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Judith ward
Judith Theresa Ward (nee Judith Minna Ward, 10 January 1949) is a British woman known for being a victim of unsafe convictions in 1974 for the bombing of Euston Station in 1973, and of the National Defence College and M62 coach bombings in 1974. Her conviction was quashed and she was released from prison on 11 May 1992. She had confessed due to a mental illness that led her to attention seeking behaviour and the making of false confessions. She spent 18 years in prison and eventually wrote a book about her conviction.
Contents
- Judith ward
- 2015 judith ward talks about her love of opera voice and music
- Background
- Events
- Appeal
- Nitroglycerine evidence
- References
2015 judith ward talks about her love of opera voice and music
Background
Ward was born in Stockport. After leaving school she worked as a horse-riding instructor, including working in Dundalk, County Louth, Ireland. She briefly enlisted in the Women's Royal Army Corps in 1971 but went absent without leave and returned to Dundalk. After a few months she returned to Aldershot and gave herself up, claiming to have been the subject of an Irish Republican Army recruitment attempt; she was discharged from the WRAC. After this, she moved again to the riding school in Dundalk where she worked for another year.
During this time she managed to get into the Thiepval Barracks, headquarters of the British Army in Northern Ireland. She was detained by the British Army and the Royal Ulster Constabulary and told them she was looking over the details of security measures, but she was not prosecuted. In August 1973, Ward left Dundalk and moved to London where she worked as a chambermaid in a hotel. By the end of the year she was living again in Stockport, and early in 1974 she worked for Chipperfield's Circus.
Events
On 10 September 1973, the Provisional IRA bombed Euston Station, causing "[e]xtensive but superficial damage" and some injuries. On 4 February 1974, a bomb destroyed a bus on the M62 motorway, killing nine soldiers and three civilians. The National Defence College in Latimer, Buckinghamshire was bombed on 12 February 1974, but caused no serious damage. Detective Chief Superintendent George Oldfield led the investigation into the M62 bomb. Ward was arrested on 14 February 1974 by police investigating the M62 coach bomb and made a statement admitting responsibility. Although she retracted her confession, on 4 November she was convicted of all three bombings.
Appeal
Several missing facts from the original trial made the Appeal Court rule the conviction as unsafe.
Accordingly, Ward's conviction was quashed in 1992 and she was released.
Nitroglycerine evidence
One of the main pieces of forensic evidence against Ward was the alleged presence of traces of nitroglycerine on her hands, in her caravan, and in her bag.
Thin layer chromatography and the Griess test were used to establish the presence of nitroglycerine. However, later evidence showed that positive results using these methods could be obtained with materials innocently picked up from shoe polish, and that several of the forensic scientists involved had either withheld evidence or exaggerated its importance.
This was one of a series of miscarriages of justice during the latter half of the 20th century.