors of Dean's confession began to circulate and in September, Want was questioned on it, but declined to comment. On 24 September, Dean petitioned Parliament to clear his name and next day Want read Salomons' account of Meagher's conversation to the House. Although Meagher, who had meanwhile been elected as the member for Sydney-Phillip, vigorously denied the conversation in the House, Smith admitted giving Dean arsenic. As a result, Dean, Meagher, Crick, Meagher's assistant, Daniel Green, and a witness, Jane Reynolds, were charged with conspiring to pervert the course of justice. Dean was also charged with perjury and later signed a full confession to the charge, which he subsequently withdrew. Dean was found guilty of two charges of perjury and sentenced to 14 years imprisonment. Meagher and Dean were found guilty of conspiracy, but these conviction was quashed on appeal. Dean was released from Goulburn Gaol in December 1904 with remissions for good behaviour and returned to his job as ferry boat captain. He returned to the Riverina in 1913 and died of endocarditis in Hay, survived by his daughter.