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Ronald Joseph Ryan (21 February 1925 - 3 February 1967) was the last person to be legally executed in Australia. Despite inconsistencies in evidence, lack of scientific forensics and missing pieces of evidence, Ryan was found guilty of shooting and killing a prison officer during a prison escape from Pentridge Prison in Victoria on 19 December 1965. The hanging of Ryan sparked some of the biggest public protests ever seen in the history of Australia. His execution created massive public outrage and the subsequent abolition of the death penalty in Australia. To this day, the Ryan case provokes questions of whether Ryan was guilty beyond reasonable doubt. The case proving his guilt was not completely free from reasonable doubt.

Personal

Slightly built and 5 ft 8 inches (173 cm) tall, Ryan was a stylish—if spivvy'—dresser, who usually wore expensive, well-cut suits, silk tie and a fedora. He was always keen to impress as a man of means and consequence. He was of above-average intelligence and was described by not only the people who knew him, but also prison authorities, as a likable character with dignity and self-respect.

Early life

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Ronald Edmond Thompson was born on 21 February 1925 at the Royal Womens' Hospital in Melbourne's inner suburb of Carlton, to John Ronald Ryan and Cecilia Thompson (nee Young). At the time Ryan's father was not married to his mother. Cecilia already had a son with her first husband George Harry Thompson and was living with John Ryan. Cecilia and George had separated in 1915 when George left to fight in the Great War. The relationship never resumed. Cecilia met John Ryan while working as a nurse in Woods Point where he was suffering lung disease. They formed a relationship in 1924 and later married in 1929, after Thompson's death in 1927 by falling from a tram and getting hit by a car.

Ryan then adopted the name Ronald Edmond Ryan. Ronald's childhood was dominated by his parents' alcoholism, poverty and poor health, particularly his father's chronic phthisis. He was violently abused by his father and neglected by his mother. The Ryan household was constantly moving as there was never enough money for rent, In 1936 Ryan was confirmed in the Catholic Church. He took as his confirmation name Joseph, and then He took as his confirmation name Joseph. He then became Ronald Edmond Joseph Ryan. He did not like Edmond and from then on used "Ronald Joseph Ryan".

Following the theft of a watch from a neighbour's house at Mitcham in November 1936, the plight of the Ryan children was bought to the attention of the state welfare authorities. Ronald was sent to Rupertswood, Sunbury, the Salesian Order's school for orphaned, wayward and neglected boys. Ryan’s three sisters (Irma, Violet & Gloria) were made wards of the state a year later after authorities declared them as "neglected". The three sisters were sent to the Good Shepard Convent in Collingwood. At Rupertswood Ryan did quite well, captaining the football and cricket teams, joining the choir, and impressing other boys as 'a natural leader'. Ryan absconded from Rupertswood in September 1939 and with his half-brother George Thompson, worked in and around Balranald, New South Wales, spare money earn’t from sleeper cutting and kangaroo shooting was sent to his mother looking after their sick alcoholic father John Ryan.

At the age of twenty, Ryan had saved enough money to rent a house in Balranald, New South Wales. Ron then collected his sisters and mother and they all lived in his house. John Ryan stayed in Melbourne and died a year later aged 62 after a long battle with miners' disease phthisis tuberculosis.

Move to Victoria

Aged about 22, Ryan decided to join his brother who was tomato farming near Tatura. Ryan started to visit Melbourne at the weekends. It was on one of these weekend trips that Ryan met his future wife Dorothy George. On 4th February 1950, Ryan married Dorothy Janet George at St Stephen's Anglican Church in Richmond. She was the daughter of the Mayor of the Melbourne suburb of Hawthorn, with whom he had three daughters, Janice, Wendy, Rhonda. A fourth baby was stillborn.

Ryan's Life

After spending a few months working for his father-in-law as a trainee mechanic Ryan decided that more money could be made cutting timber near Marysville and Licola.

When it was to wet to cut timber Ryan got a job painting for the State Electricity Commission. By 1952 the Ryan family was living in Noojee. Trouble with the law started when his rented house burnt down. Ryan was away for the weekend in Melbourne when the arsonist struck. The arsonist was caught and claimed Ryan put him up for it, he claimed that Ryan wanted the house burnt to claim insurance money. His first appearance in court was in Warragul, Victoria in 1953 when Ryan was acquitted on a charge of arson. .

Ryan's troubles, especially his gambling debts and putting a financial strain on his family. In desperation Ryan switched from manual work to passing bad cheques, received stolen goods, shopbreaking and burglary. Ryan issued a large number of forged cheques in 1956 and was placed on a good-behaviour bond. After being apprehended for robbery in April 1960, Ryan and three accomplices escaped from the Police Watchhouse but were recaptured several days later. Ryan had become the first man ever to escape for the Melbourne Police Watchouse. On 17th June 1960, Ryan pleaded guilty in the Melbourne Court of General Sessions to eight charges of breaking and stealing, and one of escaping from legal custody. He was sentenced to eight and a half years imprisonment.

Ryan first served prison time atHM Prison Bendigo in Bendigo Victoria. Here under the Governor Ian Grindlay,( Grindlay was soon to become the Governor of to Pentridge Prison), Ryan appeared to want to rehabilitate himself, he was a model prisoner , his time in prison was productive and he exhibited a disciplined approach to study, completing his Leaving Certificate (year 11). Ryan was studying for his matric (year 12) when he was released on parole in August 1963 he was regarded by the authorities as a model prisoner.

