0:00:02 > 0:00:05The British justice system is the envy of the world.
0:00:05 > 0:00:08But in the past, mistakes have been made.
0:00:08 > 0:00:11Between the year 1900 and the year 1964,
0:00:11 > 0:00:14approximately 800 people were hanged in the United Kingdom.
0:00:16 > 0:00:19Many of those desperately protested their innocence.
0:00:19 > 0:00:22Some of these long-standing convictions could be a
0:00:22 > 0:00:24miscarriage of justice.
0:00:24 > 0:00:27She's received most of the blows in this position,
0:00:27 > 0:00:29once she's already bleeding.
0:00:29 > 0:00:31In this series, a living relative will attempt to clear
0:00:31 > 0:00:33their family name.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36It's the justice. It would be great to prove that they were wrong.
0:00:37 > 0:00:39Searching for new evidence...
0:00:39 > 0:00:42I can make the 32 fire both calibres.
0:00:42 > 0:00:45GUNSHOT
0:00:45 > 0:00:48..with help from two of the UK's leading barristers,
0:00:48 > 0:00:50one for the defence...
0:00:50 > 0:00:52This is a very worrying case.
0:00:52 > 0:00:55I think the evidence is very suspect.
0:00:55 > 0:00:57..and one for the prosecution.
0:00:57 > 0:01:01I'm still of the view that this was a cogent case of murder
0:01:01 > 0:01:04committed during the course of a robbery.
0:01:04 > 0:01:06They are on a mission to solve the mystery...
0:01:08 > 0:01:10..submitting their findings to a Crown Court judge.
0:01:10 > 0:01:15There is a real risk that there has been a miscarriage of justice here.
0:01:15 > 0:01:19I will look again at the evidence in the light of the arguments that you
0:01:19 > 0:01:21both have put before me.
0:01:21 > 0:01:23Can this modern investigation...
0:01:23 > 0:01:24GUNSHOT
0:01:24 > 0:01:25..rewrite history?
0:01:32 > 0:01:34Essex, 1922.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39Percy Thompson is stabbed only yards from his house.
0:01:40 > 0:01:42His wife makes a shocking revelation -
0:01:42 > 0:01:44she knows the murderer.
0:01:44 > 0:01:47It's her boyfriend, Frederick Bywaters.
0:01:51 > 0:01:53Accused of conspiring to murder Percy,
0:01:53 > 0:01:55Edith is tried alongside Freddie.
0:01:57 > 0:02:01Shocked, Edith proclaims her innocence.
0:02:01 > 0:02:02Both are found guilty...
0:02:03 > 0:02:05..and hanged.
0:02:05 > 0:02:07But should Edith have been executed?
0:02:13 > 0:02:14This is a picture of her.
0:02:16 > 0:02:18And this is actually her husband, Percy.
0:02:18 > 0:02:21And this is Freddie, who she had an affair with.
0:02:22 > 0:02:26Now, 95 years later, Edith's relative has discovered
0:02:26 > 0:02:28this family secret.
0:02:28 > 0:02:35I'm Nicola Toy and my grandfather was Edith's cousin.
0:02:35 > 0:02:37He was a very private man.
0:02:37 > 0:02:39He hated scandal.
0:02:39 > 0:02:41And therefore, he didn't discuss it.
0:02:41 > 0:02:44So, no, we didn't know anything about it.
0:02:44 > 0:02:46Edith, I think she was a modern woman.
0:02:46 > 0:02:53She wasn't the dull housewife. She was a working woman, a career woman.
0:02:53 > 0:02:57She was quite special, quite unique, in the 1920s.
0:02:57 > 0:03:00And I think that she might well have been innocent.
0:03:02 > 0:03:06Edith lived and worked in a rapidly changing post-war London.
0:03:06 > 0:03:08It was the Roaring '20s
0:03:08 > 0:03:11and she was keen to escape the shackles of Victorian attitudes.
0:03:13 > 0:03:16Nicky is making her way across London to meet the barristers who
0:03:16 > 0:03:18will be reinvestigating the case.
0:03:19 > 0:03:22Proving my cousin Edith is innocent
0:03:22 > 0:03:25would be absolutely fantastic.
0:03:25 > 0:03:29I'm hoping that the barristers will talk me through the trial
0:03:29 > 0:03:33and explain a lot of things that perhaps I don't understand
0:03:33 > 0:03:37and really confirm what I feel, that she's not guilty.
0:03:37 > 0:03:41I just want to get things right and see if we can find some justice.
0:03:43 > 0:03:45Edith protested her innocence,
0:03:45 > 0:03:49but the jury were convinced that she had planned her husband's murder.
0:03:49 > 0:03:52Can a modern-day legal team uncover the truth?
0:03:53 > 0:03:58Sasha Wass QC has over 30 years' experience of the criminal bar
0:03:58 > 0:04:02and has prosecuted high-profile cases ranging from money-laundering
0:04:02 > 0:04:03to murder.
0:04:04 > 0:04:08Defence barrister Jeremy Dein has successfully defended countless
0:04:08 > 0:04:11homicide cases since being called to the bar in 1982.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16The barristers will be reinvestigating Edith Thompson's
0:04:16 > 0:04:18case on Nicky's behalf.
0:04:18 > 0:04:22But is she prepared to learn the truth about Edith
0:04:22 > 0:04:24and the murder of Percy Thompson?
0:04:26 > 0:04:28- Hello, Nicky.- Hello. - Nice to meet you.
0:04:28 > 0:04:30- My name's Jeremy. - Hello, I'm Nicky.
0:04:30 > 0:04:32- Hi, Nicky.- Hello.- Hello, there, hi.
0:04:33 > 0:04:37First of all, what is it that's led you to take an interest
0:04:37 > 0:04:39in Edith's case? Tell us, please.
0:04:39 > 0:04:42Well, I didn't know about the case.
0:04:42 > 0:04:46I didn't know about Edith until recently, but from what I've read,
0:04:46 > 0:04:50I don't feel that there was strong enough evidence to convict her.
0:04:50 > 0:04:54If the upshot of our enquiry is to suggest that Edith
0:04:54 > 0:04:58was wrongly hanged, what would you feel about that?
0:04:58 > 0:04:59I already think...
0:05:00 > 0:05:02..she was wrongly hanged.
0:05:02 > 0:05:04It's obviously something that means a lot to you.
