Tales from The Hangman's Record. Episode Forty Two. Walter Rowland - 27th February 1947 Manchester

[@adrianandkatrinadove203]

Absolutely fascinating story......Just intriguing,but if he killed his daughter justice was eventually served...Great presentation as always !!

[@troybettles3007]

Another fantastic episode. All in all justice was served. There can never be any pity for a child murderer, and it’s very likely he committed this murder anyway looking at the evidence.

[@chrismackett9044]

Trouble is that ‘very likely’ is not sufficient to secure a conviction. The threshold is ‘beyond all reasonable doubt’.

[@troybettles3007]

@@chrismackett9044well, I would say that particular criteria was met. I’ll rephrase it for you. I would say that it’s beyond reasonable doubt he was the killer.

[@robertchambers893]

Looking forward to another great video

[@vickiewallace415]

Dang it I didn’t get notified…YAY I’ve got another hangman video

[@TruckingVideos]

Always look forward to these, the depth of research is simply awesome.

[@talpark8796]

TYVM for another *'interesting'* upload 🍻🇨🇦🥶😁

[@kencook7580]

Steve, another quality, and insightful, entry. Ta very much.

[@timothyparker7739]

Brilliant Steve! Best wishes from Australia

[@billy--jones]

Top video as always from Steve so fascinating THANK YOU.

[@1089maul]

Steve, Once again, thanks for another super detailed episode. Very interesting and again thought provoking! Was he guilty of the second murder. Probably yes, but probable can’t result in a guilty verdict!. Thanks, Bob

[@otterman62]

another excellent video, thanks steve. I think you hit the nail on the head when you said he was reprieved for a murder he did commit and hung for one he didn't.

[@davidglanfield7985]

Another excellent video. These tales are so gripping. You can sense the menace and grime in postwar Manchester.

[@gino7444]

Clearly a case of delayed justice, in the end he still got we he deserved.

[@jasonormes6414]

I've been watching your stories for a good while. I like the way you tell and explain the details. Thank you

[@alanwitton5980]

Another great video Steve! I thoroughly enjoy watching them

[@thehangmansrecord2860]

Cheers Alan

[@geoffreywaller929]

Fascinating Steve. Well in this case there was compelling forensic evidence in the form of the dust and pollen on his clothing. BUT is there an element of doubt? Yes so we should call this a 1 all draw with justice winning on aggregate!!!!! Thanks again.

[@derekstocker6661]

Great reporting on this one Steve as usual, what a twist and turn case, at least he got what he deserved eventually for the murder of the child. RIP Olive and the child.

[@andyhudson3495]

Excellent work as always Steve. Thanks

[@mikebennett3812]

Another really great presentation, thanks Steve.

[@jamesmcleary1917]

Thanks Steve! Another great episode. Superbly researched and presented.

[@davidellis6337]

Hi Steve thanks once again for the latest case interesting as it always Hope you are keeping well it appears the weather in your neck of the woods has turned nasty Looking forward to the next case Kind regards Dave

[@tabsntoot]

great stuff steve

[@joe-ednew2824]

Another great video. This reminds me of the Eddie Slovik case where he was the only WWII American soldier executed for desertion. His criminal past made him a target. I agree that if Rowland was innocent of this crime, he was justly hanged for the murder of the child. 3:35

[@tinyroscoe]

Another brilliant episode looks like justice caught up with him in the end ⚖️

[@cashproductionsuk]

great video!

[@andysmith819]

Another fascinating tale. Thank you.

[@davidhuddleston3127]

That was certainly a tale with a twist at the end , thourougly interesting

[@PercyPruneMHDOIFandBars]

Personally, I think he was a double murderer. Had his poor daughter got justice, Olive would have survived. A thought provoking episode as always. I really enjoy your matter of fact style and depth of research! Thanks for continuing to share these fascinating tales.

[@AllanNeaves-qn3zr]

Another interesting, informative & well researched vlog. Was justice served, in some manner? Not guilty this time but had already gotten away with murder previously. Truly a strange slice of the British legal System. Allan&Family

[@Flooky659]

New subscriber here, I enjoy your storytelling style and the factual content. Thank you.