After working as a clerk for a couple of months , Ryan went to lunch and never returned, he had started robbing butcher shops and used explosives to blow the safes. Ryan and two accomplices were caught after another butcher shop robbery on January 4, 1964. Ryan was charged with break and enter and theft offences on January 6 1964, bailed on February 3, 1964, Ryan skipped town and fled to New South Wales. Ryan later admitted to nine robberies in NSW between April 4 and July 11, 1964. On a visit home on July 14 Ryan was caught by Police in the early hours the next morning. On 13th November 1964, Ryan received an eight-year prison sentence for breaking and entering. He was sent to Pentridge Prison.

Prison Escape

After Ryan was sentenced to Pentridge Prison, he was placed in 'B' Division where he met a fellow prisoner Peter John Walker (who was serving a 12 year sentence for bank robbery). When Ryan was informed that his wife was getting a divorce, he made a plan to escape from prison. Walker decided to go along with him. Ryan planned to take himself and his family and flee to Brazil, where there was no extradition treaty with Australia.

At around 2:07 p.m. on Sunday 19th December 1965, Ryan and Walker put the escape plan into effect. As prison officers were taking turns attending a staff Christmas party in the officers' mess hall, near the number 1 tower, Ryan and Walker scaled a five-metre prison wall with the aid of two wooden benches, a hook and blankets. Running along the top of the wall to a prison watch tower, they overpowered prison warder Helmut Lange, and Ryan took his M1 carbine rifle, he then threatened Lange by cocking the rifle. .

Ryan ordered Lange to pull the lever which would open the prison tower gate to freedom. Lange pulled the wrong lever. Ryan, Walker and Lange then proceeded down the steps but the gate would not open. At the bottom of the stairs was the night officers lodge, Warder Fred Brown was returning from lunch to relieve Lange when he was confronted by the escapees. Brown did not resist. When Ryan realised Lange had tricked him, Ryan jabbed the rifle into Lange’s back and marched him back up the stairs so Lange could pulled the correct lever to open the tower gate, the two escapees exited the gate out into the prison car park.

To the escapees dismay there was only two cars in the car park and one had a flat tyre.

Just in front of the duo was prison chaplain Salvation Army Brigadier James Hewitt , The escapees grabbed him and used him as a shield. Ryan armed with the rifle pointed it a Hewitt and demanded his car. Prison Officer Bennett in Tower 2 saw the prisoners, Ryan called Bennett to throw down his rifle, Bennett ducked out of sight and then got his rifle.

When Hewitt told Ryan he didn't have his car that day Ryan rifle butted him in the head causing serious injuries. Les Watt a petrol attendant who watched the escape from the petrol station on Sydney Road witnessed Ryan hitting Hewitt with the rifle. The escapees then left the badly injured chaplain and Ryan ran to Champ Street.

Walker had dropped his pipe and had moved to the next door church. Prison officer Bennett had his rifle aimed at Walker and ordered Walker to halt or he would shoot. Walker took cover behind a small wall that bordered the church.

The prison alarm was raised by Warder Lange, and it began to blow loudly, indicating a prison escape. Unarmed warders, Wallis, Mitchinson and Paterson, came running out of the prison main gate, onto the street.

George Hodson who had been having lunch in the prison officers mess near the number 1 post responded to Lange’s whistle. Bennett shouted to Hodson he had a prisoner, Walker, pinned down behind the low church boundary wall. Hodson headed for Walker and picked up Walker‘s pipe. Hodson grabbled with Walker but the escapee managed to break free so Hodson began hitting the fleeing Walker over his head with the piece of pipe. Walker was faster runner than Hodson, so Hodson continued to chase after Walker with the pipe still in his hand. Both men ran towards the armed Ronald Ryan.

Meanwhile, confusion and noise was gaining strength around the busy intersection of Sydney Road and O'Hea Street, with vehicles and trams banking up and people running around between cars.

Frank and Pauline Jeziorski were travelling south on Champ Street and had slowed to give way to traffic on Sydney Road when Ryan armed with the rifle appeared in front of their car. Ryan threatened a car driver and his passenger wife to get out of their car. The driver Frank Jeziorski, turned his car off, put it in neutral then got out of his car. Ryan got in via the drivers door. Amazingly, the heavily pregnant Pauline Jeziorski refused to get out of the car. She was persuaded by Ryan to get out of the car, only to get back in the car to get her handbag. Ryan discovered he could not drive the car because Jeziorski had modified the cars gear linkages.

Paterson realising Ryan was armed return inside the prison to get a rifle. Warder William Mitchinson was first to reach the car and grabbed Ryan through the drivers window, he told Ryan “the games up”.

Warder Thomas Wallis who was following ran to Mrs Jeziorski side of the car. He grabbed Mrs Jeziorski and pulled her away from the car.

In frustration, Ryan with the rifle forced Mitchinson to back off, then got out the passengers side door and noticed Walker running towards him, being chased by Hodson who was holding the pipe in his hand. Walker was shouting frantically to Ryan that prison guard William Bennett, standing on the number 2 prison tower, had his rifle aimed at them. At this time, Hodson was running close behind Walker, who was near Ryan. Ryan took a couple of steps forward and raise his rifle and aimed it at Hodson.

In scenes of noise and confusion, a loud whip-like crack of a single shot was heard, and a prison officer George Hodson fell to the ground. He had been struck by a single bullet, travelling from front to back . The bullet had exited through Hodson's back, about an inch lower than the point of entry in his right shoulder. Hobson died in the middle of Sydney Road.