0:05:04 > 0:05:06Yes, it does.
0:05:06 > 0:05:10It does. Not just because she's my cousin, it's the justice.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13And it would be great to prove that they were wrong.
0:05:13 > 0:05:20If, at the end of the day, a judge rules that the conviction is safe,
0:05:20 > 0:05:23is that something you think you can deal with?
0:05:23 > 0:05:25Well, yes, I'll have to.
0:05:25 > 0:05:26It would be very sad.
0:05:28 > 0:05:29I would rather it the other way.
0:05:31 > 0:05:33It was absolutely brilliant meeting the barristers.
0:05:33 > 0:05:36I'm really excited about them going back and having a look at the court
0:05:36 > 0:05:38case, and whether it was fair or not,
0:05:38 > 0:05:41and whether the outcome was just and true.
0:05:43 > 0:05:45While Nicky sets out to learn more about her relative...
0:05:47 > 0:05:50..Sasha and Jeremy will scrutinise the facts of the case.
0:05:52 > 0:05:54Percy Thompson died as a result of blood loss
0:05:54 > 0:05:56from multiple stab wounds.
0:05:56 > 0:05:58Suspicion fell on his wife...
0:05:59 > 0:06:02..the only eyewitness to the incident.
0:06:02 > 0:06:04What's interesting about this case
0:06:04 > 0:06:09is Edith's reaction to the attack on her husband.
0:06:10 > 0:06:16Her first reaction, according to passers-by, was to say, "Oh, my God,
0:06:16 > 0:06:19"will you help me? My husband is ill."
0:06:19 > 0:06:22Later, she was asked by somebody what had happened to her husband,
0:06:22 > 0:06:24and she said, "Don't ask me, I don't know."
0:06:24 > 0:06:27"Someone flew past. When I turned to speak to him,
0:06:27 > 0:06:30"blood was pouring out of his mouth."
0:06:30 > 0:06:34So there's a recognition that there WAS a third person there.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37But when the police decided to question her,
0:06:37 > 0:06:40she just said that her husband had suddenly dropped down
0:06:40 > 0:06:43and she couldn't account for his wounds at all.
0:06:43 > 0:06:48So her first reactions were really all over the place.
0:06:48 > 0:06:53So I see that, um, really, as a potential sign of guilt.
0:06:54 > 0:06:57Edith's story quickly unravelled once Freddie Bywaters,
0:06:57 > 0:07:00who was known to be a family friend, was brought in for questioning.
0:07:02 > 0:07:05His belongings were searched, revealing a stash of letters
0:07:05 > 0:07:09from Edith, and it became clear the pair had been having an affair.
0:07:10 > 0:07:15The other matter that formed the backbone of the prosecution case was
0:07:15 > 0:07:17the correspondence the police found.
0:07:17 > 0:07:21Edith had been talking about poisoning her husband,
0:07:21 > 0:07:23about wanting him out of the way.
0:07:23 > 0:07:28Really saying things which provided very cogent evidence of her
0:07:28 > 0:07:32complicity in what Freddie Bywaters had done, namely,
0:07:32 > 0:07:34murdered her husband.
0:07:34 > 0:07:38Now, I'm interested in looking further at the way Edith Thompson
0:07:38 > 0:07:41was portrayed during the trial.
0:07:41 > 0:07:46The judge summarised the case to the jury on the basis that this
0:07:46 > 0:07:49was a common or ordinary charge of a wife and an adulterer
0:07:49 > 0:07:53murdering the husband. But was that regarded by the jury as the
0:07:53 > 0:07:58linchpin for the prosecution case in an improper fashion?
0:07:58 > 0:08:03So my first impressions are that Edith Thompson
0:08:03 > 0:08:06was wrongly convicted of murder.
0:08:06 > 0:08:10So with the barristers immediately at odds regarding Edith's guilt...
0:08:11 > 0:08:14..Nicky is retracing her cousin's fateful steps
0:08:14 > 0:08:18on the night of the murder to understand the facts of the case.
0:08:19 > 0:08:24On October 3rd 1922, the Thompsons had attended the theatre in London
0:08:24 > 0:08:27and were walking home when they were ambushed.
0:08:27 > 0:08:28They came from Ilford station
0:08:28 > 0:08:31and they crossed over onto this side of the road
0:08:31 > 0:08:36and we believe that Freddie was hiding in a garden on the corner.
0:08:38 > 0:08:40And so they were walking down here together
0:08:40 > 0:08:42and Freddie must have attacked them.
0:08:42 > 0:08:47Edith went down and Percy and Freddie continued to fight.
0:08:47 > 0:08:51For 44 feet, apparently, there was blood all over the pavement.
0:08:55 > 0:08:59The case put forward at trial is that Edith and her lover, Freddie,
0:08:59 > 0:09:01planned the attack on Percy together
0:09:01 > 0:09:03and were jointly responsible for the murder.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07Freddie claims, however, that the killing was accidental
0:09:07 > 0:09:11and that Edith had nothing to do with it.
0:09:11 > 0:09:13If he hadn't had the knife in his pocket,
0:09:13 > 0:09:15and we all wonder why that was there, but apparently
0:09:15 > 0:09:18seamen do carry knives around with them, and
0:09:18 > 0:09:19he was going off to sea the next day.
0:09:19 > 0:09:22I don't think he wanted to murder Percy,
0:09:22 > 0:09:25I think he wanted to have it out with Percy.
0:09:25 > 0:09:28He was desperate for Edith to be free, so, I guess,
0:09:28 > 0:09:30when he came back, he could be with her.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35The love affair between Edith and Freddie was presented as the motive
0:09:35 > 0:09:38for Percy Thompson's murder.
0:09:38 > 0:09:42Jeremy and Sasha have opposing views on whether the facts support this.
0:09:43 > 0:09:48Freddie Bywaters was nowhere near his home address when, um,
0:09:48 > 0:09:50Percy was stabbed.
0:09:50 > 0:09:55And the jury might have questioned how it was that he knew that Edith
0:09:55 > 0:09:59and Percy were going to be walking along that road, just at that time,
0:09:59 > 0:10:01in the early hours of the morning.
0:10:01 > 0:10:05Sasha, she told him that she was going to the theatre with
0:10:05 > 0:10:06Percy Thompson that night.
