93c Venner Road,
Sydenham,
London SE26 5HU.
020 8659 7713
E-Mail A_Baron@ABaron.Demon.Co.UK
October 23, 2003
Sir,
Regarding Diane Taylor's hagiography of Winston Silcott in
yesterday's Independent. Disgusting as was the framing of the
(totally innocent) Silcott for the murder of PC Blakelock, and the
continued insinuations of the police that he got off on a
technicality, there can be no doubt of the soundness of Silcott's
first murder conviction, and no excuse for the continued
vilification of his victim.
Anthony Smith may have been no angel but he suffered horrific
injuries which were totally inconsistent with self-defence: his
face and abdomen were slashed, he had a lacerated lung and he'd
been stabbed in the heart. At his trial Silcott denied any
involvement with the killing - ie he lied - but later admitted
that he had indeed killed Smith. That being said, the judge gave
the jury the option of convicting him of manslaughter, but they
still convicted him of murder. Silcott had fallen foul of the law
before for carrying a knife, so the claim that he was handed one
and fought back does not wash.
Silcott has now done his time and should be left to get on with
his life. He has been compensated for his wrongful conviction, but
he has also paid with 18 years of his life for the murder of which
he was justly convicted.
Yours sincerely,
A Baron