Paterson now armed with a rifle ran back outside and onto Champ Street , he decided he could not get a clear shot so he stood on a low wall in the prisons front garden, he aimed his rifle at Ryan, and claimed he fired a shot in the air when a woman came into his line of sight.

Ryan and Walker ran past the fallen warder and commandeered a blue vanguard driven by Brian Mullins, with Walker driving, the car drove through the service station and drove away on Ohea Street.

On the run

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Ryan and Walker successfully eluded their pursuers outside Pentridge Prison and drove away on Ohea Street before changing cars. They then made their way south following the Moonee Ponds Creek to change cars again before hiding in a safe house in Kensington provided by Norman Harold Murray. The following day the men moved to a flat in Ormond Rd Elwood. The prison escape was dominating newspapers and the media. One newpaper reported that '... Ronald Ryan, serving time for burglary, seized a prison officer and shot him three times, twice in the chest and once in the back. ' Reports of their activities caused widespread anxiety, on 23 December Ryan armed with the Warden's rifle and Walker robbed the ANZ bank in North Rd Ormond. Ryan herded 13 people into the banks strongroom and stole ₤4500. A witness Mrs June Crawford told reporters," A bandit told her " This gun shot a man a few days ago." On 24th December 1965 the Victorian Government announced a ₤5,000 (AU$10,000) reward for information leading to the capture of Ryan and Walker. It was reported in The Age newspaper that the Chief Secretary and Attorney General Arthur Rylah, issued a warning to the escapees that the killing of Hodson during the prison escape was the worst Victoria had known, and that the Hanging Act was still in force.

On Christmas Eve there was a party at the flat, John Fisher who knew Ryan and Arthur Henderson, boyfriend of the tenant, were there, after all the beer was consumed Walker and Henderson left to for a sly grog shop in Albert Park for more drinks. An hour later Walker returned alone to the flat, he had killed Henderson in a Middle Park toilet block. Henderson was shot in the back of his head by Walker. The escapees left the flat and returned to Kensington. On the 26th two women were charged with harbouring the criminals, they came forward after Henderson was killed and the escapees had left. The charges were later dropped.

The pair return to hiding in basement of the house in Kensington, Murray was given money to buy a car in Sydney and return with it. Murray returned with the car with Queensland plates on New Years Eve. Ryan and Walker left for Sydney on New Years day, arriving on 2 January 1966.

Recapture

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After arriving in Sydney, Ryan and Walker endeavored to establish some safe houses, Ryan also wanted to made contact with a woman he knew when he was in Sydney years ago, she was not home but her daughter was. Ryan made an arrangement to meet the woman and daughter at Concord Repatriation Hospital on the evening of 6 January. Unknown to Ryan the daughter recognized Ryan and tipped off the police. Acting on the information, Detective Inspector Ray "Gunner" Kelly was alerted about their presence. DI Kelly with a heavily-armed contingent of 50 police officers and detectives set a trap for them. When the escapee’s car pulled up near the hospital, Ryan walked over to a nearby telephone box, but it had been deliberately put out of order, so he walked over to a neighbouring shop and asked to use the phone there. The owner had been instructed to tell Ryan that his phone was also out of order, and as Ryan walked out of the shop he was tackled by six detectives, dropping a loaded .32 revolver that he had been carrying. At the same moment Det. Sgt Fred Krahe thrust a shotgun through the car window and held it at Walker's head, and he was captured without a struggle. Ryan and Walker were on the run for 19 days. In the boot of the car Police found 3 pistols, a shotgun and two rifles, all fully loaded, an axe, jemmy, two coils of rope, a hacksaw and two boilersuits.

Extradited

Ryan, Walker were extradited back to Melbourne. They were jointly tried for the murder of George Hodson. It is alleged that Ryan made three verbal confessions to police whilst being extradited to Melbourne. According to police, Ryan admitted to them he had shot prison officer Hodson. However, these verbal allegations were not signed by Ryan and he denied making such verbal or written confessions to anyone. The only signed document by Ryan was that he would give no verbal testimony.

Walker was also tried for the shooting murder of Arthur James Henderson during the period when he and Ryan were at large.

Trial and sentencing

On 15th March 1966, the case of The Queen v. Ryan and Walker began in the Supreme Court of Victoria. The first day was spent choosing the make up of the jury. Ryan and Walker both exercised their legal right in objecting to twenty candidates each. Justice John Starke instructed the jury of 12-men to look at the realities of things and ignore all that they had read and heard about the case in the media

The Crowns case

The crown's case relied on eyewitnesses who were near the Pentridge Prison when Hodson was killed. Each witness had a different idea to where Ryan was standing when the shot was fired. Some witnesses testified they saw Ryan's rifle recoil when he fired and that they saw smoke from Ryan's rifle. The owners of the car Ryan got in, Frank and Pauline Jeziorski, were two of the witnesses. All witnesses testified that Ryan had the gun raised to his shoulder and all hearing only one shot. Warder Thomas Wallis testified that he saw smoke come out of the rifle Ryan was holding. Pauline Jeziorski testified that she smelt gunpowder after Ryan had fired the shot. Fourteen eyewitnesses testified in court that they heard only one shot - no person Paterson testified he fired a shot , he was also the only person to claim to heard two shots fired. At trial, all prison officers testified that they did not see Hodson carrying anything, and they did not see Hodson hit Walker. However, two witnesses Louis Bailey and Keith Dobson, testified that they saw Hodson carrying something like an iron-bar/baton as he was chasing after Walker. Governor Grindlay testified that he didn’t see a bar near Hodson’s body but he found one after Hodson’s body was loaded into an ambulance.