0:10:06 > 0:10:12The fact that she had imparted that information to Fred Bywaters
0:10:12 > 0:10:16does not mean that she had given him the green light to slaughter
0:10:16 > 0:10:17her husband.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20Jeremy, we have to be realistic about this.
0:10:20 > 0:10:24Freddie Bywaters would not have acted
0:10:24 > 0:10:28without the consent of his lover, Edith Thompson.
0:10:28 > 0:10:33And Edith lied from the moment that murder was committed
0:10:33 > 0:10:37and she did so in order to protect his identity.
0:10:37 > 0:10:42Remember, it was only when she saw him at the police station that she
0:10:42 > 0:10:45came clean and said that he was the killer.
0:10:45 > 0:10:48Until that moment, she had hoped he'd have got away with it and she'd
0:10:48 > 0:10:52have hoped he'd have got away with it because she had set him up to it.
0:10:52 > 0:10:54Having been to the scene of the crime,
0:10:54 > 0:10:57Nicky is visiting the home Edith and Percy bought together.
0:10:58 > 0:11:02With both their careers flourishing, they were coming up in the world.
0:11:02 > 0:11:06But it seems Edith's professional success was not matched by her
0:11:06 > 0:11:08personal happiness.
0:11:10 > 0:11:12They moved in in 1920.
0:11:12 > 0:11:14I think they'd only been married a couple of years.
0:11:14 > 0:11:16So they were doing well.
0:11:16 > 0:11:18But I think she was very unhappy.
0:11:18 > 0:11:22I think she was bored of being with him and...
0:11:23 > 0:11:26..it wasn't exciting enough, I don't think, and she wanted more.
0:11:26 > 0:11:28Plus, she had this young, um...
0:11:29 > 0:11:35..exciting, romantic person that sailed the world
0:11:35 > 0:11:38that was very interested in her and there was a lot of passion between them.
0:11:38 > 0:11:41And I think that that's what she longed for.
0:11:41 > 0:11:43Edith wrote to Freddie of her plans for the future.
0:11:45 > 0:11:47But did she really want to divorce Percy?
0:11:53 > 0:11:58In reality, if she left her husband, she would have lost everything.
0:11:58 > 0:12:00In those days, she wouldn't have got anything.
0:12:00 > 0:12:02She would have walked away from all of this.
0:12:02 > 0:12:06So, it makes me wonder, was the other option for him not to be here
0:12:06 > 0:12:10and maybe if he had died, she might be left with this lovely house.
0:12:14 > 0:12:17Police discovered over 80 letters and notes that Edith had written to
0:12:17 > 0:12:21Freddie. More than half of these were used at trial.
0:12:21 > 0:12:24Sasha has found some shocking evidence in these letters.
0:12:34 > 0:12:41What we do know from the letters is that there are repeated references
0:12:41 > 0:12:48by Edith to a wish that her husband should be dead.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51I mean, for example, she says in one letter:
0:12:59 > 0:13:02She's obviously referring to herself.
0:13:02 > 0:13:05"How unfair everything is," she says.
0:13:05 > 0:13:07That's just a passing comment, isn't it?
0:13:07 > 0:13:10Yes, it could be a passing comment if it were once,
0:13:10 > 0:13:14but we have repeated references to poisoning him.
0:13:14 > 0:13:19She sends cuttings referring to wives killing their husband.
0:13:19 > 0:13:21And at one stage she says:
0:13:30 > 0:13:35And then she talks about grinding up glass from a light bulb.
0:13:35 > 0:13:37Sasha, if I may say so,
0:13:37 > 0:13:42you might well be falling into the same trap as the jury.
0:13:42 > 0:13:48My feeling is that too much was made of these letters.
0:13:48 > 0:13:54Did Fred Bywaters take it upon himself to kill Percy Thompson?
0:13:54 > 0:13:58Is that why she said to the police when she saw Fred Bywaters at the
0:13:58 > 0:14:03police station, "Oh, God, oh, God, what can I do?"
0:14:03 > 0:14:06"Why did he do it? I did not want him to do it.
0:14:06 > 0:14:08"I must tell the truth."
0:14:08 > 0:14:13I am of the view that even if these letters
0:14:13 > 0:14:15are indicative of her thought process,
0:14:15 > 0:14:19that is a very different issue to her being complicit in the
0:14:19 > 0:14:24vicious stabbing of Percy Thompson on the night in question.
0:14:24 > 0:14:28Edith's defence at trial was that these letters were just fantasy.
0:14:28 > 0:14:30It's just unfortunate, from her point of view,
0:14:30 > 0:14:35that her fantasy involved the demise of her husband
0:14:35 > 0:14:41and on the 3rd October, her lover killed her husband,
0:14:41 > 0:14:43fulfilling that fantasy.
0:14:45 > 0:14:48Edith's letters were crucial to the case.
0:14:48 > 0:14:52But do the barristers agree with the 1922 assessment that they were
0:14:52 > 0:14:54clear evidence of Edith's guilt?
0:14:54 > 0:14:58The letters, which were the bedrock of the prosecution case, in my view,
0:14:58 > 0:15:00are ambiguous.
0:15:01 > 0:15:03Those letters were a cry for help.
0:15:03 > 0:15:07But what she wasn't asking for was for Percy Thompson to be stabbed to
0:15:07 > 0:15:09death and that's what Fred Bywaters did.
0:15:09 > 0:15:11That's what he said he did.
0:15:11 > 0:15:15He said she wasn't involved and I fear that that may well be the
0:15:15 > 0:15:18true scenario from the point of view of a miscarriage of justice here.
0:15:21 > 0:15:27Well, the letter evidence suggests that Edith Thompson had
0:15:27 > 0:15:30fantasies about killing her husband.
0:15:30 > 0:15:32She didn't keep those fantasies to herself,
0:15:32 > 0:15:36she shared them with the man who eventually killed her husband.
0:15:36 > 0:15:38Coupled with that, of course,
0:15:38 > 0:15:43we've got the fact that he knew that Edith wanted her husband dead
0:15:43 > 0:15:48and Edith did everything possible to try to shield the identity of the
0:15:48 > 0:15:50person who had killed her husband in the street,
0:15:50 > 0:15:55although she knew full well from the outset that it was her lover.
0:15:55 > 0:15:58So I don't see this as a weak case.
0:15:58 > 0:16:01It may have been an unfortunate case, it's clearly a tragic case,
0:16:01 > 0:16:03three people lost their lives,
0:16:03 > 0:16:07but that's not the same as saying it's a miscarriage of justice.
