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Crime & Law Enforcement Issues & Death Penalty/Questions Answered by Expert Mark Smith
| Subject | Date Asked |
| Toxicology | 1/5/2012 |
| Q: I'm not sure that this is in your area of expertise but if you can help i'd appreciate it, if not ... A: Vegetable poisoning is the general term given to poison extracted from plant matter ie morphine from ... | |
| Toxicology | 1/5/2012 |
| Q: I'm not sure that this is in your area of expertise but if you can help i'd appreciate it, if not ... A: I assume your novel is set in modern times? If it's an historical novel then the detection of poison ... | |
| A member list of a secret society? | 10/7/2011 |
| Q: I'm doing research to write a student screenplay about a secret society in the early 20th century. ... A: I doubt if there would have been a formal membership list as such, but there would probably have ... | |
| Dr. Thomas Cream | 1/27/2011 |
| Q: my question is is there any documented pictures of Dr.Cream as well as any of his hanging in ... A: Google images has plenty of pictures of Dr Cream. There seems to be just two of him however so ... | |
| Testimony copyright | 5/11/2010 |
| Q: I am writing a book about a high-profile murder case that took place in 1970 (US). I know you ... A: If you're quoting from another book then you'll need permission from the book's publishers. I'm not ... | |
| Murder | 5/31/2009 |
| Q: My aunty said one of her grandfather's family a BERWICK was murdered, this would have been from 1890 ... A: It will be impossible without further information such as a more precise date and location. All I ... | |
| A6 Case | 2/11/2009 |
| Q: Somebody asked you a couple of years ago if Peter Alphon was still alive. He passed away last month ... A: Even allowing for the one in a million chance, or whatever it is, that DNA evidence is faulty, I ... | |
| derek bentley's case | 12/2/2008 |
| Q: I would like to ask,why jury was not awared about Derek's mental age and condition by his lawyer and ... A: Derek Bentley's mental age was never really an issue. Although he was mentally sub-normal with the ... | |
| ruth ellis's case | 11/26/2008 |
| Q: i would like to ask,why the Crown didn't involved to turn down the wrongly derek's conviction that ... A: I think she was resigned to her fate. She loved David Blakely and accepted that she had to pay a ... | |
| derek bentley's case | 11/2/2008 |
| Q: i would like to ask,why the Crown didn't involved to turn down the wrongly derek's conviction that ... A: I wouldn't say they lied under oath, it was more about the interpretation of Craig's words. I don't ... | |
| derek bentley's case | 10/30/2008 |
| Q: i would like to ask,why the Crown didn't involved to turn down the wrongly derek's conviction that ... A: The remains of convicted murderers are not normally exhumed and reburied unless they are later ... | |
| derek bentley's case | 10/18/2008 |
| Q: i would like to ask,why the Crown didn't involved to turn down the wrongly derek's conviction that ... A: The best book on the subject is "To Encourage the Others" by David Yallop published in 1971, it ... | |
| derek bentley's case | 10/16/2008 |
| Q: i would like to ask,why the Crown didn't involved to turn down the wrongly derek's conviction that ... A: Although there is such a thing as a Royal Pardon it is only granted by the Queen on the ... | |
| Jack the ripper | 10/15/2008 |
| Q: I have a questions on Jack the Ripper. I would like to know who you think he was. they say he was ... A: We'll never know for sure who Jack the Ripper was. There are several plausible candidates, my ... | |
| potter's bar case in 1948 | 3/6/2008 |
| Q: do you have more info about that albert welsh,murdered in potter's bar in 1948?It was such a mystery A: Were you the person who asked me about the 1947 Potter's Bar murder two and a half years ago ? If ... | |
| Peter Alphon/Hanratty case | 9/24/2007 |
| Q: Do you know if Peter Alphon of the Hanratty case is stil alive and if so where he lives? tc Steven A: As far as I'm aware Peter Alphon is still alive, he would be 77 if he is. A quick search of the ... | |
| death penalty | 7/7/2006 |
| Q: why would a criminal get senteced to the death penalty? A: If a crime was considered serious enough the perpetrator could be sentenced to death under the laws ... | |
| Derek bentley case | 2/6/2006 |
| Q: We have just finished watching 'Let him have it' at school and i was wondering if you could tell me ... A: Sorry about last week, but my PC is working again now, so here's a "proper" answer. The Judge at ... | |
| Potters Bar murder | 11/23/2005 |
| Q: I'm pretty sure the case in question is the one in 1947, as my father remembered that it had ... A: I found the information in a book entitled "Murder Whereabouts" by J H H Gaute and Robin Odell ... | |
| Potters Bar murder | 11/21/2005 |
| Q: There is a family story that a relative was in some peripheral way involved in a murder that took ... A: There were two famous murders in that area during the period 1945-55, both by an amazing coincidence ... | |
| Craig & Bentley 1952 Police Murders | 11/29/2004 |
| Q: Just watched a programme about the 1952 murder by Craig & Bentley of policeman Miles. A lot of ... A: Christopher Craig was realeased after serving ten years in 1963. The last information I have on him ... | |
| Death Penalty | 11/9/2004 |
| Q: I'm Taiwanese and I'm interested in reasons why historically death penalty was justified in U.K.; ... A: The death penalty was ended in the UK in 1965. It was seen as both a deterent and as a punishment ... | |
| The Wallace Case | 10/11/2004 |
| Q: I'll assume that you're familiar with the unsolved murder of Julia Wallace. Supposedly, she and her ... A: I'm satisfied that the identity of Mrs Wallace's killer was revealed in 1981. He was Richard Gordon ... | |
| Thomas Neill Cream | 10/5/2004 |
| Q: I've just read about the above referenced individual and his conviction for the murder of ... A: There's a very good reason why he could not have committed the Jack the Ripper murders in London in ... | |
Crime & Law Enforcement Issues & Death Penalty
Answers by Expert:
Mark Smith
Top Expert on this page
Expertise
I can answer questions on British murders between 1850 and 1965, especially those that resulted in an execution. If it`s a well documented case I can give an answer quickly, otherwise it may take a little longer to research the case.
Experience
Life long interest in classic British murders.
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