The Verbals

Detective Sergeant KP “Bill” Walters told the court that on 6 January 1966, the day after his re-capture in Sydney, Ryan said “In the heat of the moment you sometimes do an act without thinking. I think this is what happened with Hodson. …. He had no need to interfere. He was stupid. He was told to keep away. He grabbed Pete (i.e.Peter Walker) and hit him with an iron bar. He caused his own death. I didn’t want to shoot him. I could have shot a lot more.” Detective Senior Constable Harry Morrison told the court that on 7 January 1966 during the flight returning Ryan back to Melbourne Ryan said; “The warder spoilt the whole show. If he had not poked his great head into it he would not have got shot. It was either him or Pete.” .” John Fisher testified that Ryan spoke about the shooting in the flat on Christmas Eve. The Crown also called the two bank officers from the bank that Ryan and Walker robbed, both Robert Sipthorpe and George Robertson testified that Ryan said "This is the gun that shot a man the other day!" At trial, Ryan's defence lawyer Dr Philip Opas QC cross examined the two witness asking if instead thay heard "This is the type of gun that shot a man the other day." Both witnesses stuck to their story.

The Defence

Based on Hobson's injuries, Opas produced and human skeleton as a visual aid to explain the trajectory of the fatal bullet, Opas argued that the ballistics evidence indicated that the fatal bullet entered Hodson's (shoulder) body in a downward trajectory. He also got a mathematics professor to explain that Ryan (5 feet 8 inches (1.73 m) tall) would have had to have been 8 feet 3 inches (2.55 m) tall to have fired the shot. But the prosecution argued that Hodson (6 feel 1 inch (1.85 m) tall) could have been running in a stooped position, thus accounting for the bullet's fatal downward trajectory angle of entry.

The big surprise was when Ryan entered the witness box. Ryan gave evidence and swore that he did not fire at Hodson. He denied firing a shot at all. He denied the so-called verbal confessions said to have been made by him "At no time did I fire a shot. My freedom was the only objective. The rifle was taken in the first instance so that it could not be used against me".

Tom Gildea, a juryman at the trial, stated to Tom Prior, ‘’’Ryan didn’t do himself any good when he elected to go into the witness box and give evidence. He impressed as a little too sure of himself, but you can’t hang a man for that, or, at least, you shouldn’t.’’’

After a trial in the Victorian Supreme Court lasting twelve sitting days and despite inconsistencies of evidence, the jury found Ryan guilty of murder.

Ryan was convicted of the murder of Hodson and sentenced to death by Justice John Starke, the mandatory sentence at that time. Walker was found not guilty of murder, but guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to 12 years imprisonment. Asked if he had anything to say before sentencing Ryan stated " I still maintain my innocence. I will consult with my counsel with a view to appeal. That is all I have to say!"

After the trial

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According to the 12 male jurors, they evidently thought that the death sentence would be commuted, as had happened in the previous 35 death penalties cases since 1951. According to one jury member's later account of the discussions in the jury room, not one member of the jury thought that Ryan would be executed.

The jury had originally decided on a not-guilty verdict, but two jury members who thought Ryan was guilty convinced the others to bring in a guilty verdict. They were so sure that the death sentence would be commuted to life imprisonment, that they did not even discuss the issue of making a recommendation for mercy along with their guilty verdict. Later, some of the jurors came forth and stated they would never have convicted Ryan of murder had they known that he would in fact be executed.

Appeal

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Opas decided to appeal against the murder verdict. The appeal was to the Victorian Court of Criminal Appeal, a bench consisting of three judges of the Supreme Court. His first ground was that the verdict was against the weight of the evidence. He argued that as a matter of law that the inherent inconsistencies and improbabilities and even impossibilities in the evidence. The appeal was dismissed on June 8, 1966. In October 1966, a second appeal is rejected. Soon after, legal aid to Ryan is cut. Opas agrees to work without pay. Two months later Premier Bolte, announces that Ryan's death sentence will not be commuted. Opas flied to London to present Ryan's case to the highest judges in the Commonwealth. Despite Opas' efforts, the Privy Council refused the appeal. On 26 January 1967 a personal appeal to the Queen is unsuccessful.

A Political Hanging

Henry Bolte, Victoria’s longest serving State Premier premier, was a key figure in the hanging of Ronald Ryan. Until this time, the State Government of Victoria had commuted every death sentence passed since 1951, after three people Robert Clayton, Norman Andrews and Jean Lee (the last female executed in Australia) had been executed for the tortured murder of an old man.

Justice John Starke reported that Bolte had insisted that the death sentence be carried out. At the time of the Ryan sentence there were at least four State cabinet members who opposed capital punishment but Premier Bolte was determined to prevail. Starke subscribed to the substitute Tait theory, William Tait murdered the old woman of a Hawthorn vickery and was sentenced to hang but was granted a eleventh hour reprieve in 1962 after the High Court had found him insane.

When it became apparent that the Premier intended to proceed with the execution, a secret eleventh-hour plea for mercy was made by four jury members who had found Ryan guilty of murder. They sent petitioning letters to the Victorian governor, stating that in reaching their verdict, they had believed that capital punishment had been abolished in Victoria and requesting that the Governor exercise the Royal Prerogative of Mercy and commute Ryan's sentence of death.

Bolte denied all requests for mercy and was determined Ryan would hang. The approaching execution of Ryan prompted widespread protests in Victoria and elsewhere around the country.