0:16:15 > 0:16:18Nicky has come to the National Archives at Kew,
0:16:18 > 0:16:20hoping to learn more about Edith.
0:16:21 > 0:16:24But she might be surprised by what she reads in newspapers
0:16:24 > 0:16:26from the time.
0:16:30 > 0:16:34Daily Chronicle, 16th December '22.
0:16:34 > 0:16:37"Large numbers of people are visiting Mr Barrington Matthews'
0:16:37 > 0:16:40"office to sign the petition for a reprieve.
0:16:40 > 0:16:42"Among those who signed the petition
0:16:42 > 0:16:44"yesterday was Mr and Mrs Graden,
0:16:44 > 0:16:46"the parents of Mrs Thompson and
0:16:46 > 0:16:48"her brother and her sister."
0:16:49 > 0:16:53What gets me is there's not a petition for their own daughter.
0:16:53 > 0:16:58And he's the one that killed Percy and she didn't.
0:16:58 > 0:17:01So why is there not a petition for Edith?
0:17:01 > 0:17:03I don't understand that.
0:17:05 > 0:17:08While there was no public petition for Edith's reprieve,
0:17:08 > 0:17:12several of Edith's friends and family members wrote to the press,
0:17:12 > 0:17:16to government and to the king and queen, making pleas for mercy.
0:17:17 > 0:17:20This is a letter handwritten from...
0:17:22 > 0:17:26..Mrs Laxton, who is the sister of Mrs Thompson's mother,
0:17:26 > 0:17:31so she is the sister of my great
0:17:31 > 0:17:35grandmother. "My husband and I were the aunt and uncle with whom
0:17:35 > 0:17:39"Mr and Mrs Thompson spent the evening at the theatre and I assure
0:17:39 > 0:17:43"you, gentlemen, that from Mrs Thompson's manner,
0:17:43 > 0:17:48"conversation and also arrangements we all made to go to dinners,
0:17:48 > 0:17:50"dances and other theatres,
0:17:50 > 0:17:56"it was absolutely impossible for Mrs Thompson to have entered into
0:17:56 > 0:18:00"any arrangement with Bywaters to commit the crime.
0:18:00 > 0:18:05"But, gentlemen, my real plea is on behalf of the parents.
0:18:05 > 0:18:09"By hanging the unhappy couple, it is not them who suffer,
0:18:09 > 0:18:11"but the family...
0:18:14 > 0:18:15"..left behind."
0:18:19 > 0:18:21- TEARFUL:- Well, it's the truth, isn't it?
0:18:23 > 0:18:25They lost their lives, but, um...
0:18:26 > 0:18:29..the punishment's carried with the family...
0:18:32 > 0:18:33..and the generations.
0:18:35 > 0:18:36It's dreadful.
0:18:36 > 0:18:41So they're pleading, pleading with them, to just intern them
0:18:41 > 0:18:44and not have them die by hanging.
0:18:45 > 0:18:47And how it would affect the family.
0:18:50 > 0:18:53- TEARFUL:- God, they must have been so desperate.
0:19:01 > 0:19:06The barristers are meeting criminal psychologist Doctor Donna Youngs.
0:19:06 > 0:19:08She's been analysing Edith's letters
0:19:08 > 0:19:12to try to profile her intentions with regards to Freddie's actions.
0:19:14 > 0:19:17Was she trying to incite her lover to murder her husband?
0:19:18 > 0:19:21Or was she weaving an elaborate fantasy inspired by
0:19:21 > 0:19:24fiction and newspaper stories?
0:19:25 > 0:19:27Donna, what I'd like to know from you
0:19:27 > 0:19:29is what sort of character was Edith?
0:19:29 > 0:19:32She's a very interesting character, er...
0:19:34 > 0:19:37..in the fact that there are a lot of quite contrasting personality traits.
0:19:37 > 0:19:42- Her thinking is... I'd almost characterise it as childlike.- Mmhm.
0:19:42 > 0:19:46This letter, to me, is a clear indication of her general
0:19:46 > 0:19:49immaturity of cognition.
0:20:00 > 0:20:03"I'm not going to look any further forward and you're not, either."
0:20:03 > 0:20:06Being incapable of seeing beyond three months into the future,
0:20:06 > 0:20:09that's how a child talks about time.
0:20:09 > 0:20:11This is not a mature woman.
0:20:11 > 0:20:15Edith faced charges of conspiracy to commit murder
0:20:15 > 0:20:18and of soliciting and inciting Frederick Bywaters
0:20:18 > 0:20:20to kill her husband.
0:20:20 > 0:20:25One of the features of the case was that Edith was an older woman,
0:20:25 > 0:20:29using her dominant personality, preying on a young man.
0:20:29 > 0:20:32Have you seen anything in the letters which supports
0:20:32 > 0:20:34a more dominant relationship on her part?
0:20:34 > 0:20:39No, absolutely not. That's an utterly ridiculous characterisation of her.
0:20:39 > 0:20:43- Unwittingly, she has encouraged him, clearly.- Yeah.
0:20:43 > 0:20:48But, no, I don't think there was any direct intention to...
0:20:49 > 0:20:51..move directly towards a murder.
0:20:51 > 0:20:53I mean, she wanted to motivate his passion.
0:20:53 > 0:20:57In fact, what seems to have been completely ignored is that,
0:20:57 > 0:21:02actually, Edith pleas with Freddie against him taking
0:21:02 > 0:21:04any kind of direct action.
0:21:05 > 0:21:08We see this here in this quote in this letter.
0:21:09 > 0:21:13So here she's saying, "Darling, I'll do and say all
0:21:13 > 0:21:16"and everything you tell me to about friend.
0:21:16 > 0:21:19"Only remember not to do anything that will leave me behind,
0:21:19 > 0:21:22"by myself."
0:21:22 > 0:21:24She's pleading with him not to do anything.
0:21:24 > 0:21:28The thing is, Donna, clearly, she has had fantasies,
0:21:28 > 0:21:32and it goes right through these letters, of killing her husband.
0:21:32 > 0:21:35In the criminal sphere we look at all sorts of threat letters,
0:21:35 > 0:21:37terrorist propaganda,
0:21:37 > 0:21:40to see if we can identify which threats are really likely to be carried out,
0:21:40 > 0:21:43anything that shows a genuine commitment,
0:21:43 > 0:21:46and there's nothing here which is consistent with a genuine commitment.
