Mahmood Hussein Mattan
Encyclopedia
Mahmood Hussein Mattan was a Somali
former merchant seaman who was wrongfully convicted of the murder
of Lily Volpert on 6 March 1952. The murder took place in the Docklands
area of Cardiff
, Wales
and Mattan was mainly convicted on the evidence of a single prosecution witness. Mattan was executed in 1952 and his conviction was quashed 45 years later on 24 February 1998; his case being the first to be referred to the Court of Appeal by the newly formed Criminal Cases Review Commission
.
in 1923 and his job as a merchant seaman took him to Wales where he found work at a foundry in Tiger Bay
. In Cardiff he met Laura Williams, a worker at a paper factory. The couple married just three months after meeting, but as a multiracial
couple they suffered racist abuse from the community. The couple had three children, but in 1950 they separated and afterwards lived in separate houses in the same street. In 1952 Mattan resigned his job at the steelworks.
and ten days later he was charged with Volpert's murder. When the police raided Mattan's home they discovered a broken shaving razor and a pair of shoes with blood specks on them. There was no evidence of any blood-stained clothing or the missing money.
The trial took place at the Glamorgan Assizes in Swansea
in July 1952. The main witness for the prosecution was Harold Cover, a Jamaica
n with a history of violence who later received a share of a reward of £200 offered by the Volpert family. Cover claimed to have seen Mattan leaving Volpert's shop, though it later emerged that he had previously identified another Somali living in the area at the time, Taher Gass, as the man he had seen. The jury was not told of this, or of Cover's background during the trial. Neither was the jury informed that four witnesses had failed to select Mattan from an identification parade. One 12-year-old girl, who saw a black man near the shop at the time of the murder, and was confronted with Mattan, stated that he was not the person she witnessed, but the police ignored her statement and did not take the evidence to court. Furthermore the shoes belonging to Mattan with specks of blood were second hand, and no forensic information was brought forward linking the samples.
Mattan was described as having a limited understanding of English, and refused the services of an interpreter. In a trial slanted with racial overtones, Mattan's barrister described his client as "half-child of nature, a semi-civilised savage". On 24 July 1952, Mattan was convicted of the murder of Lily Volpert and the judge passed the mandatory sentence of death.
. He was the last person to be hanged at the prison.
; after his release he was deported to Somalia. In 1969 Harold Cover was convicted for the attempted murder of his daughter, using a razor. Mattan's middle son, Omar was found dead on a Scottish beach in 2003, and an open verdict was returned.
- by this stage, three years had passed since the death penalty's abolition.
In 1996 the family were given permission to have Mattan's body exhumed and moved from a felon's grave at the prison to be buried in consecrated ground in a Cardiff cemetery.
When the Criminal Cases Review Commission
was set up in the mid 1990s, Mattan's case was the first to be referred by it. On 24 February 1998 the Court of Appeal
came to the judgement that the original case was, in the words of Lord Justice Rose
, "demonstrably flawed". The family were awarded £725,000 compensation, to be shared equally among Mattan's wife and three children. The compensation was the first award to a family for a person wrongfully hanged.
Somali people
Somalis are an ethnic group located in the Horn of Africa, also known as the Somali Peninsula. The overwhelming majority of Somalis speak the Somali language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family...
former merchant seaman who was wrongfully convicted of the murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
of Lily Volpert on 6 March 1952. The murder took place in the Docklands
Cardiff Docks
Cardiff Docks is a port in south Cardiff, Wales. At its peak, the port was one of the largest dock systems in the world with a total quayage of almost...
area of Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
and Mattan was mainly convicted on the evidence of a single prosecution witness. Mattan was executed in 1952 and his conviction was quashed 45 years later on 24 February 1998; his case being the first to be referred to the Court of Appeal by the newly formed Criminal Cases Review Commission
Criminal Cases Review Commission
The Criminal Cases Review Commission is an non-departmental public body set up following the Royal Commission on Criminal Justice itself a continuation of the May Inquiry. It aims to investigate possible miscarriages of justice in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
.
Early history
Mahmood Hussein Mattan was born in British SomalilandBritish Somaliland
British Somaliland was a British protectorate in the northern part of present-day Somalia. For much of its existence, British Somaliland was bordered by French Somaliland, Ethiopia, and Italian Somaliland. From 1940 to 1941, it was occupied by the Italians and was part of Italian East Africa...
in 1923 and his job as a merchant seaman took him to Wales where he found work at a foundry in Tiger Bay
Tiger Bay
Tiger Bay was the local name for an area of Cardiff which covered Butetown and Cardiff Docks. It was re-branded as Cardiff Bay following the building of the Cardiff Barrage which dams the tidal rivers Ely and Taff to create a body of water.-History:...
