John Dickman
Encyclopedia
John Alexander Dickman was an Englishman hanged for murder.
He was convicted of the murder of John Nisbet, which took place on a train travelling between Newcastle-on-Tyne and Alnmouth
, on 18 March 1910 . Nisbet had been carrying a bag containing the wages for a colliery. His body was discovered in a train compartment; he had died of gunshot wounds and his bag had been stolen.
On 6 July Dickman was convicted of the murder of Nisbet, and he was hanged in Newcastle Prison on 10 August.
There was some doubt over the conviction, as it appeared to some people to rest on inconclusive identification evidence. There was a campaign for him to be reprieved, with leaflets distributed in stations. The writer C H Norman was among those who were convinced of John Dickman's innocence. It has also been claimed that Dickman's defence lawyer was incompetent.
The case is not widely remembered today. However it did figure in the 1976 BBC television series Second Verdict
, and a 2008 television programme Nightwatch. The latter programme suggested that two witnesses who said they saw Dickman and Nisbet entering the same compartment may even have been the real killers.
However it has been suggested that Dickman was also guilty of two previous murders, of Caroline Mary Luard
at Ightham, Kent in 1908 and Hermann Cohen in Sunderland in 1909.
He was convicted of the murder of John Nisbet, which took place on a train travelling between Newcastle-on-Tyne and Alnmouth
Alnmouth
Alnmouth is a village in Northumberland, England. It is situated just off the main A1068 road , about south-east of Alnwick.Located at the mouth of the River Aln, the village has been an important trading port in Northumberland's past, mainly involved in the export of grain, and smuggling. Due to...
, on 18 March 1910 . Nisbet had been carrying a bag containing the wages for a colliery. His body was discovered in a train compartment; he had died of gunshot wounds and his bag had been stolen.
On 6 July Dickman was convicted of the murder of Nisbet, and he was hanged in Newcastle Prison on 10 August.
There was some doubt over the conviction, as it appeared to some people to rest on inconclusive identification evidence. There was a campaign for him to be reprieved, with leaflets distributed in stations. The writer C H Norman was among those who were convinced of John Dickman's innocence. It has also been claimed that Dickman's defence lawyer was incompetent.
The case is not widely remembered today. However it did figure in the 1976 BBC television series Second Verdict
Second Verdict
Second Verdict was a six-part BBC television series from 1976, of dramatised documentaries in which classic criminal cases and unsolved crimes from history were re-appraised by fictional police officers...
, and a 2008 television programme Nightwatch. The latter programme suggested that two witnesses who said they saw Dickman and Nisbet entering the same compartment may even have been the real killers.
However it has been suggested that Dickman was also guilty of two previous murders, of Caroline Mary Luard
Caroline Mary Luard
Caroline Mary Luard was the victim of an unsolved murder known as the Seal Chart Murder after she was mysteriously shot and killed at an isolated summerhouse in a heavily wooded area near Ightham, Kent. Her husband, Major-General Luard, later committed suicide...
at Ightham, Kent in 1908 and Hermann Cohen in Sunderland in 1909.