0:21:46 > 0:21:50- To what?- To killing her husband. - Right. That's very, very clear.
0:21:50 > 0:21:52- BOTH:- Thank you very much indeed.
0:21:57 > 0:22:00Having learned that there was little public sympathy for Edith,
0:22:00 > 0:22:05Nicky wants to understand what life was like for women in the 1920s.
0:22:07 > 0:22:09She's come to Redbridge town hall in Ilford
0:22:09 > 0:22:11to meet historian Professor Lucy Bland.
0:22:15 > 0:22:17Edith Thompson, she was a fascinating woman.
0:22:17 > 0:22:19I mean, she left school at 15.
0:22:19 > 0:22:21She worked for a milliners.
0:22:21 > 0:22:24She was a buyer, she was a book-keeper
0:22:24 > 0:22:26and she became a manageress.
0:22:26 > 0:22:28She taught herself French.
0:22:28 > 0:22:30- I didn't know that.- She went to Paris.
0:22:30 > 0:22:33Yes, she went to Paris to buy things and could speak pretty good French.
0:22:33 > 0:22:36She was very vivacious, she loved dancing.
0:22:36 > 0:22:37A girl after my own heart!
0:22:37 > 0:22:40We're in this room here because this was one of the dance halls
0:22:40 > 0:22:42- she'd come to.- Ah, OK.
0:22:44 > 0:22:46As a fashionable young woman,
0:22:46 > 0:22:50Edith embraced the changing look of the 1920s
0:22:50 > 0:22:52and adopted the new flapper style.
0:22:53 > 0:22:59The flapper is thought of as a young woman who's very much into things
0:22:59 > 0:23:02precisely that Edith's into.
0:23:02 > 0:23:06Dancing, having a good time, smoking, drinking.
0:23:06 > 0:23:10- Being kind of wild.- A bit flirtatious?- A bit flirtatious.
0:23:10 > 0:23:13And the clothes - fashion changed. Much shorter skirts...
0:23:13 > 0:23:17- Bit more revealing.- ..shorter hair. She had a bob, which was, you know,
0:23:17 > 0:23:20she's one of the first, in the early '20s, women started to do this.
0:23:20 > 0:23:22- She was a bit of a trend setter, then?- She was.
0:23:26 > 0:23:29Edith worked throughout the war and, unusually,
0:23:29 > 0:23:31continued to be known by her maiden name, Graden,
0:23:31 > 0:23:35by her colleagues and employers at Carlton And Prior.
0:23:35 > 0:23:38Huge numbers of men have died in the war, but there is actually
0:23:38 > 0:23:42very high unemployment and so there was a kind of disapproval about a
0:23:42 > 0:23:46married woman still holding on to a job. She should be back in the home,
0:23:46 > 0:23:48looking after her husband, having children.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51- So she was seen as behaving inappropriately...- Right.
0:23:51 > 0:23:53..and that she'd got this rather fast way of living.
0:23:54 > 0:23:58Reports in the press were initially supportive of Edith,
0:23:58 > 0:24:01who was described as glamorous and fashionable.
0:24:01 > 0:24:04But once the contents of her letters to Freddie were released,
0:24:04 > 0:24:08the tide of public opinion soon turned against her.
0:24:08 > 0:24:11Was she supported in any way by the public?
0:24:11 > 0:24:13There was no petition for her,
0:24:13 > 0:24:16but The Daily Sketch, a very widely read paper at the time,
0:24:16 > 0:24:21they got a petition going for his reprieve, not hers.
0:24:21 > 0:24:24- Oh, really?- They got over 1 million signatures,
0:24:24 > 0:24:28which was the biggest petition that anyone had ever got for someone who
0:24:28 > 0:24:30was convicted of murder.
0:24:30 > 0:24:34This older woman led him astray, she had incited jealousy.
0:24:34 > 0:24:36He was blameless.
0:24:36 > 0:24:38But she was in a no-win situation, really, wasn't she...
0:24:38 > 0:24:40- She was.- ..right from the beginning.
0:24:40 > 0:24:45Edith's lifestyle was frowned upon by many, including the judge,
0:24:45 > 0:24:48which may have influenced the verdict.
0:24:48 > 0:24:52Some people still living in the Victorian era of the woman must be
0:24:52 > 0:24:55at home, she must be a housewife,
0:24:55 > 0:24:57she must have children.
0:24:57 > 0:24:59This is not what Edith was doing at all.
0:24:59 > 0:25:02She was out having fun, she had a great career
0:25:02 > 0:25:04and earning good money.
0:25:05 > 0:25:07She was moving forward
0:25:07 > 0:25:11and I think that that actually went against her in the court.
0:25:11 > 0:25:14It was really quite sad, really.
0:25:17 > 0:25:21Edith also faced charges of attempted murder by administering
0:25:21 > 0:25:24poison and broken glass to Percy through his food.
0:25:25 > 0:25:29The barristers call on consultant pathologist Doctor Stuart Hamilton
0:25:29 > 0:25:32to investigate these allegations.
0:25:32 > 0:25:36There are several references in Edith's letters to putting
0:25:36 > 0:25:40ground glass in her husband's food.
0:25:40 > 0:25:44If that had actually been done, what would a pathologist be looking for
0:25:44 > 0:25:47and what might he expect to find?
0:25:47 > 0:25:50So, the two things that you can have with ground glass
0:25:50 > 0:25:54is if it's ground up to a very fine powder, it has no sharp edges,
0:25:54 > 0:25:56it will pass through the system,
0:25:56 > 0:25:59doing absolutely nothing to you on the way past.
0:25:59 > 0:26:02- Right.- If you have larger pieces of glass,
0:26:02 > 0:26:05something that I would describe more like a shard of glass,
0:26:05 > 0:26:07you'll notice it, it'll cut your mouth.
0:26:07 > 0:26:10So on the one hand, it's totally ineffective,
0:26:10 > 0:26:13on the other hand, it would be patently obvious.
0:26:13 > 0:26:17She's mentioned belladonna, quinine. Would they actually,
0:26:17 > 0:26:21or are they capable of, causing someone's death in the correct dose?
0:26:21 > 0:26:23So, belladonna, it's got alkaloids in it,
0:26:23 > 0:26:28that simply break down the system, stop your body working effectively.
