Breaking eggs to make omelettes

After Mahmood Mattan’s defence barrister described him as a semi-civilised savage it was not surprising that the jury decided he was guilty and the judge passed the mandatory sentence of death. Mahmood Mattan’s appeal was dismissed in August 1952, and he became the last person to be hanged at Cardiff Prison September 3, 1952. As with other executed prisoners, his remains were buried within the prison.

Cover’s description of the likely killer also matched another Somali, Tehar Gass. In 1954, Gass was tried for the murder of a wages clerk called Granville Jenkins. Gass was found insane and sent to Broadmoor. After his release he was deported to Somalia.

One of the detectives in the Volpert Case, Detective Inspector Ludon Roberts, was aware that Harold Cover’s description did not match that of Mahmood Mattan, but this fact was not placed before the original trial jury. Gass was interviewed by Cardiff City Police during their investigations. He admitted visiting Lily Volpert’s shop on the day of the murder but the original trial jury was not told of this point either.

In 1996, Mahmood Mattan’s remains were exhumed from Cardiff Prison and re-buried in a Cardiff Cemetery.

February 24, 1998 the London Court of Appeal quashed Mahmood Mattan’s conviction. Lord Justice Rose (Vice-President of the Court of Appeal) said that the case against Mahmood Mattan was "demonstrably flawed". He went on to say that Mahmood Mattan’s death and the length of time taken to dismiss the conviction were matters of profound regret. The other judges sitting with Lord Justice Rose were Mr Justice Holland and Mr Justice Penry-Davey.

Mahmood Hussein Mattan was exonerated and granted a posthumous pardon 46 years after he had been executed.

Proponents of the death penalty sweep aside such travesties of justice as outlined here with the claim “you have to break a few eggs to make an omelette” Do 126 human lives, including the questionable circumstances surrounding the Ronald Ryan execution, equate to those palatable omelettes?