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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 in its infancy, ever be deemed reliable enough to send a man, or woman, into the irreversible confines of the execution shed? The answer came in 1905.
Seventy-year-old Thomas Farrow worked as manager of Chapman’s Oil and Colour Store in Deptford, South London. He lived above the shop with his wife, Ann, who was five years his junior. It was customary for the owner of the business to open the shop early, in order to supply customers on their way to work.
On the morning of 27th March, 1905, sixteen-year-old William Jones arrived at the shop on an errand, but found the doors closed, a most unusual occurrence. After knocking on the door several times, the youth peered through a window. On seeing the shop in a state of some disarray, he sought help.
A Grim Discovery
With the assistance of a local man, Louis Kidman, the pair forced entry to the shop from the rear of the building…