[@thehangmansrecord2860]

Thank you for the kind words. Hopefully you'll enjoy the content already posted and the ones due to be published soon :)

[@gmanette188]

Thank you... really enjoy your stories

[@babaza1972]

Another brilliant video and story. Already looking forward to the next one.

[@gunnyhartman2]

Yet again another very entertaining video👍👍👍

[@patriot6251]

Very interesting Steve massive question mark on this one pal

[@robertandrews5640]

NOT A BIT OF IT HE GOT HIS DUE FOR EVIL MURDER

[@sueamos3860]

What a fantastic channel,I’m hooked

[@thehangmansrecord2860]

Cheers Sue :)

[@Steven_Rowe]

Hanging never was a deterrent but then again the same can also be said of prison. I have no doubt that innocent people have been convicted of crimes, often it is the skill of the prosecutor and defence that determine the outcome. What goes through people's minds is beyond me. I do like the lyrics of the 10CC song Rubber Bullets. "We all got balls and brains, but some got balls and chains". Sad to think that Myra Hindley and Ian Brady weren't topped , if anyone deserved it, they certainly did.

[@tango6nf477]

The name Goddard keeps popping up in cases such as this where there seems to have been doubts over the verdict. Goddard was a staunch supporter of the death penalty and was criticised on a number of cases for misdirecting the Jury for example the Derek Bentley case. He was very outspoken about his belief that the legal system was biased towards the Defence and that criminals should be harshly punished. After the end of the war there was a spike in criminal; activity, the country was awash with guns and men who knew to use them, gangs flourished and there were many crime related murders. Could it be that pressure to put and end to violent crime played a part in this case? Probably not but its an interesting idea. Thanks for another great video Steve, all the best.

[@thehangmansrecord2860]

Goddard was certainly one to be feared. I think your comments on ending violent crime are certainly true with regards to Bentley and also others who used guns like Geraghty & Jenkins 1947, George Kelly & Walter Sharpe, Redel & Gower 1950 for example

[@RussellJamesStevens]

Please don't keep us HANGING ABOUT waiting for your next episode. Greetings from the Philippines.😊😊😊😊😊

[@davidbarr8394]

Great work here, as usual. Your productions are professional yet sensitive, which, considering the subject matter, requires a fine balance: I often find myself sympathizing with the slayers and the conditions that seem to dictate their actions, yet you strongly make the message clear: murder and you must pay. Today there is much debate about Old Testament commands, but you present the material objectively, and thus we may arrive at our own conclusions. Excellent stuff.

[@thehangmansrecord2860]

Kind words thank you

[@frootmcgoose3076]

Thankyou for your work Steve!

[@davidryley4162]

Steve. When are you going to bring out Dunne & Sullivan, who assassinated Field - Marshal Wilson ??

[@thehangmansrecord2860]

Soon, it's well into production

[@helenaknight8874]

Really good Steve 👍 well he was guilty of killing his baby .and there was evidence he done it found. But was it rite 🤔 should he have been hanged. I don't no carnt make my mind up on this one .but is was very interesting episode cheers Steve 🍻

[@roytetwart]

Thank you, Steve, for another very interesting video. In this case, I am not convinced justice was served. Not in a capital case that is. The three "Eye" witnesses COULD be discounted, as they identified someone who looked like the accused. Therefore, the identification alone could not be relied upon. For example, the man you mentioned towards the end of the video looked remarkably like Rowland. The brick dust and seed in his trouser turn-ups could have been there innocently. (He was living in the area). The "Confession" of Ware, also threw a spanner in the works. Most unhelpful. Overall, I believe Rowland should have been acquitted, or, if convicted, sentenced to life imprisonment.

[@thehangmansrecord2860]

Personally I think he was guilty.

[@roytetwart]

@@thehangmansrecord2860 But I don't think he would have been hanged nowadays, even if we had a death penalty

[@GG-jw8pt]

Great forensics for that day and age! Even down to the flower residue. And i wonder if he made good his promise of haunting the prosecutor?

[@mauricedavis2160]

All through United States history, one point was drilled into us here, no innocent person had ever been executed, now with that being said, this Catholic kid knew better than that at five years old, I'm 62 years as of this posting!!!🙏😢⚖️🤔❣️

[@chrisbrown-ty6lp]

Thanks for another interesting story, it's hard to know if Walter was guilty, if in doubt do not convict

[@thehangmansrecord2860]

I don't think the court were in any doubt

[@bronte333]

For the murder of his daughter, justice at last was delivered.

