Christopher Simcox
Encyclopedia
Christopher Simcox was an English double murderer, notable and perhaps unique in being twice sentenced to death, and twice reprieved.
Simcox, a maintenance fitter by trade, lived in Smethwick
in the West Midlands
of England
. He was divorced by his first wife for cruelty.
Simcox murdered his second wife in 1948, and was sentenced to death at Stafford
Assizes. However, in April 1948 the House of Commons had passed Sidney Silverman's amendment to the then current Criminal Justice Bill to suspend capital punishment
for murder for five years. The House of Lords
overturned the amendment later in the year, but in the intervening period the Home Secretary
, James Chuter Ede
had announced that he would reprieve all condemned prisoners until the law was settled. Between March and October 1948 26 persons, including Simcox, were thereby reprieved. Simcox served 10 years in jail, before being released on licence.
He was married, for the third time, in 1962 to Ruby Irene. In 1963 he threatened his wife with an air-pistol, but was put on probation. His wife subsequently left him, with the help of relatives. On 11 November 1963 Simcox, armed with a rifle, went in search of his wife. He shot her sister, Mrs Hilda Payton, fatally through the head, before pursuing his wife to her brother's house. There he shot them both, but they survived. Simcox then turned the gun on himself, shooting himself twice through the body, but he also survived.
In February 1964 Simcox was again tried at Stafford Assizes, and sentenced to death by Mr Justice Finnemore. The Homicide Act 1957
had restricted capital murder to a limited class of crimes, including murder with a firearm, and a second murder committed on a different occasion from the first. Simcox was eligible to be hanged on both grounds.
The wording of Simcox's sentences of death was slightly different on the two occasions. In 1948 he was sentenced "to be hanged by the neck until you are dead", while in 1964 he was sentenced "to suffer death in the manner authorised by law". This change in language was provided in the 1957 Act; the old language was considered anachronistic, as since the 1870s Britain had employed the "long-drop" method of hanging, which was held to cause near-instantaneous death.
Simcox's date of execution was set for Tuesday 17 March 1964 at Winson Green Prison, Birmingham
. However, his lawyers petitioned the Home Secretary, Henry Brooke
, on the grounds that Simcox was still severely injured from his self-inflicted wounds, could not walk, and would probably have to be hanged in a wheelchair. There was no precedent for postponing an execution until a prisoner was fit enough to be hanged, and there was a history of reprieving prisoners whose executions might result in an unseemly spectacle owing to existing injuries or infirmity. On 14 March 1964 Brooke announced that Simcox had been reprieved, the sentence of death automatically being replaced by life imprisonment; at that time there was no provision for attaching special conditions to such a sentence, meaning that one day Simcox might be released again, albeit on licence.
Five months later, the last-ever hangings in Britain took place, and in 1965 the death penalty was in practice abolished for murder.
In 1969 Simcox's wife divorced him, and the civil judge in that case took the unusual step of recommending that Simcox never be released.
Simcox died in Portsmouth in early 1981, aged 71. It is currently not known whether he was still a prisoner at the time of his death.
Simcox, a maintenance fitter by trade, lived in Smethwick
Smethwick
Smethwick is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, in the West Midlands of England. It is situated on the edge of the city of Birmingham, within the historic boundaries of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire....
in the West Midlands
West Midlands (county)
The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...
of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. He was divorced by his first wife for cruelty.
Simcox murdered his second wife in 1948, and was sentenced to death at Stafford
Stafford
Stafford is the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies approximately north of Wolverhampton and south of Stoke-on-Trent, adjacent to the M6 motorway Junction 13 to Junction 14...
Assizes. However, in April 1948 the House of Commons had passed Sidney Silverman's amendment to the then current Criminal Justice Bill to suspend capital punishment
Capital punishment in the United Kingdom
Capital punishment in the United Kingdom was used from the creation of the state in 1707 until the practice was abolished in the 20th century. The last executions in the United Kingdom, by hanging, took place in 1964, prior to capital punishment being abolished for murder...
for murder for five years. The House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
overturned the amendment later in the year, but in the intervening period the Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
, James Chuter Ede
James Chuter Ede
James Chuter Ede, Baron Chuter-Ede CH, PC, DL was a British teacher, trade unionist and Labour politician. He notably served as Home Secretary under Clement Attlee from 1945 to 1951.-Early life:...
had announced that he would reprieve all condemned prisoners until the law was settled. Between March and October 1948 26 persons, including Simcox, were thereby reprieved. Simcox served 10 years in jail, before being released on licence.
He was married, for the third time, in 1962 to Ruby Irene. In 1963 he threatened his wife with an air-pistol, but was put on probation. His wife subsequently left him, with the help of relatives. On 11 November 1963 Simcox, armed with a rifle, went in search of his wife. He shot her sister, Mrs Hilda Payton, fatally through the head, before pursuing his wife to her brother's house. There he shot them both, but they survived. Simcox then turned the gun on himself, shooting himself twice through the body, but he also survived.
In February 1964 Simcox was again tried at Stafford Assizes, and sentenced to death by Mr Justice Finnemore. The Homicide Act 1957
Homicide Act 1957
The Homicide Act 1957 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was enacted as a partial reform of the common law offence of murder in English law by abolishing the doctrine of constructive malice , reforming the partial defence of provocation, and by introducing the partial defences...
had restricted capital murder to a limited class of crimes, including murder with a firearm, and a second murder committed on a different occasion from the first. Simcox was eligible to be hanged on both grounds.
The wording of Simcox's sentences of death was slightly different on the two occasions. In 1948 he was sentenced "to be hanged by the neck until you are dead", while in 1964 he was sentenced "to suffer death in the manner authorised by law". This change in language was provided in the 1957 Act; the old language was considered anachronistic, as since the 1870s Britain had employed the "long-drop" method of hanging, which was held to cause near-instantaneous death.
Simcox's date of execution was set for Tuesday 17 March 1964 at Winson Green Prison, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
. However, his lawyers petitioned the Home Secretary, Henry Brooke
Henry Brooke, Baron Brooke of Cumnor
Henry Brooke, Baron Brooke of Cumnor CH, PC was a British Conservative Party politician.-Political career:...
, on the grounds that Simcox was still severely injured from his self-inflicted wounds, could not walk, and would probably have to be hanged in a wheelchair. There was no precedent for postponing an execution until a prisoner was fit enough to be hanged, and there was a history of reprieving prisoners whose executions might result in an unseemly spectacle owing to existing injuries or infirmity. On 14 March 1964 Brooke announced that Simcox had been reprieved, the sentence of death automatically being replaced by life imprisonment; at that time there was no provision for attaching special conditions to such a sentence, meaning that one day Simcox might be released again, albeit on licence.
Five months later, the last-ever hangings in Britain took place, and in 1965 the death penalty was in practice abolished for murder.
In 1969 Simcox's wife divorced him, and the civil judge in that case took the unusual step of recommending that Simcox never be released.
Simcox died in Portsmouth in early 1981, aged 71. It is currently not known whether he was still a prisoner at the time of his death.