The evidence

On the night of Christmas Day 1965, Peter Walker killed Arthur Henderson (later claiming it was self-defence); Henderson had met and recognised prison escapees Walker and Ronald Ryan whilst they were hiding in Melbourne. Escaping to Sydney, Ryan and Walker were arrested on 5 January 1966.

They faced court in March 1966. Ryan was found guilty of the murder of George Hodson and sentenced to hang. Walker was found guilty of the manslaughter of Henderson. While Ryan's lawyers pursued an appeal on the grounds that the verdict was against the weight of evidence, members of the community began to question the correctness of the verdict and the sentence. This clip features Barry Jones, representing the Victorian Anti-Hanging Committee. Jones was outspoken about there being a margin of doubt and therefore that all legal avenues should be exhausted before punishment was carried out.

Note: the start of this clip is silent

This clip is from a film compilation of Channel Nine News footage on Ronald Ryan held in the NFSA television collection.