[@DBIVUK]

Edited highlights of the trial were published in the David & Charles 'Celebrated Trials' series - editor Henry Cecil openly states he thinks Rowland was guilty of murdering Olive Balchin and Ware fabricated his confession. For what it's worth I agree (and not just on balance), though I have my doubts about the incriminating statement put into Rowland's mouth by DC Nimmo.

[@thehangmansrecord2860]

Yes I've had that book for decades and pretty much agree

[@mauricedavis2160]

Mr. Fielding, I recognized this miscarriage of justice as soon this episode started, once again you and your team are TOP SHELF on the regular, can't ask for anything better, thank you for keeping it real!!!🙏✨👌🦉❣️

[@iancandler5446]

Either way, guilty or not it does seem like poetic justice for his daughters death

[@alanpearson7554]

Great episode although I do find it odd that a convicted murderer was released on the condition that he joins the army, even in wartime. During my own service I did serve with soldiers who had been offered the chance of a military career as an alternative to jail but normally for the much lesser crime of burglary. Different times.

[@thehangmansrecord2860]

With conscription in the second war, they let quite a few murderers out on condition they enlisted

[@evilstorm5954]

It’s a PUNISHMENT, not a deterrent. Justice served.

[@peteralflat281]

"You don't want me for the murder of that bloody woman". Said the man with long experience of dealing with the police. 🤔

[@markfairbanks5764]

Justice is a dish best served cold

[@kencook7580]

What goes around.................

[@pabmusic1]

Very good, as ever. A real problem with our system is that trials are not primarily there to determine what happened, but rather to decide whether the prosecution can prove its case to a very high standard. So when someone is convicted any appeal is about whether the original trial was held correctly, not whether the person was innocent. The first murder conviction overturned on facts alons was the Wallace case, about 1930 - very late.

[@stewartmckeand6099]

I'm guessing that's why they don't have trouser turn ups anymore...

[@wirebrushofenlightenment1545]

Lord Denning, arguing against a posthumous pardon for Timothy Evans on the grounds that it may be "Detrimental to the public confidence in the process of the law".

[@suemcgregor9248]

With hindsight, Evans was set up. Why he confessed l will never know but he wasn't very bright and Christie was a master manipulator

[@FreyaBastet]

Yes, I'd like to found out how come he got a reprieve for his first murder. This was one of the major problems when we had capital punishment in the UK; inconsistent reprieves.

[@matthewspicer1068]

The Home Office Summary of the Crime (A648177) says reason for reprieve a) Jury made a Strong Recommendation To Mercy b) Judge RM to HO c) No obvious motive/ absence of an 'evil motive' d) Crime was unpremeditated e) diminished responsibility .... Matthew:)

[@johnallen7807]

The one thing I can never understand in all your videos is the way the crowd gather to read the death notice, "sick" is putting it mildly!

[@talpark8796]

🙄

[@geezerp1982]

felon lover

[@jackpirie7382]

Brilliant episode i think Rowland probably did murder Olive Balchin but was there enough evidence to hang him? Another case i was interested in was Anthony (Tony) Miller the last person hanged in Barlinnie Glasgow in 1960 i am interested in him because my late father in law knew Tony Miller well and he used to tell me stuff about him ie "rolling" gay people etc Do you know anything about Tony Miller what i know it is a very interesting case. Keep up the good work Steve

[@thehangmansrecord2860]

Yes I know all about Tony Miller. Watch this space :)

[@jackpirie7382]

Thanks Steve @@thehangmansrecord2860

[@simonmarsden66]

If ever someone had a destiny with the hangman!

[@markcopsey4729]

I'm not sure where her body was found. At the beginning it was said to be on the corner of Deansgate and Cumberland St. But I couldn't find a Cumberland St near Deansgate, Then at the end it was indicated the body was found in Cross St. Can anyone explain this?