Newspapers in Melbourne, traditionally supporters of the Bolte government, deserted him on the issue and ran a campaign of spirited opposition on the grounds that the death penalty was barbaric. There is some evidence that, for premier Bolte, Ryan's execution was an opportunity for him to re-assert his political authority. Bolte wanted take the "tough on crime" stance. Bolte's determination to hang Ryan to boost his votes is widely documented. Bolte’s government had a 20 seat majority over Labor in 1964 and won the April 1967 election with 43 seats to 17.

As Ryan's execution approached, his 75-year old mother made a final plea to Premier Bolte for mercy. Cecilia Ryan wrote: "I plead at this late hour you will reverse your decision to hang my son. If you cannot find it in your heart to grant this request then I pray you will grant me one last favour, that the body of my son be given into my custody after his death so that I can give him a Christian burial. I pray to God for the success of this last prayer". Premier Bolte promptly replied in a letter, saying that her son would not be spared the death penalty and that law required his body be buried within prison grounds. It would not be returned to her for a Christian burial.

Churches, universities, unions and a large number of the public and legal professions opposed the death sentence. An estimated 18,000 people participated in street protests and 15,000 signed a petition against the hanging. Melbourne newspapers The Age, The Herald and The Sun, ran campaigns opposing the hanging of Ryan. The Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) suspended radio broadcasts for two minutes as a protest.

On the last night before his execution, Ryan wrote letters on toilet paper, to his family and thanked to those who had fought tirelessly on his behalf. Ryan maintained his innocence to the end. Ronald Ryan's last words were to the hangman. "God bless you, please make it quick."

A nationwide three-minute silence was observed at the exact time (8 AM) that Ryan was hanged on the morning of Friday 3rd February 1967. Thousands of people protested against the hanging outside Pentridge Prison. Inmates staged a sit-in as a protest against Ryan's hanging, refusing to obey orders to go to work.

A young female reporter asked Bolte what he was doing at 8:00 a.m. Bolte replied; "One of the three S’s I suppose"” when asked what he meant by that, Bolte replied; "A shit, a shave or a shower!".

Execution

All calls for clemency, petitions and protests were to no avail. Bolte was determined that the law by upheld. Bolte had said " If I thought the law was wrong I would change it.". Ryan was hanged in 'D' Division at Pentridge Prison at 8.00 am on Friday 3 February, 1967.

Ryan refused to have any sedatives but he did have a nip of whisky, and walked calmly onto the gallows trapdoor. The hangman wasted no time and quickly pulled the lever.

Later that day, Ryan's body was buried in an unmarked grave within the "D" Division prison facility. The exact location of Ryan's grave has never been released by the authorities.

While the biggest public protest ever seen in the history of Australia was not successful in averting Ryan’s execution, the protest campaign to save Ryan from the gallows ensured that governments around Australia regarded it as too difficult politically to ever resort to the death penalty again.

Within twenty years, capital punishment would be abolished federally and in all state and territory jurisdictions. In 1985, Australia officially abolished capital punishment.

Forty Years Later

Forty years after Ronald Ryan was hanged, his family members made a request to have his body exhumed and placed with his late wife Dorothy, at Portland Cemetery. Victorian Premier John Brumby, gave permission for archaeological work and exhumation of Ryan's body.

Only recently has it been revealed by undertakers John Roy V. Allison that Ryan was buried in a highly polished darkwood coffin with the best trimmings, high-quality handles, satin lining, and a crucifix attached to the coffin. In a protest against the hanging, the undertakers added the best of everything to Ryan's coffin, so that his daughters would know he had a bit of dignity.

However, the daughter of murdered prison guard, Carole Hodson-Barnes-Hodson-Price, strongly objected and claimed Ryan did not deserve to be buried in consecrated ground. She was a 13-year-old at the time of her father's death and had not lived with her father for a number of years. When visiting Ryan's unmarked grave recently, she danced and jumped on it.

Carole Hodson angrily demanded to know who was funding Ryan's exhumation and made a plea to Victorian Premier John Brumby to ensure Ryan's remains not be removed from the prison grounds and not be returned to Ryan's family members. But Mr Brumby supported the views of Ryan's relatives to have his body exhumed so it could be cremated and placed with his late wife Dorothy, buried at Portland Cemetery.

Carole Hodson has been unable to bury the bitterness and get any sense of peace after so many years. She has been vocal and angry and doesn't believe Ryan deserves any consideration. Her request to the journalist for media interview has been ignored.

The effects of the death penalty experienced by families of executed criminals are documented in two books; Hidden Victims: The Effects of the Death Penalty on Families of the Accused by Susan F. Sharp (Associate Professor of Sociology) and Capital Consequences: Families of The Condemned by Rachel King (Lawyer). The books highlight the death penalty's hidden victims - the families of executed offenders and how the execution trickles down to those closely connected to the offender. Family members and friends experience a profoundly complicated and socially isolating grief process - economic, social and psychological repercussions that shape the lives of the forgotten families of executed offenders. Post-traumatic stress disorder can also affect these innocent family members.

The family members of Ronald Ryan - the unseen and unheard innocent victims of Ryan's execution, have been devastated and have suffered without sympathy or comfort, having had a ripple effect through to the future generations. The Ryan family have kept a low-profile over the decades, but have endured public scrutiny, been subjected to harassment, and are struggling to live with the knowledge that Ryan may have been innocent of murder when he was executed by the State of Victoria. The emotional pain of Ryan's family members tends to attract less attention and empathy from the media and the public, than that of the victim's family members.