0:26:28 > 0:26:30It is still recognised as a deadly poison.
0:26:30 > 0:26:33Quinine, because it's so bitter,
0:26:33 > 0:26:37it would be very difficult to get large amounts into somebody without
0:26:37 > 0:26:39them being aware of that.
0:26:39 > 0:26:43The methods that she's talking about are the sort of things that anyone
0:26:43 > 0:26:48who was relatively well-read at that time would know about from novels.
0:26:48 > 0:26:50They're childish ideas.
0:26:51 > 0:26:54Percy was stabbed 11 times, including the wound
0:26:54 > 0:26:57to the side of his neck, which proved fatal.
0:26:59 > 0:27:01The cause of death was obvious to the coroner -
0:27:01 > 0:27:03heart failure due to blood loss.
0:27:04 > 0:27:06Edith's letters, however,
0:27:06 > 0:27:09raised the question of whether Edith had ever attempted to poison her
0:27:09 > 0:27:13husband. There was only one thing to do -
0:27:13 > 0:27:14dig up the body.
0:27:14 > 0:27:18Is there any evidence that she had administered to Percy
0:27:18 > 0:27:21any of the substances she discussed in her letters?
0:27:21 > 0:27:25There is no evidence from either the initial postmortem examination,
0:27:25 > 0:27:27or the examination after the exhumation,
0:27:27 > 0:27:31that these things actually happened anywhere other than in Edith's own mind.
0:27:32 > 0:27:35The experts have told Jeremy and Sasha that Edith's letters
0:27:35 > 0:27:39were pure fantasy and that there is no evidence that Edith
0:27:39 > 0:27:43carried out her plans to injure or harm her husband.
0:27:43 > 0:27:46But will this provide them with enough new evidence to put a case
0:27:46 > 0:27:50- before Judge Radford?- Having spoken to Stuart
0:27:50 > 0:27:52and considered the postmortem evidence,
0:27:52 > 0:27:57there is no support for the fact that Percy's body contained poison
0:27:57 > 0:27:59or ground glass.
0:27:59 > 0:28:03But absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.
0:28:03 > 0:28:06It doesn't mean it didn't happen.
0:28:06 > 0:28:10Donna's analysis was that the letters may have
0:28:10 > 0:28:14unwittingly encouraged Fred to kill Percy.
0:28:14 > 0:28:19My view is that the jury had the option of coming to the
0:28:19 > 0:28:22conclusion that they were deliberately encouraging...
0:28:24 > 0:28:28..Fred and that must have been the conclusion they drew.
0:28:29 > 0:28:35If Donna's analysis suggests that Edith was unwittingly persuading
0:28:35 > 0:28:38Fred to kill Percy, then Edith remains not guilty of murder,
0:28:38 > 0:28:43because a fundamental prerequisite for proof of murder is intention.
0:28:43 > 0:28:45So even if she was doing it unwittingly...
0:28:46 > 0:28:48..she had an innocent state of mind.
0:28:51 > 0:28:54While the barristers evaluate their findings so far,
0:28:54 > 0:28:57Nicky is reflecting on the human tragedy of this case.
0:28:59 > 0:29:02An innocent man, Percy Thompson, was murdered,
0:29:02 > 0:29:04and two people died as a result.
0:29:07 > 0:29:10This photo speaks loads to me.
0:29:10 > 0:29:14You know, the body language of the two men
0:29:14 > 0:29:15and she's stuck in the middle,
0:29:15 > 0:29:19living in this fantasy world of this young romantic man that gave her
0:29:19 > 0:29:22everything exciting that she read in these novels
0:29:22 > 0:29:24and yet she went home to this rather dull life.
0:29:26 > 0:29:30You can see she's desperately thinking, "What am I doing?
0:29:30 > 0:29:33"Where am I going? Where's this going to lead to?
0:29:33 > 0:29:34"How am I going to deal with this?"
0:29:35 > 0:29:38And I'm not saying she's thinking about killing her husband.
0:29:39 > 0:29:41I don't think that's what she wanted to do.
0:29:41 > 0:29:43She just didn't know.
0:29:43 > 0:29:45She was stuck between these two men.
0:29:47 > 0:29:54And ultimately, through Freddie's mistake one evening,
0:29:54 > 0:29:56they ultimately all lost their lives.
0:29:57 > 0:29:59- TEARFUL:- And I find that extremely sad.
0:30:01 > 0:30:04I think that's a really strong image.
0:30:15 > 0:30:17Nicky has returned to meet the barristers
0:30:17 > 0:30:21so they can update her on the progress of their investigation.
0:30:21 > 0:30:24Will what they have discovered so far be enough to convince a judge
0:30:24 > 0:30:27that Edith's conviction was unsafe?
0:30:28 > 0:30:31So, with the assistance of a criminal psychologist,
0:30:31 > 0:30:35we've looked long and hard at the letters and Doctor Youngs is
0:30:35 > 0:30:38of the view that they're far more consistent with
0:30:38 > 0:30:42Edith expressing her innermost thoughts
0:30:42 > 0:30:46than this being the framework of a criminal plot.
0:30:46 > 0:30:52The other aspect of the case is the pathologist confirmed that there is
0:30:52 > 0:30:57no evidence in this case of any attempt to poison Percy Thompson.
0:30:57 > 0:31:01Unfortunately, that's not the kind of angle that we're going to succeed
0:31:01 > 0:31:03- on all these years later.- No.
0:31:03 > 0:31:09Judge Sherman, he had the final address to the jury...
0:31:10 > 0:31:12..and it was very negative.
0:31:12 > 0:31:16And I just wondered if this is normal practice, to be so personal?
0:31:16 > 0:31:20Well, Jeremy and I are about to conduct an exercise to see whether
0:31:20 > 0:31:22- the judge did cross the line in that case.- Oh, right, good.
0:31:22 > 0:31:26Again, however, the judge's summing up was open to complaint
0:31:26 > 0:31:28- at the appeal.- Yes.
0:31:28 > 0:31:31So, in order for me, at least,
0:31:31 > 0:31:35to be able to progress things now, I need to find something significant
0:31:35 > 0:31:38that wasn't complained about at the time.
0:31:38 > 0:31:41And that is something that's of interest?
0:31:41 > 0:31:44Yes, absolutely, without any shadow of a doubt, it's of great interest.
0:31:44 > 0:31:46- Great, OK.- Yes.