[@thehangmansrecord2860]

Best I could work out from the various descriptions was that it was facing the Dog and Partridge pub on Deansgate. That became a bank and is currently Santander. When I looked at the buildings facing it the one I have indicated is clearly a post war new build others either side much older. So I deduced it was here or close enough not to spoil the story. Hope that helps

[@matthewspicer1068]

pubs-of-manchester.blogspot.com/2012/01/duke-of-cumberland-cumberland-street.html .... Matthew:)

[@warburtonpaul]

Can't subscribe to the notion justice got served when Rowland was hanged for the second sentence. In fact, it looks as if justice failed both times. Yes, he should have been executed for the first child murder, as was the law in 1934. So, while here, do we know why he was reprieved? But all law demands 'reasonable doubt' - and doubt there was with alibis and confessions in the second. The impression left is police and the judiciary wanted him to go this time, and made sure it happened

[@rogerkearns8094]

Strangled his baby daughter, what a dear chap.

[@ronniepickering9191]

i realy like these vids

[@nicky29031977]

Don't forget to do a video on Derek Bentley.

[@thehangmansrecord2860]

The trouble with well known cases is that I am competing with lots of other videos on KZbin. I did Dr Crippen last time, probably the most famous case so far and it's had the worst views so far of all the recent cases. People probably see it and think I know this case and skip past it

[@1951GL]

Of the reviewed cases, Timothy Evans was guilty - Christie may have been involved in the cover up but the original evidence was clear Beryl Evans' family had no doubt in this regard. Ludovic Kennedy's book was contentious and based, flimsily, on the notion that two killers were unlikely to live in the same house. Bentley was guilty based on the law, joint enterprise, at the time - although the jury did recommend mercy and it should have been applied. The police evidence was tainted. He did not shout "Let him have it ,Chris." Fine video as usual.

[@johnniethepom7545]

I met Christopher Craig when I was an apprentice at Wilbury Way , Hitchin, Hertfordshire . He worked at an electrical goods manufacturer ( Welco ) on the opposite side of the road . He popped in on occasion for small repair jobs, etc . He lived at Clophill, Bedfordshire, and had a licence for a shotgun . I hardly spoke to him , but my foreman always dealt with him . The foreman told me Craig stated that Bentley never uttered those words .

[@johnniethepom7545]

@davidbrazier1585 a very quiet and unassuming bloke , always appreciative of the little jobs we did for him .. There are plenty of images of him on Google . I saw him mainly in '83 .

[@1951GL]

@@johnniethepom7545He never waivered in this regard - and one policeman at the scene said the same, but was never called as a witness at the trial. The police and the legal system were determined that someone should hang for the murder of P.C. Myles, even though the gun used was incapable of being aimed with any real intent.

[@suemcgregor9248]

​@@1951GLeven P.C. Myles' Widow stated that she didn't believe that Bentley should hang

[@suemcgregor9248]

Evans wasn't guilty, Christie confessed to Beryl's murder before he was hanged. Little Geraldine died because she was a liability and Evans believed Christie when he said he would put Beryl down a drain and that's what he told Police. I think Christie killed his wife because she'd begun to suspect him

[@evilstorm5954]

Guilty as charged.

[@richardadams5409]

Did the judge in his summing up advise the jury they should only find the accused guilty if there was no, repeat no, reasonable doubt whatsoever in their minds as to Rowland being the murderer? Did judges in the days of capital punishment have the option of giving a life sentence if they believed the jury had got it wrong or they believed there was controversial evidence? I doubt it. Rowland was "probably" guilty but there have to be doubts.

[@thehangmansrecord2860]

There was no alternative sentence for murder until 1957. It was a mandatory death sentence if convicted

[@suemcgregor9248]

Rowland was a strangler, Ware was a basher. Olive was beaten with a hammer, go figure

[@davidc3839]

I worked with a probation officer who was due to retire when I was joining the profession. He told me how one of his clients on probation to him was hanged. He was 18 and from a large poor family in Nottingham. An elderly woman next door was reputed to have a lot of money hidden under her bed. He broke in and while rummaging under her bed she woke up, he hit her with a tire iron and she died. He was quickly arrested due to his record and he admitted the offense. He was remanded to Lincoln Prison. My colleague did not visit him in the condemned cell but he went to the jail on the day before the hanging to see another prisoner. He met a prison officer who had dirty boots. He claimed he had just been digging the grave for the condemned young man. On the day of the hanging, the mother took her family to Skegness for the day to take their mind off the dreadful day's events. Steve, thank you for these unbiased and well-made programs. I have no terror of death - which comes to us all, however, after reading Harry Pierepoint's book as a teenager, I have a fear of hanging but not lethal injection, etc.