The Case for Innocence

Australian Criminologist Professor Gordon Hawkins, at Sydney University Law School doubts the validity of the unsigned confessions of Ryan in a television film documentary, Beyond Reasonable Doubt. Although verbal confessions are not permissible in court, in the 1960s the public and therefore the jury, were much more trusting of the police.

Evidence pointing to the innocence of Ronald Ryan may have been lost when prison guard Helmut Lange, committed suicide by shooting himself in the head whilst on duty at Pentridge Prison, two years after Ryan was hanged. It is alleged that a close friend of Lange (who wanted to remain anonymous) claimed Lange had been troubled since the prison escape and committed suicide. This anonymous friend of Lange, telephoned Ryan's defence attorney Dr Philip Opas QC, years after Lange's death to claim that Lange confessed to finding the missing bullet casing in the prison guard tower and told his friend he had made an official report to prison authorities at the time, attaching the missing bullet casing. But Lange had been ordered by "someone" to make a new statement, excluding any reference to the missing bullet casing. Fearing for his job, Lange made a new statement. At trial, Lange testified that he did not see a bullet casing. Dr Opas advised the caller to inform the Police but it is unknown whether in fact the caller did. Police refused to comment. There is no proof any such call was made.

In 1993, a former Pentridge prisoner Harold Sheehan claimed he had witnessed the shooting but had not come forward at the time. Sheehan saw Ryan on his knees when the shot rang out and therefore, Ryan could not have inflicted the wound that passed in a downward trajectory angle that killed Hodson.

All prison authorized M1 carbine rifles were issued with eight rounds of bullets, including the rifle seized by Ryan from Lange. Seven of the eight rounds were accounted for. If the eighth fell on the floor of the prison watch tower when Ryan cocked the rifle with the safety catch on, thereby ejecting a live round, then the bullet that killed Hodson must have been fired by a person other than Ryan.

Nineteen years after Ryan's execution, a prison officer Doug Pascoe, confessed on-air to Channel 9 and the media, that he fired a shot during Ryan's escape bid. Pascoe believes his shot may have accidentally killed his fellow prison guard, Hodson. Pascoe had not told anyone that he fired a shot during the escape because at that time, "I was a 23-year-old coward". In 1986, he tried to tell his story but his claim was dismissed by police, because his rifle had a full magazine after the shooting and he was too far away.

It was also were discredited by the authorities because according to the staff roster book Pascoe was on duty at another part of the prison. Whether the staff roster book even existed after 19 years remains questionable. The roster book may have been meaningless on that particular day anyway, because prison staff were taking turns standing-in for workmates as required, while they attended the staff Christmas party.

Contesting the fatal shot, Dr Opas explains in detail the facts, which he claims cannot lie - which cannot be mistaken - that not only did Ryan not fire a shot, but he could not have fired a shot. Witnesses for the prosecution claimed to have seen Ryan's recoil the rifle, shoulder jerk back, and smoke coming from the barrel of the gun. In fact, that type of rifle had no recoil and it contained smokeless cartridges.

In a letter, Opas on Ryan - The Innocence of Ronald Ryan written to The Victorian Bar Association and published in The Bar News in Spring 2002, Dr Opas responds to a recently made assertion by Julian Burnside (who was reviewing Mike Richard's book The Hanged Man) that Ryan was guilty, the verdict was correct but the punishment was wrong. In addition, the editors of The Victorian Criminal Bar Association disagree with Julian Burnside personal assertion of Ryan's guilt.

Dr Opas vehemently disagrees with this assertion and refuses to believe that at any time did Ryan confess to anyone that he fired a shot. Burnside has been asked on several occasions to explain how came to his assertion, but has refused to explain. Dr Opas vehemently states that there is no evidence anywhere, that Ryan ever confessed guilt to anyone, either verbally or in writing.

Ryan gave evidence and swore that he did not fire at Hodson. He denied firing a shot at all. Ryan denied the alleged verbal confessions said to have been made by him. Dr Opas says the last words Ryan said to him were; We’ve all got to go sometime, but I don’t want to go this way for something I didn’t do.

On 1 March 2004, in an interview with the Australian Coalition Against Death Penalty (ACADP), Dr Opas said; I want to put the record straight. I want the truth told about Ronald Ryan - that an innocent man went to the gallows. I want the truth to be made available to everyone, for anyone young and old, who may want to do research into Ryan's case or research on the issue of capital punishment. I will go to my grave firmly of the opinion that Ronald Ryan did not commit murder. I refuse to believe that at any time he told anyone that he did.

On 23 August 2008, Dr Philip Opas QC, who had received an OBE died after a long illness at the age of 91. Opas maintained Ryan's innocence to the end. He was posthumously awarded an AM : Australia Day Honours in February 2009 - defended Ronald Ryan in 1966.

Mr. Justice Starke the judge at Ryan's trial, and a committed abolitionist, was convinced of Ryan's guilt but did not agree Ryan should hang. Until his death in 1992, Starke remained troubled about Ryan's hanging and would often ask his colleagues if they thought he did the right thing.

Prison Chaplin Father John Brosnan

Father Brosnan was a saintly Catholic priest for 57 years. For 30 years he was Pentridge Prison chaplain and one not easily fooled by the prisoners. He knew Ronald Ryan very well. Father Brosnan was convinced and always believed Ryan was innocent.

