Abstract
On 6 July 1973, a young woman, Margaret McLaughlin, left her home in the small Scottish town of Carluke one daylight evening, intending to go to the nearby railway station, down the street, through a cut way, across some open ground and through a glen. There, she was brutally murdered – a frenzied knife attack involving 19 stab wounds.
George Beattie, a local lad, was charged, prosecuted and convicted. After some 20 years, he was released, and is still alive. The local people did not believe that Beattie did it or was indeed capable of doing it. He never confessed. He had no motive. He was simple, of low intelligence, lived nearby, was in the vicinity at the time and gave some bizarre and unconvincing explanations. He was anxious to please the police.
Professor David Wilson, criminologist and former prison governor, carried out an in-depth investigation. He was convinced that a third person must have done it. He drew attention to a number of disturbing features in our criminal justice system. Under public pressure to find the killer, the police have a tendency to rely upon their ‘instinct’, to identify a suspect and to bend all their energies to making the case against that suspect, often ignoring the evidence, undermining their case and the discoverable evidence that may be available against others.
With Beattie, a knife was found but proved not to be the actual weapon. No bloodstained clothes were ever found. Beattie behaved normally. He was interviewed in the police station over long hours – an intimidating experience. The police walked him over the scene. Beattie had no lawyer. He gave a plausible explanation of his movements at the material time.
Wilson explains and applies relevant features of such cases. The police question the accused in the police station. He is anxious to please. The police employ ‘suggestive’ techniques. They subtly plant ‘special knowledge’ in the accused, which was apparently not available to him from external sources. Offender profiling can narrow down the field of possible suspects and indeed point up some suspects.
Wilson himself happened to come from the small Scottish town, the locus in quo, and had family living there – so local knowledge. He identified his suspect: a ‘Mr Smith’. Mr Smith, who lived very near, had had a relationship with the victim, which she had broken off and had become engaged to another man. Her engagement ring was stolen or missing. There was a possible motive: jealousy or rage or revenge. No other murders occurred; the killer was not a serial killer.
Wilson actually traced and met Mr Smith nearly 50 years after the killing. Mr Smith was evasive, made no confession and expressed no sorrow for the death of the victim.
The conviction of Beattie may be criticised on many counts: poor police investigation, non-disclosure of evidence, no forensic evidence, no murder weapon found, no investigation of other possible suspects.
If this book and its findings were to go to the Scottish CCRC, surely they would be persuaded to refer the matter yet again to the Scottish Court of Appeal, and surely the judges would quash the conviction – a miscarriage from 1973, nearly 50 years ago.
Wilson writes in an easy, fluent, blunt and readable style. The case for the innocence of Beattie is powerful. Wilson has uncovered some compelling new material, which he has indicated he will make available to the authorities. A miscarriage of justice appears to have occurred. An innocent man was 20 years in prison, still convicted, with no compensation.
Wilson provides a useful review of criminological and forensic theory and practice, a useful review of the literature and a useful comparative table of the stages in the interviews and the timing inconsistencies. The book lacks pictures, which can give the ‘feeling’ to the story, maps and drawings which can assist in following what happened, an index which can assist reference and specific reference to the various court cases over the years. Credit should have been given to the work of BAFS activist Peter Hill of Rough Justice.
Beattie has all the signs of a miscarriage of justice. Action is called for.