[@thehangmansrecord2860]

John Constantine hanged at Lincoln Gaol in Sept 1960

[@davidc3839]

@@thehangmansrecord2860 Thank you. I didn't know the name. I appreciate you looking into the man's name for me - the story has always stuck with me. I wondered what his time in the condemned cell was like - having a first-hand description of the person brought it home to me. I visited Lincoln Prison several times for work and would think about Constantine on my visit. At the age of eighteen, a person's brain has not been fully formed. I don't agree with the death penalty for several reasons, however, I think that 18 is far too young for a person to face the ultimate punishment. I'm sure you know that the USA executed juveniles until prevented by the Supreme Court in 2002. Texas even executed a person who was a juvenile at the time of their crime while the case was being considered.

[@davidc3839]

@@thehangmansrecord2860 Thank you. I didn't know his name but his fate has always stuck with me. Probably because I heard it from someone who knew him personally. My colleague did not visit him after the sentence because he did not know how to deal with the situation - which is understandable.

[@davidc3839]

@@thehangmansrecord2860 Thank you for looking into his name, I appreciate your help. I have replied several times but my comment keeps disappearing? This man's fate has always stuck with me. Probably because I heard it firsthand, my colleague did not visit him because he did not know how to deal with the situation. He always regretted his decision.

[@thehangmansrecord2860]

@@davidc3839 he was 22 not 18

[@LordRogerPovey]

I was born on this day!

[@Bringontheasteroid]

It is a shame we no longer have capital punishment today, given the advanced forensics, DNA and CCTV, to name a few of the guarantees for undisputed prosecution. In this case, justice was done in the end, and I admit to hoping he actually didn’t commit the second murder but definitely recognised the irony of it, having murdered his own child, whilst sweating in his cell. Another fine episode.

[@Bigbro28]

“It is a shame ….”? I guess you are a believer in ‘An eye for an eye’. One word … ‘Troglodyte’.

[@garethaethwy]

We have advanced forensics, DNA, CCTV, plus more, but there are still miscarriages of justice. Just look at the Post Office scandal: each person convicted was convicted on irrefutable computer evidence. Which just so happened to be wrong. Fundamentally though, we've had capital punishment in the past which deterred absolutely zero of the murders committed. Other countries have capital punishment, yet still have capital crimes. Pierrepoint himself was adamant that the risk of hanging didn't dissuade one of the people who's eyes he looked in to at the end. And the risk of killing just one innocent person is just too great. Finally, it makes zero sense for the State to kill someone to send a message that killing is wrong.

[@Bringontheasteroid]

And you even spelt it correctly, well done you. Perhaps next time you could actually have a grown up point. One word, idiot. Chin up.@@Bigbro28

[@Bringontheasteroid]

You lost me with the Post Office scandal…I don’t think any of those disciplines were used in convicting PO workers, or even capital punishment. There are rarely any miscarriages of justice these days, just unstable verdicts, which is a different argument. I assume you would argue that there could be a miscarriage of justice with Baby P’s parents? There are enough cases way beyond reasonable doubt that do deserve capital punishment, so why not start with those? I know pearl clutchers would be marching up and down outside the prisons on doomsday, with little signs of how life matters, but for me, the victims (and possible future victims) as well as society, should be protected from this kind of pond life. Child killers are NEVER wrongly convicted in modern courts, but I stand to be corrected if you can name a single case. Google is your friend.@@garethaethwy

[@samsum3738]

How many times in the history of British justice has a man stood before a judge , who is wearing the black cap ? Twice must be something of a record .

