The Last Hanging in Cardiff Prison

The Last Hanging in Cardiff Prison

In September 1952 Mahmood Hussein Mattan became the last to be hanged at Cardiff Prison, but Mahmood had in fact been framed by the police and 45 years later his conviction was quashed. Mahmood had been a merchant seaman who had ended up settling in Cardiff and marrying a Welsh woman called Laura Williams. They lived in the Tiger Bay district of Cardiff and had three children but in 1950 had separated. Mahmood had had a number of encounters with the police and had committed some minor offences such as small thefts. His vocal distrust of the police had made him unpopular with the local force though and when Lily Volpert, a Cardiff shopkeeper, was found murdered and her shop robbed they quickly turned to Mahmood. Despite a lack of any firm evidence linking him to the crime, he became the prime suspect. Poorly represented in court and facing a hostile jury he was convicted in July 1952 and sentenced to be hanged. The sentence was carried out three months later, but the case never truly went away. His family kept the fight alive for 45 years until 1998 when his case was the first to be reviewed by the newly created Criminal Cases Review Commission. His conviction was quickly quashed and his families fight for justice was finally over.


To discuss Mahmood's case author Nadifa Mohamed joins Dan for this episode of the podcast. Her novel The Fortune Men, which has been longlisted for the Booker Prize, is based on the case and she immersed herself in the case, Mahmoud's life and the history of Cardiff's multicultural Tiger Bay area to bring this story of injustice to life.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Avsnitt(1499)

Pirates: The Pirate Hunts

Pirates: The Pirate Hunts

As the Golden Age of Piracy drew to a close, the oceans turned into hunting grounds where pirates became prey. Dan tells the dramatic tale of the rise and fall of Bartholomew Roberts, or Black Bart, o...

20 Juli 202531min

How did the Colonies win the American War of Independence?

How did the Colonies win the American War of Independence?

In 1775, American revolutionaries went to war with the British. Seeking independence from colonial ties, they fought more than 150 battles over eight years.How did a relatively new nation of just 2.5 ...

17 Juli 202550min

Christopher Wren

Christopher Wren

Architect, astronomer, anatomist, and genius who rebuilt London after the Great Fire —Christopher Wren. His life is nothing short of extraordinary. In this episode, Dan is joined by historian and cons...

15 Juli 202545min

Pirates: Barbary Corsairs & The Bombardment of Algiers

Pirates: Barbary Corsairs & The Bombardment of Algiers

For centuries, the Barbary Corsairs captured ships and enslaved European Christians, turning the Mediterranean into a sea of fear and ransom. Backed by the rulers of Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli, the c...

13 Juli 202528min

Boudicca: Myths vs Reality

Boudicca: Myths vs Reality

Boudicca, the warrior queen of the Iceni tribe, has become a symbol of resistance and British defiance. But what do we really know about her, and her bloody revolt against Roman rule? Dr Shushma Malik...

10 Juli 202531min

Why Do Empires Fall?

Why Do Empires Fall?

For centuries, the Roman Empire commanded unparalleled control over the world around it. It expanded its borders through trade and conquest, sucking resources from the periphery into its thriving cent...

8 Juli 202542min

Pirates: Piracy in the South China Seas

Pirates: Piracy in the South China Seas

Zheng Yi Sao was a pirate leader so formidable that she made Blackbeard and Captain Morgan look like amateurs. From humble beginnings as a sex worker in Canton, she rose to command a vast pirate fleet...

6 Juli 202538min

The Rise & Fall of Sparta

The Rise & Fall of Sparta

Today, we trace the rise and fall of ancient Greece’s most formidable warrior society - Sparta. This society's militaristic culture and battlefield feats are the stuff of legend - but how much of its ...

3 Juli 202546min

Populärt inom Historia

massmordarpodden
p3-historia
historiska-brott
kod-katastrof
motiv
olosta-mord
historianu-med-urban-lindstedt
historiepodden-se
rss-seriemordarpodden
rss-historien-om
rss-massmordarpodden
krigshistoriepodden
rss-brottsligt
rss-historiska-brottslingar
harrisons-dramatiska-historia
rss-arkiv-stieg
palmemordet
vetenskapsradion-historia
nu-blir-det-historia
rss-borgvattnets-hemligheter