The Stratton Brothers: Hanged by a Fingerprint
Fingerprint evidence “…savoured more of the French courts than of English justice.”
The name Harry Jackson does not sit with the likes of Roger Bannister, the first man to run a sub four-minute mile, Nicholas Brakspear, the first, and thus far only English pope, and Trevor Francis, the subject of England’s first million pound football transfer. But Jackson claims an English first just like each of the aforementioned. He was the first man on these islands to be convicted by fingerprint evidence.
Jackson had committed a burglary in Denmark Hill, London on 27th June 1902, which netted him a haul of, of all things, some billiard balls. An officer from the recently-formed Fingerprint Branch found imprints on a windowsill, which were proven to belong to Jackson. The hapless burglar was sent down for seven years, completely unaware that over a century later his name would crop up on Internet searches.
Newfangled Form of Evidence
While there were those who doubted this newfangled form of evidence, at least Jackson was still alive. He would be able to enjoy the benefits of any pardon that may have come his way, should fingerprint evidence be dismissed as insufficiently tested or otherwise unreliable. A pertinent question at the time was would fingerprint evidence, which was still…