[@thehangmansrecord2860]

I think someone in the last century was sentenced to death 3 times and finally repreived (or faced three murder charges.. I'll check it out)

[@matthewspicer1068]

In terms of after 1-Jan-1900 it has only happened twice - this case and a man called Christopher Simcox - 1948 and 1964 - he was reprieved in 1964 .... Before the mid 1830s when the death penalty applied to many cases and each year thousands were reprieved it must have happened many times .... Matthew:)

[@matthewspicer1068]

William Burkett charged three times with murder but each one was manslaughter .... also a man called Anthony Regan/O'Rourke was charged three times with murder in the 1950s to early 1960s - a) acquitted b) manslaughter c) murder in 1962 @@thehangmansrecord2860

[@thehangmansrecord2860]

@@matthewspicer1068 there's a case from Humberside 1930s i think where someone I'm sure had 3 murder trials... Wasn't hanged

[@matthewspicer1068]

Yes that is William Burkett - 1915, 1925 and 1939 - last one he served 15 years of a life-sentence and died on Christmas Eve 1956 - one headline referred to him as the 'Iron Man of Hull' .... @@thehangmansrecord2860

[@express777100]

hi steve, have read this case in episode 3 think he was guilty but would not liked to have been on jury for this one.

[@stevenmurray5715]

Not a great loss to society!!

[@robedwards5709]

Guilty

[@stephenbingham5935]

Rupert Murdoch's father Keith Murdoch used his Chief Editorship at the Melbourne Herald to run a ''string him up'' campaign against Coilin Campbell Ross, accused of the murder of 12 year old Alma Tirtschke in 1921. Murdoch went hard, wanting to raise the profile of the paper. He and some lazy cops managed to sway public favour, Ross was found guilty and hanged in 1922. Done and dusted . . . until 2008 when the Victorian Parliament officially pardoned Ross posthumously. Murdoch swinery continues on.

[@chrishilton1490]

Hanratty needs to be reinvestigated.

[@thehangmansrecord2860]

not sure what any new investigation would reveal. Hanratty's DNA was on the clothes suggesting he was guilty or the clothing was contaminated in storage discounting this. With all the key witnesses now dead any new revelations will certainly only be conjecture?

[@andyjay9346]

Whatever did happen to the remains of Albert Pierrepoint? Where is his grave? No one has done a conclusive docco on his last days and actual burial site when he died in 1992.

[@thehangmansrecord2860]

As far as I was aware his burial site wasnt made public

[@nicolad8822]

Not everyone these days has a grave. Crematorium then ashes scattered.

[@moggy-ie6ug]

👏👏👏

[@longyx321]

Quite a few today could be done away with. Better police work and DNA evidence nowadays to secure a conviction.

[@martinhardcastle9970]

Plenty of modern day murders have been mucked up. Either by corrupt police just seeking a conviction or by seriously bad science.

[@JohnnyPeacock1959]

The fact is an innocent man was hanged and the guilty man was free to almost kill again. I would like to hear about the Somali guy as I'm sure you haven't covered that Steve.

[@salty4496]

:)

[@machendave]

It would not be the first time someone was fitted up, the handling of evidence was not as secure then as it is now. It would be easy to add soil from the site to his turnups. Type A blood is not that rare and even witnesses can be pointed in the direction of the one the police want convicting. The big one is, if the blood spatter was such that blood got inside the shoe, surely Rowland would have been covered.

[@susandoig4192]

He was still evil he killed a wee baby

[@gordonbradley3241]

The most strident case for hanging is it's supposed deterent effect. Facts prove that is never been the case ! Which is the reason it was abolished !

[@johncahalane7327]

I think of all the capital murder trials this was the most straightforward one ,today it would have been a manslaughter charge on the 1930s case, sadly parents killing their small children there were several in 2023 ,I suspect Walter Rowland was innocent of this murder and the real curprit died after he was hanged, his record of problems worked against this and I do also suspect the police overlooked things to convince themselves they have their man and their was a crusade to keep the streets safe from moral depravity, so one man has to die for this, could it be the wrong man...I don't know but I do have doubts on the safety of this verdict,politics came into too ,you see with the current scandal in the Post Office absolute issues can be dangerous even in the 21st century ...

[@thehangmansrecord2860]

I agree with some of your points John but my gut reaction is he was guilty of the 1946 murder

[@jimschannel2220]

Maybe Rolland was innocent.

[@johngalvin6010]

If he didn't commit Olives' murder, he was wrongfully hanged. He may have strangled his 2 year old daughter but he did serve his sentence.

[@ShirleeKnott]

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