Gerry Conlon (1954-2014), is a Northern Irishman who was a victim of the terrible miscarriage of justice of the “Guildford Four”. Wrongly convicted by the British Court of Justice, he was accused of carrying out an attack in 1975 on behalf of the IRA. He was released only after 15 years in prison.
Gerry Conlon at the end of his trial
Gerry Conlon is an unassuming Northern Irishman who spent a fairly peaceful childhood in Belfast, despite a few minor petty thefts. On November 30 1974, however, he was caught by the IRA stealing lead from rooftops. An act that threatens the paramilitary group’s hideout. In retaliation, the IRA threatened him and expelled him from Northern Ireland. He went into exile in Guildford, England, staying with an aunt and in a squat nearby.
But Gerry Conlon was soon arrested by the British police, and accused of a bomb attack carried out a few days earlier in Guildford, which left 5 dead and 50 injured. After 3 days of interrogation and torture, he was forced to sign a false statement, making him the main perpetrator of the attack. But Conlon also implicates in his declaration 7 members of his family, living in England (the Maguire family) as well as 3 of his friends, Paul Hill, Paddy Armstrong and Carole Richardson. All are arrested, along with Giuseppe Conlon, Gerry’s father, on his way to England to see his son.
They were then imprisoned for life, and Gerry Conlon shared his cell with his father.
Unfortunately, Giuseppe Conlon died after 7 years in prison. Gerry is furious about the death, and decides to go to the media, claiming his innocence.
In 1989, his lawyer found irrefutable evidence to clear all the accused. The charges against them were dropped, and they were all released after 15 years in prison. It was the biggest miscarriage of justice in Britain’s history. (It wasn’t until 2005 that Tony Blair’s government officially apologized).
Gerry Conlon subsequently published an autobiography, which was later adapted for the screen (“Au Nom du Père”).
After many years in the media, he passed away on June 21, 2014.
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