. In Cardiff he met Laura Williams, a worker at a paper factory. The couple married just three months after meeting, but as a multiracial
Multiracial
The terms multiracial and mixed-race describe people whose ancestries come from multiple races. Unlike the term biracial, which often is only used to refer to having parents or grandparents of two different races, the term multiracial may encompass biracial people but can also include people with...
couple they suffered racist abuse from the community. The couple had three children, but in 1950 they separated and afterwards lived in separate houses in the same street. In 1952 Mattan resigned his job at the steelworks.
Conviction for murder
On 6 March 1952, Lily Volpert, a 42-year-old, was found murdered in her outfitter's shop in the Cardiff Docklands area. Her throat had been cut with a razor, and about hundred pounds sterling had been stolen. Within a few hours Mattan was questioned by the Cardiff City PoliceSouth Wales Police
South Wales Police is one of the four territorial police forces in Wales. Its headquarters are based in Bridgend.Covering Wales' capital city, Cardiff, as well as Bridgend, Merthyr Tydfil, Swansea, and the western South Wales Valleys, it is the largest police force in Wales in terms of population,...
and ten days later he was charged with Volpert's murder. When the police raided Mattan's home they discovered a broken shaving razor and a pair of shoes with blood specks on them. There was no evidence of any blood-stained clothing or the missing money.
The trial took place at the Glamorgan Assizes in Swansea
Swansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
in July 1952. The main witness for the prosecution was Harold Cover, a Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
n with a history of violence who later received a share of a reward of £200 offered by the Volpert family. Cover claimed to have seen Mattan leaving Volpert's shop, though it later emerged that he had previously identified another Somali living in the area at the time, Taher Gass, as the man he had seen. The jury was not told of this, or of Cover's background during the trial. Neither was the jury informed that four witnesses had failed to select Mattan from an identification parade. One 12-year-old girl, who saw a black man near the shop at the time of the murder, and was confronted with Mattan, stated that he was not the person she witnessed, but the police ignored her statement and did not take the evidence to court. Furthermore the shoes belonging to Mattan with specks of blood were second hand, and no forensic information was brought forward linking the samples.
Mattan was described as having a limited understanding of English, and refused the services of an interpreter. In a trial slanted with racial overtones, Mattan's barrister described his client as "half-child of nature, a semi-civilised savage". On 24 July 1952, Mattan was convicted of the murder of Lily Volpert and the judge passed the mandatory sentence of death.
Execution
Mattan was refused leave to appeal and to call further evidence in August 1952, and on 3 September 1952, six months after the murder of Volpert, he was executed by hanging at Cardiff PrisonCardiff (HM Prison)
HM Prison Cardiff is a Category B men's prison, located in the Adamsdown area of Cardiff, Wales. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service.-History:...
. He was the last person to be hanged at the prison.
Subsequent events
In 1954 Taher Gass was convicted of murdering wages clerk Granville Jenkins. Gass was found insane and sent to BroadmoorBroadmoor Hospital
Broadmoor Hospital is a high-security psychiatric hospital at Crowthorne in the Borough of Bracknell Forest in Berkshire, England. It is the best known of the three high-security psychiatric hospitals in England, the other two being Ashworth and Rampton...
; after his release he was deported to Somalia. In 1969 Harold Cover was convicted for the attempted murder of his daughter, using a razor. Mattan's middle son, Omar was found dead on a Scottish beach in 2003, and an open verdict was returned.
Posthumous appeal
The Mattan family's first attempt to overturn the conviction was denied in 1969 by then Home Secretary James CallaghanJames Callaghan
Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, PC , was a British Labour politician, who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1976 to 1980...
- by this stage, three years had passed since the death penalty's abolition.
In 1996 the family were given permission to have Mattan's body exhumed and moved from a felon's grave at the prison to be buried in consecrated ground in a Cardiff cemetery.
When the Criminal Cases Review Commission
Criminal Cases Review Commission
The Criminal Cases Review Commission is an non-departmental public body set up following the Royal Commission on Criminal Justice itself a continuation of the May Inquiry. It aims to investigate possible miscarriages of justice in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
was set up in the mid 1990s, Mattan's case was the first to be referred by it. On 24 February 1998 the Court of Appeal
Court of Appeal of England and Wales
The Court of Appeal of England and Wales is the second most senior court in the English legal system, with only the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom above it...
came to the judgement that the original case was, in the words of Lord Justice Rose
Christopher Rose (judge)
Sir Christopher Rose was a judge, as Lord Justice Rose, in the Court of Appeal of England and Wales and a member of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom. He became Vice-President of the Criminal Division of the Court of Appeal...
, "demonstrably flawed". The family were awarded £725,000 compensation, to be shared equally among Mattan's wife and three children. The compensation was the first award to a family for a person wrongfully hanged.