On 26 March 2003, Father Brosnan was interviewed by The Australian Broadcasting Commission National Radio, and, as Brosnan was often asked in the past, about Ronald Ryan - who it was believed fired the fatal shot during the prison breakout. Father Brosnan replied; I don't know whose bullet killed who, but a friend of mine (Ryan) died. I don't want to make a hero out of Ryan but I'll tell you what, he had heroic qualities." Brosnan would also say So they say – but I don’t know that for sure and I am not going to say. Even if I did know it, I would not say. I’m a priest not and police reporter. It is god’s job to judge people not mine. Father John Brosnan’’

Ryan's defence lawyer and the priest developed a close friendship while working on the Ryan case. Dr Opas believes that Father Brosnan would have told him if Ryan had confessed guilt. Father Brosnan accompanied Ryan to the gallows and he believed Ryan was innocent.

Facts

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2009) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

• Ryan's rifle was never scientifically tested by forensic experts.<Referenced Documentaries: The Last Man Hanged, The Last of The Ryans, Beyond Reasonable Doubt, Odd Man Out.>

• There was no proof that Ryan's rifle had been fired.<Referenced Documentaries: The Last Man Hanged, The Last of The Ryans, Beyond Reasonable Doubt, Odd Man Out.>

• The fatal bullet that passed through Hodson's body was never found despite extensive search by police.<Referenced Documentaries: The Last Man Hanged, The Last of The Ryans, Beyond Reasonable Doubt, Odd Man Out.>

• The spent cartridge, also, was never found despite extensive search by police.<Referenced Documentaries: The Last Man Hanged, The Last of The Ryans, Beyond Reasonable Doubt, Odd Man Out.>

• It was never proven that the fatal bullet came from the weapon in Ryan's possession.<Referenced Documentaries: The Last Man Hanged, The Last of The Ryans, Beyond Reasonable Doubt, Odd Man Out.>

• All fourteen witnesses testified they heard one single shot.<Referenced Documentaries: The Last Man Hanged, The Last of The Ryans, Beyond Reasonable Doubt, Odd Man Out.>

• Paterson admitted and testified he fired one single shot.<Referenced Documentaries: The Last Man Hanged, The Last of The Ryans, Beyond Reasonable Doubt, Odd Man Out.>

• No person heard two shots fired. If Ryan had also fired a shot, at least one person would have heard two shots. Only one shot was heard.<Referenced Documentaries: The Last Man Hanged, The Last of The Ryans, Beyond Reasonable Doubt, Odd Man Out.>

• Balistic evidence indicated that Hodson was shot in a downward trajectory angle.<Referenced Documentaries: The Last Man Hanged, The Last of The Ryans, Beyond Reasonable Doubt, Odd Man Out.>

• The measurement of the entry and exit wound on Hodson's body indicated that the shot was fired from an elevated position.<Referenced Documentaries: The Last Man Hanged, The Last of The Ryans, Beyond Reasonable Doubt, Odd Man Out.>

• Ryan (a shorter man) could not have fired at Hodson (a taller man) in such a downward trajectory angle, as both were on level ground.<Referenced Documentaries: The Last Man Hanged, The Last of The Ryans, Beyond Reasonable Doubt, Odd Man Out.>

• Witnesses testified seeing Ryan recoil his rifle and smoke coming from the barrel of his rifle. In fact, that type of rifle had no recoil and it contained smokeless cartridges.<Referenced Documentaries: The Last Man Hanged, The Last of The Ryans, Beyond Reasonable Doubt, Odd Man Out.>

Not true M1 Carbines do recoil and modern weapons do in fact emit smoke when fired. Check out youtube; search on M1 carbines, live firings clearly show recoil and smoke. However, M1 carbines back in 1965 were not of the "modern" type seen on today's youtube, and were at that time proven to be recoiless and to contain smokless cartridges.<Referenced Documentaries: The Last Man Hanged, The Last of The Ryans, Beyond Reasonable Doubt, Odd Man Out.>

Alleged confession

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In a book by Mike Richards entitled The Hanged Man, (released and published in 2002) makes allegations that Ryan confessed guilt to Pentridge Prison Governor Ian Grindlay the night before the hanging. According to this book Ryan said to Grindlay, "I did shoot him (Hodson) but I didn't mean to kill him only to stop him." It should be noted that Grindlay died more than one decade before the book that contains this allegation was published. .

It should be noted that Grindlay also told journalist Tom Prior, Prior also wrote that Ryan confessed to Sister Margaret Kingston, the nun who looked after Ryan’s mother in the weeks around the time of his execution.

Governor Grindlay repeated this claim in audio recordings for the Truth Newspaper in 1976 .

Last Legal Execution in Australia Documentary Film

The Last Man Hanged is a dramatised documentary released in 1992 based on a mixture of re-creating interviews with the people directly involved in the Ryan case and archival material depicting the events leading up to the hanging of Ronald Joseph Ryan in Pentridge Prison. What evolves in the documentary is a powerful and emotional statement about capital punishment - a universal story about the social and political pressures that can lead a government to take the life of a human being and the story of a complex Ronald Ryan, who was as much a victim of politics as the victims of society he had violated - a man who believed ultimately he had to die.

Featuring candid interviews with the people who knew Ryan well - his wife, lawyer, fellow escapee, trial judge, the priest, politicians, the journalist who witnessed his execution. The Last Man Hanged is the story of Ronald Ryan, a petty-thief with no record of violence, but whose botched escape from prison resulted in his execution - the story of a brutal, cold-blooded murder by the State.

