Diamonds. A girls best friend? - Part 3 (final)
Part 3
Months went by. I don’t remember how many but eventually I was to go to court as a witness for the prosecution. I’m not just talking about any court here, this was The Old Bailey in the center of London. The main court for England and Wales, and where the more sensational cases were heard. The trials of Oscar Wilde, Dr Crippin and the Yorkshire Ripper are just a few that were heard at the Old Bailey. Our trial was somewhere between Dr Crippin and the Yorkshire Ripper!
This was the mid sixties and gun crime was very rare in the UK, which may be why it went to the Old bailey.
- The Old Bailey
I was very glad that my younger sister came with me for moral support. It was very daunting to see all the black robes and white wigs!
We sat outside the courtroom waiting for it to start. A lift door opened, in the middle of the hallway. I hadn’t noticed it was a lift. We turned to look and, for the first time since I had been a guest in their home, I saw Shirley’s husband (Graham) being led out of the lift and into the courtroom. His face was ashen and he looked tense and scared.
- One of the 18 courtrooms
I had been warned that the defense barrister would try to discredit me, but I had no idea how horrible it would be. He fired lots of sarcastic questions at me and tried to make me out to be a liar. I stood my ground, even though I was very nervous.
Finally day one was over, and my sister and I travelled home to Kent. It was all cut and dried. He was guilty and justice would be served.
Day two was much the same as day one, and was quite uneventful.
On the third day we sat outside the courtroom, again the lift arrived and the doors opened but now we saw a different Graham exit the lift. He was smiling, no longer pale and tense, but looking confident. His whole manner was different. We were confused. What had happened to make this difference?
Once in the courtroom, the defense barrister stood and requested that the jury be excused at this point. The judge agreed. What followed was unbelievable. We heard all the evidence, statements, admissions by Shirley. A whole host of incriminating evidence, including forensics, the gun, along with Graham’s overalls, found in their home, which has fibers from my aunts bed on them, his own incriminating comments. So much proof!
When this was all over, the Judge allowed the jury back into the courtroom. Once they were seated, he said… and this is where it really gets weird…he said “Case dismissed. Insufficient evidence” and immediately thanked and dismissed the jury! We sat stunned. Not knowing what had just happened or why.
Accepting that I was only nineteen, and uninformed about the finer points of law courts, it was understandable that I have no idea what happened or why. The unfortunate thing was, that nobody felt the need to explain to us what happened either. My sister, aunt and I travelled home in a daze. Did any of this really happen? Did several months of our lives, and three days in court really just end with a bang of a wooden hammer - Case dismissed?
They got away with everything. It could have been on a genuine technicality or, as we were informed does happen, a pay-off from higher up the criminal chain! All we knew was that my aunt had lost a great deal of money and had been through a terrifying ordeal. Graham left the court smiling, and had obviously known that he would, when he came out of the lift that morning.
I had learned two valuable lessons. Friends are not always what they appear to be, and can’t always be trusted, and justice is often not served!
I suppose, I started to grow up at 19.
**Note** I did NOT change the names, It made me feel good to use their actual names.
One more thing. I lost my diamond some years later. Actually it got thrown out in the rubbish, never having been mounted!
Photo credits: The Old Bailey - http://www.infobritain.co.uk/Old_Bailey.jpg Courtroom - http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/07/in_pictures_the_old_bailey_at_100/img/2.jpg
Stumble it!
Subscribe by Email
JD at I Do Things
| 1 November 2008 at 17:02
WOW!
What a nerve-wracking experience to go through, and for what? It must have been a pay-off. That seems to be to be the only reason you wouldn’t have been given an explanation. But what do I know. I feel sorry for your aunt, too. Justice was definitely not served.
JD at I Do Things´s last blog post..Gus Does Things so I don’t have to
Liudmila
| 1 November 2008 at 20:59
Really bad is to touch justice. What a bad experience! Maybe we need them to understand What is the world where we live. Without rose glasses.
Liudmila´s last blog post..From Moscow To Sochi With Train
Jaffer
| 1 November 2008 at 23:47
Well, that was too bad ! Aren’t you glad now that you were able to lead the rest of your lives without bringing that part of your life up ?
Diamond thrown in to the rubbish ? I’d take it as a good thing.
That piece of carbon-allotrope would’ve reminded you of those terrible times anyway !
Jaffer´s last blog post..Surviving a corrupt WordPress database
Faz the Cat
| 2 November 2008 at 0:05
Wow Babs, I guess it all could have been a lot worse. What an incredible story.
Babs - beetle
| 2 November 2008 at 0:20
JD: Funny but we never spoke of it again afterward. We just shut the book on it. Even at work.
Jaffer: I wasn’t bothered about losing the diamond, even though it had been valued, many years previously, at £500.
Faz the Cat: Yes, it could have been much worse. We were glad to put it behind us.
Babs - beetle´s last blog post..Diamonds. A girls best friend? - Part 3 (final)
Kathy
| 2 November 2008 at 13:25
Wow. Closed. Just like that! This is what makes me nervous about the justice system. There are too many cracks in the machine. A sad (and confusing) ending all around.