0:31:46 > 0:31:49I think it's really good that modern-day barristers
0:31:49 > 0:31:50are looking at this.
0:31:50 > 0:31:54And I'm really hoping that there's a legal outcome that's much better
0:31:54 > 0:31:56than what actually happened in real life.
0:31:56 > 0:31:59They need to find something new and that's the worry.
0:31:59 > 0:32:01That's what I'm really concerned about.
0:32:02 > 0:32:06Edith was found guilty of murder and sentenced to death.
0:32:06 > 0:32:11Her subsequent appeal was dismissed and calls for mercy were rejected.
0:32:11 > 0:32:15She was hanged at 9am on 9th January 1923.
0:32:17 > 0:32:21As was the rule, her body was buried within the walls of Holloway Prison.
0:32:23 > 0:32:26In 1971, however, Edith's remains were reburied
0:32:26 > 0:32:29at Brookwood Cemetery in Surrey,
0:32:29 > 0:32:32along with those of three other women who'd been executed.
0:32:36 > 0:32:38- TEARFUL:- So, here you are, Edith.
0:32:39 > 0:32:42It's been a journey, I have to say.
0:32:44 > 0:32:47And I feel like I know you now.
0:32:47 > 0:32:49Certainly much more than I did a few weeks ago.
0:32:51 > 0:32:57I'm really finding it quite moving that my cousin is here
0:32:57 > 0:33:02and, strangely enough, only eight miles away from where I grew up.
0:33:02 > 0:33:05And she was right here the whole time and I never knew.
0:33:05 > 0:33:09Edith Jessie Thompson,
0:33:09 > 0:33:1425th December 1893...
0:33:15 > 0:33:18..to 9th January 1923.
0:33:20 > 0:33:24So you were just 29 when you died.
0:33:27 > 0:33:29It's so sad.
0:33:29 > 0:33:31So sad that she never had a life.
0:33:33 > 0:33:35It was taken away from her by a jury.
0:33:42 > 0:33:44I wish you'd had a longer life.
0:33:45 > 0:33:47I wish I'd known you, Edith.
0:34:07 > 0:34:11With judgement day looming, Jeremy and Sasha are struggling to identify
0:34:11 > 0:34:15new information that could be put before Judge Radford.
0:34:15 > 0:34:18They're examining the manner in which the original trial judge
0:34:18 > 0:34:22summed up the case to the jury in 1922.
0:34:22 > 0:34:24The summing up was harsh.
0:34:24 > 0:34:26It was judgmental.
0:34:26 > 0:34:29I can see that the jury might have been influenced by it.
0:34:29 > 0:34:34I mean, the judge, although he was rather impolite about Edith,
0:34:34 > 0:34:37he did make it plain in the summing up
0:34:37 > 0:34:40that facts were a matter for the jury.
0:34:40 > 0:34:43He is effectively dehumanising the defendants.
0:34:43 > 0:34:48They've both been stripped of their dignity by him long before they were
0:34:48 > 0:34:50taken to the gallows.
0:34:51 > 0:34:55Edith's defence barrister, Sir Henry Curtis-Bennett KC,
0:34:55 > 0:34:59was bitterly disappointed by his failure to have his client acquitted,
0:34:59 > 0:35:03saying that she paid the extreme penalty for her immorality.
0:35:03 > 0:35:07Will Jeremy be similarly forced to admit failure with regard to
0:35:07 > 0:35:09Edith Thompson's case?
0:35:12 > 0:35:14The day of judgment has arrived.
0:35:16 > 0:35:20Today, Jeremy and Sasha will have the opportunity to make submissions
0:35:20 > 0:35:22before his Honour, Judge David Radford.
0:35:24 > 0:35:28But have they found enough new information to convince him that the
0:35:28 > 0:35:31original verdict was not safe?
0:35:31 > 0:35:36Last time Jeremy and I met Nicky, we told her we were going to go away
0:35:36 > 0:35:39and really study the summing up in considerable detail.
0:35:39 > 0:35:41We have done that.
0:35:41 > 0:35:44There's plenty to say about the quality of that summing up
0:35:44 > 0:35:49and I'm hoping that Judge Radford will feel that there is real force
0:35:49 > 0:35:51in the submissions I have to make.
0:35:52 > 0:35:55I'm really feeling rather nervous.
0:35:55 > 0:35:59Obviously, I want the outcome to be positive for the family
0:35:59 > 0:36:01and positive for Edith.
0:36:01 > 0:36:06I'm just hoping that Jeremy's found enough evidence to support the
0:36:06 > 0:36:09fact that she's innocent, which is what I believe.
0:36:11 > 0:36:14Based on Jeremy and Sasha's legal arguments,
0:36:14 > 0:36:16and his own reading of the case,
0:36:16 > 0:36:20Judge Radford will recommend if the original verdict in this case was
0:36:20 > 0:36:22safe or not.
0:36:22 > 0:36:28I'm here today to consider the safety of the conviction of
0:36:28 > 0:36:30Mrs Edith Thompson,
0:36:30 > 0:36:35in December 1922, of the murder of her husband.
0:36:35 > 0:36:38Well, Mr Dein, perhaps you would like to start.
0:36:38 > 0:36:42What I have to say has to be seen in the context of a highly
0:36:42 > 0:36:44circumstantial case.
0:36:44 > 0:36:49Edith Thompson did not stab Percy Thompson.
0:36:49 > 0:36:52She was a secondary party, according to the prosecution.
0:36:54 > 0:36:59The incident took place in a highly emotive context
0:36:59 > 0:37:04and it was incumbent upon the judge, even in 1922,
0:37:04 > 0:37:08to deliver the fairest and clearest possible summing up.
0:37:08 > 0:37:11In fact, he did the reverse.
0:37:11 > 0:37:14The tone is set when the learned judge speaks
0:37:14 > 0:37:16of the woman in the dock as...
0:37:16 > 0:37:20Is there anything prejudicial in making clear he was referring to the
0:37:20 > 0:37:23female defendant, as opposed to the male?
0:37:23 > 0:37:27Well, only to say that when one reads the summing up as a whole...
0:37:29 > 0:37:33..there are numerous occasions where I would submit that Edith Thompson
0:37:33 > 0:37:38is effectively dehumanised by the judge in the way comment
0:37:38 > 0:37:42is made about her. An example of this is where the judge introduces
0:37:42 > 0:37:45the case by saying, quote,
0:37:45 > 0:37:49"This is an ordinary case of a wife and an adulterer
0:37:49 > 0:37:52"murdering her husband."
