MURDER CONVICTION

Hokitika Guardian, 23 November 1929, Page 5

MURDER CONVICTION

QUASHED BY PRIVY COUNCIL

(British Oiliciai Wireless.)

RUGBY, Nov. 19

Eire Law Lords, silting as the Judicial committee of the privy Council, which is the highest Comt in the land, conclude,.l to-day the hearing of Hie appeal of Dr Benjamin Knowles against his couvicti./u in Ashanti for tne muiuei- of his wife, Harriet Knowles, who was formerly a music nail artist known as .Madge Clifton. Knoivlcls was miivicte.l and sentenced to death in November of last year by the Acting-Circuit Judge at Kunxasi, in Ashanti, and the sentence was afterwaids commuted by the Governor of the Gold Coast to imprisonment for life. Knowles obtained leave to appeal to the Privy Council and was brought to England. He is, at present, lying ill in .Maidstone Prison. « A pathetic feature of the case Is that the mother of the dead woman, who is nearly eighty, is still unaware of the tragedy, and is waiting in her Brixton home for her daughter’s return. Knowles’ mother is living in Scotland, and sold her old home to meet the costs of the appeal. According to the evidence, Mrs Knowles was shot with a revolver while she and Dr Knowles were in their bedroom at their bungalow, Accord-, ing to the dying statement made by Mrs Knowles, put in at the trial, the affair was an accident caused by her sitting on the revolver. The prosecution contended that this statement was made by Mrs Knowles in order to shield her husband, The questions before the Judicial. Committee of the'Privy Council were, whether there was jurisdiction to try the case without a jury, and whether the verdict was justified by the evidence.

Lord San key. Chancellor, announced the decision of the Court in the following words: “We propose humbly to advise his Majesty to allow the appeal and quash the conviction. Our reasons will be given later.”

■When! the judgment was delivered a sister of Knowles and a sister of Madge Clifton, who sat arm-in-arm, broke down when they realised that he was free.