LIVERPOOL MURDER

Otago Witness, Issue 4028, 26 May 1931, Page 28

LIVERPOOL MURDER

CONVICTION QUASHED. LONDON, Alay 19. Wallace’s conviction was quashed. A previous message stated: Prayers for the first time were offered at a cathedral for a condemned man when the intercessions were readied at Liverpool Cathedral. They referred to the case of William Wallace, who was sentenced to death at the Liverpool Assizes for wife murder. An appeal against the sentence is being heard. The case aroused intense interest in Liverpool. Wallace is an intellectual, a lecturer on scientific subjects, and a' chess player. The murder has been described as a perfect crime. The prosecution alleged that Wallace stripped, put on a mackintosh, and killed his wife with a poker, after which he washed, dressed, and went out to keep an appointment which he himself had previously made by telephone to a chess club. The judge, in summing up, expressed the opinion that the crime was so skilfully devised and executed that there was no trace of anything which would incriminate anvbody in particular. Wallace declared his innocence. The evidence showed that he lived happily with his wife. He occupies his time in the condemned cell playing the violin. The vice-dean, Canon Dwelly, offered intercessory prayers on behalf of all “awaitin'" judgment,” and that “his Alajesty’s judges of the Appeal Court may be guided to h true judgment,” and thirdly, “ that the confidence of the people of this country in the fair dealings of their fellow men may be restored.”

SECOND SUCCESSFUL APPEAL. LONDON, Alay 19. This is only the second successful appeal in the history of the Court of Criminal Appeal, established in 1908. The former appeal was in 1911. REMARKABLE SCENES ON RELEASE. LONDON, May 20. The Bishop of Liverpool said that he was very glad that the appeal had been allowed, as he had never been satisfied that the evidence justified the jury’s verdict. This was the reason for the prayers in the cathedral. There were extraordinary scenes when Wallace was released. He was literally hugged by friends and lawyers until he reached the Strand.