0:37:52 > 0:37:56And at one stage, he even invites the jury to put aside the evidence
0:37:56 > 0:38:02of the man and the woman because you may think the whole of it is made up.
0:38:02 > 0:38:05He concludes by saying to the jury,
0:38:05 > 0:38:08"If you find the man guilty of murder,
0:38:08 > 0:38:11"you have to go on to consider the woman."
0:38:11 > 0:38:15And it's my submission that it's not surprising that these two defendants
0:38:15 > 0:38:19were hanged not long after the conclusion of the summing up,
0:38:19 > 0:38:23in the light of the approach the judge took.
0:38:23 > 0:38:27And if Edith Thompson was not fairly tried,
0:38:27 > 0:38:31then the risk of miscarriage of justice, of course, follows,
0:38:31 > 0:38:36and in those circumstances, I invite your Honour to order that the case
0:38:36 > 0:38:38be reopened.
0:38:39 > 0:38:42Thank you, Mr Dein. Ms Wass?
0:38:42 > 0:38:46Sasha's role is to evaluate the case and any new evidence from
0:38:46 > 0:38:48the point of view of the prosecution.
0:38:48 > 0:38:52But will she agree with Jeremy that the judge's summing up prejudiced
0:38:52 > 0:38:54Edith's verdict?
0:38:54 > 0:38:57I have considered, with care,
0:38:57 > 0:39:02the adequacy of the summing up of Mr Justice Sherman
0:39:02 > 0:39:06and judged it by the standards of today.
0:39:06 > 0:39:11And I say straightaway, the summing up was so defective,
0:39:11 > 0:39:16- that it meant the defendants did not have a fair trial.- Yes.
0:39:17 > 0:39:21And for that reason, I'm not going to be resisting Mr Dein's
0:39:21 > 0:39:25- application to you. - Well, thank you, Ms Wass.
0:39:25 > 0:39:32Well, I'll take time to consider the submissions made and to look,
0:39:32 > 0:39:33once again, at the summing up.
0:39:35 > 0:39:39Jeremy and Sasha are in agreement on this case.
0:39:39 > 0:39:40But will the judge concur?
0:39:41 > 0:39:46For Nicky, this could be the justice she has sought for Edith.
0:39:46 > 0:39:49Or it could be the end of her journey.
0:39:49 > 0:39:53We did say to you that, you know, we would go back to the summing up
0:39:53 > 0:39:56and we looked at it separately and together
0:39:56 > 0:39:57and, as criminal lawyers,
0:39:57 > 0:40:01I think we both found the summing up to be highly unacceptable.
0:40:01 > 0:40:04I think we need to stress that the decision is the judge's.
0:40:04 > 0:40:07I know, but it's looking so much better than I thought it would,
0:40:07 > 0:40:11- which is brilliant.- He challenges everything and everyone,
0:40:11 > 0:40:14which is exactly the right way to be.
0:40:14 > 0:40:18But he's not simply going to agree with us just because we agree with
0:40:18 > 0:40:20each other in this instance.
0:40:20 > 0:40:22- We'll know soon enough.- Yes.
0:40:22 > 0:40:25- That's great. Thank you so much, both of you.- Not a problem.
0:40:26 > 0:40:29If Edith never attempted to poison her husband,
0:40:29 > 0:40:31and her letters were pure fantasy,
0:40:31 > 0:40:34should she have been found guilty of murder?
0:40:34 > 0:40:37Were the jury unduly influenced by the judge's opinion
0:40:37 > 0:40:40of Edith's morals?
0:40:40 > 0:40:43The judge is ready to give his final verdict.
0:40:47 > 0:40:52Whatever may be the apparent strength of the prosecution case
0:40:52 > 0:40:54against an accused person,
0:40:54 > 0:40:59every defendant is entitled to a fair and just trial.
0:40:59 > 0:41:05That was as true in December 1922 as it is today.
0:41:05 > 0:41:10With great respect to the distinguished trial judge in this case,
0:41:10 > 0:41:13I have concluded for myself, with regret,
0:41:13 > 0:41:18that the summing up in this trial failed, fundamentally,
0:41:18 > 0:41:23to direct the jury properly as to key legal matters.
0:41:23 > 0:41:29It was, as a whole, fundamentally lacking in balance and fairness.
0:41:29 > 0:41:33My task today is not, I make clear,
0:41:33 > 0:41:38to pass judgment on whether either Mr Bywater and/or Mrs Thompson
0:41:38 > 0:41:42were innocent, but to express my judgment
0:41:42 > 0:41:47as to whether Mrs Thompson, her conviction is a safe one.
0:41:47 > 0:41:52I find that, clearly, there are grounds for coming to the
0:41:52 > 0:41:53final decision...
0:41:54 > 0:41:58..that the conviction of Mrs Thompson was
0:41:58 > 0:42:01unsafe and, indeed, unsatisfactory.
0:42:01 > 0:42:04And that is my view of this case.
0:42:10 > 0:42:12That's such good news.
0:42:12 > 0:42:14Well done.
0:42:14 > 0:42:16I was extremely pleased, particularly for Nicky,
0:42:16 > 0:42:19but I was pleased because I felt justice had been done.
0:42:19 > 0:42:25From the time I looked at the Edith Thompson papers, I never felt happy
0:42:25 > 0:42:27with the conviction.
0:42:27 > 0:42:30I couldn't really work out why,
0:42:30 > 0:42:33and it was only when I saw the summing up and really pulled it apart
0:42:33 > 0:42:35and analysed all the defects,
0:42:35 > 0:42:40that I realised why I had that instinctive discomfort.
0:42:40 > 0:42:43Obviously, I think we both agree the judge has made the right decision.
0:42:43 > 0:42:46Absolutely. Absolutely.
0:42:46 > 0:42:49Fantastic. So, finally, some justice.
0:42:49 > 0:42:52To get where we are now, it's been quite incredible, really.
0:42:52 > 0:42:57And a real adventure, but also really emotional.
0:42:57 > 0:43:00And to find that the verdict was incorrect,
0:43:00 > 0:43:03or not as it should have been, it's absolutely brilliant.
0:43:03 > 0:43:05I'm really, really thrilled.