MURDER FOR SEX And Cases of Manslaughter Under the New Act

Hardback. Ten women died at the hands of 3 notorious sex murderers. Heath killed 2 women and Christie's victims were finally known to be 6. Whiteway threw the violated bodies of 2 teenage virgins into the Thames. All 3 men were hanged. In 1957, the Homicide Act was introduced and sex killers were no longer hanged. In 2 trials at the time, for murder, the final verdict in each case was manslaughter. Patrick Byrne who mutilated and beheaded a girl in a hostel in Birmingham, and Michael Dowdall, who killed and mutilated a prostitute in London because he pleaded diminished responibility under Section 2 of the Act. The author, who was the chief crime reporter of a national newspaper, investigated each of the crimes and studied the details of each case and the implications of the Act. Illus. 267pp. 8vo. Tiny insc., o/w Nr. f. in sl. frayed dw. which has a little wear to head/tail of sl. faded sp.