James Hanratty - A6 Defence Committee

A6 Defence Committee

The 'A6 Defence Committee', a self-appointed group of people including Paul Foot and Joan Lestor, attempted to assist Hanratty in his defence, and later to try and disprove his conviction. It was instrumental in uncovering new allegations of evidence, albeit too late. Twelve years after the execution, the Committee discovered the original statement made by Valerie Storie, which was neither referred to nor available at the trial or the appeal.

By 1968, the A6 Committee had found six witnesses to testify that Hanratty had been to Rhyl. They had also found a fairground worker called Terry Evans who admitted to letting Hanratty stay at his house early in 1961, and to fencing a stolen watch for him. Another man, Trevor Dutton, had just made a payment into his bank account, and consequently his bank book was stamped with the correct date, 23 August, when minutes later he was approached by a man with a cockney accent in a smart suit, trying to sell a gold watch.

The problem here for the conviction was that there were now six witnesses who could allege they had seen or spoken to Hanratty on the 23rd, and what is more, that the day in question was the only day that all six were in Rhyl at the same time.