Murderer's Release

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 23, 28 January 1939, Page 5 (Supplement)

Murderer's Release

EARLY in February, almost ten years to the day after he was convicted of murdering his wife and sentenced to death, a man is to be freea from prison in England. His release will be the happy culmination to years of effort by his best friend—an L.C.C. pavk-keeper—who organised the petition which lt'd to his reprieve, and whose faith iu his innocence has never wavered. The man who, now in Maidstone Prison, is counting the days to freedom is Roland Hum, 45-yenr-old carpenter. During his years in gaol he has always asserted his innocence, and there is a possibility that an effort will be made to reopen his case. At the time of his arre*t he was living in a wooden bungalow in Amatol Avenue, Kltliam. This avenue, which used to lie at the foot of Castlewood, an L.C.C. open space, no longer exists. The surrounding neighbourhood has been developed and the avenue has been merged into another street. The friend, who is also as pleased at the prospect of Horn's release as the man himself, is Mr. Tom Milter, of Barnehiirst, a park-keeper. Mr. Miller and Hum first became friends when they worked together at Woolwich Arsenal. When Mr. Miller left the arsenal to become an L.C.C. park-keeper, the

friendship was continued. Tlicy lived within 50 yards of each other in Kithani and Hurn, whose domestic life was troubled, frequently sought the advice and sympathy of his frjend. In September, 1028, Hum's wife, a pretty Irish woman, left him and their son. Two months later, on the night of Sunday, December lti, Hum traced his wife to an address at Kipg's Cross, where ghe was living with another man. Later that evening he jnet her in the street. Two shots were heard, and a policeman who ran to the scene found the woman lying dead on the pavement and lluni badly wounded. When Hurn recovered from his injuries he was charged with murdering his wife. At his trial at the Old Bailey dramatic and poignant letters written by Hurn to his wife, ap]>ealing to her to leave "the other man" and return home, were read. In a letter which he handed to the policeman after the shooting he wrote: "I forgive her ... I can stand it no longer. What can I do to save her from the life of sin she has embarked upon? The springtime of childish yeaivs has never lost its perfume." Another letter found at his house contained the following: "I leave you to seek the motive of tliia terrible drama . . . My whole life has been shocked to the hilt and shattered. The fragments are piercing my soul.

"My brain id like a shower-bath over at the top and the water is running down my spine. My whole body vibrates. "The place itself haunts me. Every knock I think is )ifr returning. I loved her beyond words. The whole panorama of our life is continually before me day and night." In the witness-box Hum, in a broken voice, told an amazing story pf how he once forgave his erring wife, although he was assaulted in his own house by a man whom lw; befriended and for whom his wife left him. Pleading not guilty to the charge of murder, Hurn asserted that he to'.d his wife he was going to kill the other man. She exclaimed: "You barmy fool. Give me that revolver." "I gave it to her," declared Hum in a voice trembling with emotion. "The next moment there was a crash at the back of my head. I turned round, staggered and fell. As I fell I heard another shot." Sir Bernard Spilsbury stated that the wound did not indicate whether the shot was fired by the man himse 1 f or someone standing behind him. There would have been no difficulty in inflicting the wound on himself. Sir Bernard added that he did Hot think the woman's wound was caused by suicidal firing, although it was possible for it to have been self-inflicted. The jury, after a short retirement, found Hurn guilty. They added a strong recommendation to mercy.

Mr. Miller, who visited Hurn while he was lying injured in hospital, and heard the story of the shooting from his own lips, felt convinced, as he still does today, that there had been a miscarriage of justice. He organised Hum's appeal and, when this was dismissed, spent all his savings on raising a petition. When Hurn was reprieved, Mr. Miller arranged for Hum's 10-year-old son to go to an orphanage, and then continued his efforts to secure his release. For three years he worked practically alone and unaided. Then he sought the assistance of Mr. Heorge Hicks, Labour M.P. for East Woolwieli. Between them tliey have carried on the agitation, which hfi? at last resulted in the intimation from the Home Secretary of Hum's pending release. Mr. Tom Miller, kindly, blue-eyed, with greying hair, told a reporter that he wished no credit for the part he had played. "My work is done," he said simply. "I shall not be able to go and meet Hurn when he is released, but I do not doubt he will eome and see me some time. "I visited him only once jn prison, but we corresponded regularly. He knew that the money which I might have spent on fares was being used for a better purpose. "Hum has an old mother of 90 and a married sister who will be overjoyed at his release. I understand arrangements are being made to lind him a job when he comes out. "For years I tried to secure a rehearing of Hum's appeal. Whether tha case will be reopened upon his release depends entirely on Hurn himself."