Books: Town's tale of murder and malice

THE closest many newspaper editors usually come to making the news themselves is when they publish a story which lands them in the libel courts. But Don Hale, the former editor of Derbyshire weekly The Matlock Mercury, which sells around 10,000 copies a week, hit the headlines when his tireless campaign corrected one of Britain's worst miscarriages of justice.

Stephen Downing, a 17-year-old gardener with a reading age of 11, was jailed in 1973 for murdering typist Wendy Sewell in the sleepy town of Bakewell.

In a horrific crime, which rocked the town to its core, Mrs Sewell was bludgeoned to death in the town's graveyard. Her death was quickly blamed on teenage Stephen, who signed a confession after a nine-hour interrogation with no solicitor present, detailing how he had hit and sexually assaulted her.

He retracted his confession at his trial but the jury, unaware of his limited mental capacity, took just one hour to reach a unanimous guilty verdict. Stephen was sentenced to 17 years in prison.

Twenty years later, Stephen was still in prison, classed as IDOM - in denial of murder - with no sign of parole until he admitted his crime.

In desperation, Stephen's parents turned to Don, the editor of their local newspaper, who justified their faith in him by fighting for their son's freedom. Finally, 27 years after he was jailed, Stephen Downing stood on the steps of London's Appeal Court a free man.

Don Hale's book, A Town Without Pity, tells the story of the campaign, the threats he faced and the incomparable feeling of correcting a terrible wrong.

The hunt for Wendy Sewell's killer was officially reopened last week, with Hale's book playing a major part.

He says: "The police went into one of the local bookshops and bought 12 books so they could all read it before the investigation reopened. They didn't get any discount, though.

"Quite a lot had to be taken out for legal reasons because it's very rare for cases to be reopened and I certainly don't want to jeopardise any legal proceedings.

"There is an awful lot of evidence against one particular man (Mr Red in the book) but he is still saying he didn't know Wendy Sewell, despite overwhelming evidence that he did."

The book reads like a John Grisham novel - the poor boy from the wrong side of the street framed for a crime he did not and could not have committed, the real killer still out there somewhere with all the fingers pointing straight at him, the police patting themselves on the back for ridding the streets of the jailed man and, of course, the investigative journalist, never giving up hope and becoming more and more determined the more the doors slammed in his face.

And it wasn't just doors which got in the way of Hale's investigation. There were at least two attempts to run him down and death threats became almost commonplace.

One of the book's rare moments of humour comes when, after putting the phone down on a man threatening to kill him, Hale is told by his receptionist that there is a group of people threatening to storm into the office and sort him out. It turns out to be the local Women's Institute whose report hasn't gone in the paper.)

But the fight, which included taking on two Prime Ministers and three Home Secretaries, as well as being debated in Parliament four times, proved well worth it in the end.

Hale says: "If I hadn't taken up the case, Stephen would have stayed in prison until he was 60, earning £7 a week.

"I just thought it was wrong and it was the principle as much as anything although there was an element of stubbornness because I knew I was in the right.

"Somebody killed Wendy Sewell, that person wasn't Stephen and the police made a thoroughly bad job of the original investigation and that needs to be examined.

"I'm pleased and proud of what I've done because I don't think many journalists would have done it and stuck with it. I've always enjoyed a challenge and this was the ultimate challenge, to try to tell the world about the hows and whys of what was allowed to happen to Stephen."

In August, Hale left The Matlock Mercury, the paper where he had worked for 16 years and is now doing freelance work for various companies, as well as continuing a massive round of interviews.

A BBC Television drama is in the pipeline with Shoestring star Trevor Eve one of the stars in the running for the role of Don. Filming starts at the end of June for 12 weeks.

Stephen has moved away from Bakewell to live in Chesterfield. He has a job as a security guard and a girlfriend, and is expecting around £1.5 m compensation when his case if resolved.

And the two men, who stood side-by-side to change legal history, will again see their case debated in court, the press and probably Parliament. They will most likely take it in their stride again, as this remarkable and touching book shows they did all the way through.

* Town Without Pity by Don Hale (Century, £14.99)

* This book is available by calling The Northern Echo bookshop on 0800 015055