Kathy´s last blog post..Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?
Babs - beetle
| 2 November 2008 at 15:11
Kathy: It certainly was confusing, to say nothing of the huge cost involved for the actual trial, and all for nothing!
Babs - beetle´s last blog post..Diamonds. A girls best friend? - Part 3 (final)
Shinade
| 2 November 2008 at 17:41
Oh my this is some what of a surprise ending. However, I must admit being an American, and knowing how our Justice sytem works, I shouldn’t be surprised.
I tend to be some what cynical in this area relating to courts and justice. I imagine if he was that confident then indeed a pay off had taken place.
What a terrible ordeal for you to go through and then have it end like this.
But, this has been one terrific read!!
Thanks Babs for sharing with us!!
Shinade´s last blog post..Thank You
Ivanhoe
| 2 November 2008 at 17:43
Oh no, Babs! That really sucks. Justice sometimes is blind :o(
Ivanhoe´s last blog post..Sammy’s Home
Babs - beetle
| 2 November 2008 at 18:23
Shinade: Yes, I’m afraid I was to learn much later that the legal system isn’t what I’d thought, or hoped it would be. It seems to be set up to protect the guilty at times.
Ivanhoe: That’s the way life goes at times
Innocent until proven guilty, then some technicality hides the proof.
Babs - beetle´s last blog post..Diamonds. A girls best friend? - Part 3 (final)
Jay
| 3 November 2008 at 0:12
Good heavens! Dismissed!! Well.
There you go. Who knows what really happened? Whether it was a pay off, a loophole, a technicality… your poor aunt went through all that, YOU went through all that, and then it was dismissed.
And then you lost the diamond! I guess the only thing to do is to be philosophical about it. It was probably an unlucky stone anyway.
Babs - beetle
| 3 November 2008 at 3:55
Jay: You may well be right. It didn’t bother me losing the diamond. It had been wrapped up in the freezer for more years than I can remember ;O)
Babs - beetle´s last blog post..Diamonds. A girls best friend? - Part 3 (final)
Omer
| 3 November 2008 at 8:06
This must’ve been quite an incredible experience for you - considering that you were so young and went through a lot..law can be quite strange at times and I thought I only saw such stuff in movies - but your experience is equally gripping..
beetle
| 3 November 2008 at 13:27
Liudmila: Sorry, your comment almost got lost there! I certainly lost my rose colour glasses after that!
Omer: It was quite an ordeal, but it was soon forgotten and life returned to normal. We are all stronger than we realize
Mimi Lenox
| 3 November 2008 at 18:12
Don’t forget BlogBlast For Peace is Thursday, November 6th!Please spread the word.
BlogBlast For Peace ~ How To Get Your Peace Globe
beetle
| 4 November 2008 at 4:10
Mimi: All ready and waiting
Natural
| 4 November 2008 at 16:49
whoa. all the black robes and white wigs! really? why i think that is kinda cool, i don’t know. certainly not cool to be there at the time, i’m sure.
a payoff, in the justice system. i always say that barristers do not always practice justice but the law.
they only think they got away with it. stuff like this always comes back in some form or another.
Natural´s last blog post..Finger Clicking Good’gaud That Hurts!
beetle
| 4 November 2008 at 17:59
Natural: You are so right. Bad stuff does come back at you at some point.
Comedy Plus
| 4 November 2008 at 21:16
Hi, you’re in my Google Reader though.
Babs - beetle
| 4 November 2008 at 22:56
Comedy Plus: Ha ha ha ha! That made me laugh!
Babs - beetle´s last blog post..Diamonds. A girls best friend? - Part 3 (final)
Swubird
| 5 November 2008 at 6:37
Babs:
“I had learned two valuable lessons. Friends are not always what they appear to be, and can’t always be trusted, and justice is often not served!”
You should put those words on your refrigerator door so that you may see them every day. No truer words were ever spoken. It’s too bad you had to go through that terrible ordeal in the courtroom to learn that valuable lesson.
You’re lucky you started growing up at 19. Many people still aren’t grown up at old age!
Happy trails.
Swubird´s last blog post..THE ENTREPRENEUR
beetle
| 6 November 2008 at 1:16
Swubird: Ha ha! You are right about some people not growing up. I’ve known a few
One of the reasons I was glad they did away with the death penalty was because innocent men have died that way, while the guilty went free!
Ana
| 6 November 2008 at 12:26
What a story.. and what an end. And your closing words are so so true!
It isn’t always bad to experience bad things at a young age. At least you are prepared for life…
Ana´s last blog post..Photo Hunt - Blue
beetle
| 6 November 2008 at 14:14
Ana: You’re right. Sometimes is good to learn things at an early age. It prepares for life.
Maureen
| 8 November 2008 at 4:52
More like the InJustice system, no?
I wonder what REALLY happened. So sorry you were a pawn in a much bigger game, but glad it wasn’t worse for you. I would have been terrified in The Old Bailey as well!
Maureen´s last blog post..It’s A Shame Really