The Road to Oblivion

Nearly a quarter of a century after John Billington despatched the once aspiring executioner Samuel Dougal, who was not deterred by capital punishment from committing murder, Thomas Pierrepoint, who was persuaded to become a hangman by his brother Henry, put the noose around the neck of another who should have been deterred if it worked – a corrupt former police officer.

James Power was hanged in Winson Green Prison in Birmingham in January 1928. The jail overlooked the site of the crime that cost Power his life. While walking by a canal at around 9.45 on July 2^nd 1927 in Hockley, Charles Broomhead and 18-year-old Olive Turner were approached a man claiming to be a police officer.

He told them that he was arresting them for trespass, although other couples were left alone, but then he raised Broomheadʼs suspicions by demanding money to let them off. Broomhead told Turner to run off and tried to give her a head-start, but Power turned and thumped him before chasing the defenceless Turner, whose body was discovered in the canal the following day.

Broomhead came round to see Power abduct Turner. Fortunately for him others had too. Her watch had stopped at 11.41 indicating the time of the attack. Turner had been raped before being thrown unconscious into the canal. Broomhead was an initial suspect, but other witnesses supported his claims that another man had dragged Turner away.

The description fitted Power and he quickly emerged as a suspect to former colleague Detective Sergeant Albert Edwards. Police knew that he had still been masquerading as a police officer – he had previously been a policeman, but was dismissed for corruption. A street identification was arranged and Broomhead confirmed Edwardsʼ suspicions. Other witnesses identified him as well. Power insisted that they had all been mistaken, but Turnerʼs murder was only one of his crimes.

A Disgrace in Uniform

Born in Ireland in 1894, Power emigrated to England. After the police struck for better pay and conditions in 1919 – the last time they went on strike in Britain – Power joined the force in March 1920. Trained officers, some of whom were exemplary, were dismissed over the strike. That had unfortunate repercussions.

It created vacancies that were exploited by people who were not fit to wear the uniform. Power undoubtedly belonged to that category of officer and soon abused his authority. Just over a year after joining the force he failed to complete his beat. Six months later he was punished – his pay was reduced for a year.

It was a comparatively minor offence, but his next was not – it cost him his career and revealed the character flaw that would lead him to destruction. Within six months of being disciplined over his beat offences his conduct towards a servant named Clara Hammersley marked the beginning of the end.

Her employer, Frederick Taylor, insisted on making a complaint, but had the misfortune of making it to Power who promised to pursue the matter, claiming to know who the miscreant was. The incident occurred on December 14th 1922. Just over a week later Power was suspended. His police career was all but over.

On January 10^th 1923 the Joint Standing Committee dismissed him instantly. His career as a police officer was over, but Power was not averse to impersonating an officer, a trait that helped to send him to the gallows.

A Menace

Power had been a menace to the society he had sworn to protect just a few years earlier. The former police officer had been terrorising courting couples on the tow-path: demanding money with menaces from them along with committing more serious offences as well.

A young woman came forward claiming that Power had raped her. His reign of terror relied on his ability to impersonate a police officer, but finally his luck ran out. In December 1927 Power appeared in court in Birmingham, charged with Turnerʼs murder – the lesser offences lay on the file. He was prosecuted by the eminent barrister Norman Birkett KC¹. Power was rapidly convicted of Turnerʼs murder after a two-day trial. He was sentenced to death by Mr Justice Swift.

Powerʼs appeal failed and the 32-year-old former police officer was hanged by Thomas Pierrepoint, assisted by Robert Wilson on January 31^st 1928. He was the first former police officer to be executed in Britain in the twentieth century. If capital punishment could not prevent a former police officer from committing murder, despite knowing what the penalty was and that a shameful death on the gallows (in his case) was the likely result, can the death penalty really be the ultimate deterrent?

Capital Punishment

The death penalty is said by its supporters to be the ultimate deterrent. But is it? If anyone should think once, twice and be put off from committing a capital crime, it should be those working in law enforcement, especially police officers. But has it? On December 16^th 1950 Scottish police officer James Robertson earned the disgrace of being the only serving police officer to be hanged in Britain in the 20^th century (see Deterrence – The Ultimate Failure at http://fittedin.org/fittedin/?p=635).

If the death penalty was a deterrent, let alone the ultimate one, surely the message should have been clear to police officers, who brought criminals to justice and on occasion to the gallows. Surely, if deterrence worked, Robertson should have been deterred, but he wasnʼt and his is not a unique tale. Almost 47 years to the day before Robertson was hanged Brooklyn police officer William Ennis  earned a shameful distinction. He was the first serving police officer to die in the electric chair. 

Thug

On January 14^th 1902 a drunken Ennis committed two appalling crimes. He shot his estranged wife Mary dad and attempted to murder his mother-in-law. Mary was living with her mother at the time. She had left Ennis and secured a judgement against Ennis separating from him due to his cruel and inhumane treatment of her. Ennis had been ordered to pay alimony, but he resented both the judgement and his mother-in-law.

The judgement against Ennis had been ordered two weeks before he murdered his wife. Ennis had said that he would rather ʻrot in jailʼ, than pay. He demanded that she should come back and live with him. The irony of a police officer, sworn to uphold the law, threatening to ignore the law to bully his wife further seemed lost on him and his colleagues.

The court authorised the Sheriff to enter his home, seize property and sell it to pay the alimony. Ennis complained that Mary was under her motherʼs influence and should return to him. On January 14^th 1902 Ennis broke into his mother-in-lawʼs home and shot her – she survived – before shooting Mary dead. Ennisʼ rage had been fuelled by binge-drinking the night before. He had used his police-issue revolver to commit the crimes and then ran away. He was found by police sleeping in a nearby hotel a few hours later.

Brooklynʼs Finest

In May 1902 the now former Brooklyn police officer Ennis stood trial. He had admitted responsibility and shown some remorse when interviewed by police, but his defence at trial was insanity. Evidence of epilepsy suffered in childhood was put forward. His lawyers claimed that this, suffering from delusions and convulsions caused him to be violent. Medical evidence was provided, along with testimony from friends and relatives.

Even if all this was true, it beggars belief that such a person was deemed fit to be a police officer in the first place. Furthermore, it is astonishing that he was allowed to remain on duty after a court had ruled that Mary was entitled to separation and alimony due to his cruel and inhumane treatment of her. It was a tragedy waiting to happen.

Mary Ennis certainly deserved far better than she received from her husband and the police. Ennis had an acknowledged history of unacceptable treatment of Mary, but his employers saw no need to intervene, let alone remove a man who was clearly unfit to serve from the job. The tragic murder of Mary Ennis and subsequent fate of her murderer should have resulted in stringent safeguards to ensure that only those mentally fit to serve passed through training and onto the streets.

Judgement

The prosecution countered Ennisʼ insanity defence with a letter Ennis had written previously showing his intent to kill Mary. The jury accepted the prosecutionʼs claims that the murder was premeditated and rejected the insanity defence. Consequently, Ennis was sentenced to die in May 1902. Despite the verdict prison officers were concerned that Ennis was insane, but medical practitioners concluded that he was faking symptoms of mental illness.

His appeal was rejected in October 1903. That left commutation of the sentence by the then Governor of New York as Ennisʼ only hope of avoiding the sentence being carried out. A petition on behalf of Ennisʼ mother and sister was delivered by Judge Joseph Aspinall. Governor Benjamin Odell Jnr. declined to intervene. On December 14^th 1903 William Ennis became the first police officer went to the electric chair in New Yorkʼs Sing Sing Prison. He was the first police officer to suffer that fate.