References

1. ^ Opas, Phil (Spring 2002), "Correspondance" (PDF), Victorian Bar News (122), Melbourne, Australia: The Victorian Bar: 13, ISSN 0150-3286, retrieved 2009-08-07
2. ^ Ryan: the case that won't die, Melbourne, Australia: Herald Sun, 1997, p. 78, retrieved 2009-08-07 {{citation}}: Unknown parameter |day= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |jornal= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
3. ^ Ryan: the case that won't die, Melbourne, Australia: Herald Sun, 1997, p. 79, retrieved 2009-08-07 {{citation}}: Unknown parameter |day= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |jornal= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
4. http://www.vicbar.com.au/vicbar_oral/images/opas/15_RyanMother.gif
5. "Ryan, Ronald Joseph (1925 - 1967)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 16, Melbourne University Press, 2002, p. 157.
6. http://www.vicbar.com.au/vicbar_oral/images/opas/15_RyanMother.gif
7. the Herald page 5 December 20 , 1965 |The men Police are hunting!
8. http://www.vicbar.com.au/vicbar_oral/images/opas/11_RyanCase.gif
9. http://www.imdb.com/”The Last Man Hanged”/ “the Last Man Hanged”/
10. the Herald page 5 December 20 , 1965 |The men Police are hunting!
11. http://www.vicbar.com.au/vicbar_oral/images/opas/11_RyanCase.gif
12. http://www.imdb.com/ “the Last Man Hanged”/
13. http://www.imdb.com/ “the Last Man Hanged”/
14. http://www.vicbar.com.au/vicbar_oral/images/opas/11_RyanCase.gif
15. http://www.imdb.com/ “the Last Man Hanged”/
16. The Walker Interview, The Truth newspaper 25/01/1985
17. The Herald page 5 December 20 1965 , Death was 1/2 inch away for Gaol Chaplain
18. The Sun page 2 December 20, 1965 , I saw Murder
19. The Hanged Man: The Life and Death of Ronald Ryan (Melbourne, Scribe, 2002),
20. http://www.imdb.com/ “the Last Man Hanged”/
21. The Hanged Man: The Life and Death of Ronald Ryan (Melbourne, Scribe, 2002),
22. The giant book of Crimes that shocked Australia, Alan Sharpe ISBN 1-863090-18-5
23. The Hanged Man: The Life and Death of Ronald Ryan (Melbourne, Scribe, 2002),
24. http://www.imdb.com/”The Last Man Hanged”/
25. http://www.imdb.com/”The Last Man Hanged”/
26. http://www.imdb.com/”The Last Man Hanged”/
27. The Sun December 20,1966
28. The Herald December 24 1966
29. http://www.imdb.com/”The Last Man Hanged”/
30. The Walker Interview ,The Truth, January 25, 1985.
31. The Walker Interview ,The Truth, January 25, 1985.
32. The Hanged Man: The Life and Death of Ronald Ryan (Melbourne, Scribe, 2002),
33. The Walker Interview ,The Truth, January 25, 1985.
34. The Hanged Man: The Life and Death of Ronald Ryan (Melbourne, Scribe, 2002),
35. http://australianscreen.com.au/titles/last-man-hanged/clip2/
36. name="australianscreen.com.au">http://australianscreen.com.au/titles/case-of-ronald-ryan/clip2/
37. Trial transcript R v Ryan & Walker 15-30 Mar 66, quoted by Richards, The Hanged Man at p. 199
38. Trial transcript R v Ryan & Walker 15-30 Mar 66, p555, quoted by Richards, The Hanged Man at p. 203.
39. http://www.vicbar.com.au/pdf/Bar%20News%20PDF%20files/Spring%202002/Correspondance.pdf
40. http://www.imdb.com/”The Last Man Hanged”/
41. The Hanged Man: The Life and Death of Ronald Ryan (Melbourne, Scribe, 2002),
42. http://www.vicbar.com.au/pdf/Bar%20News%20PDF%20files/Spring%202002/Correspondance.pdf
43. Prior, Tom, ‘’A Knockabout Priest’’, Hargreen , North Melbourne, 1985, ISBN 0-94990524
44. http://www.vicbar.com.au/vicbar_oral/images/opas/7_RyanGuilty.jpg
45. http://www.vicbar.com.au/vicbar_oral/images/opas/7_RyanGuilty.jpg
46. http://www.abc.net.au/dimensions/dimensions_in_time/Transcripts/s546556.htm
47. http://australianscreen.com.au/titles/last-man-hanged/clip2/
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50. http://www.vicbar.com.au/vicbar_oral/images/opas/25_Vigil.jpg
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57. Bolte by Bolte, Tom Prior ,(Craftsman Publishing, 1990) ISBN 1-875428-00-3
58. Bolte by Bolte, Tom Prior ,(Craftsman Publishing, 1990) ISBN 1-875428-00-3
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61. http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22668956-2862,00.html
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63. http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/robynriley/index.php/heraldsun/comments/bury_the_bitterness/
64. http://www.amazon.com/Hidden-Victims-Effects-Families-Critical/dp/0813535840
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72. *Prior, Tom, ‘’A knockabout priest : the story of Father John Brosnan’’, Hargreen , North Melbourne, 1985, ISBN 0949905232
73. Prior, Tom, ‘’A Knockabout Priest’’, Hargreen , North Melbourne, 1985, ISBN 0-94990524
74. Prior, Tom, ‘’A knockabout priest : the story of Father John Brosnan’’, Hargreen , North Melbourne, 1985, ISBN 0949905232
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Further reading

• Ayling, Jack, “Nothing but the Truth: The life and times of Jack Ayling” Chippendale, Pan McMillan ISBN 9780330274661
• Dickens, Barry, Guts and Pity - The Hanging that ended Capital Punishment in Australia, Currency Press, Sydney, 1996 ISBN 0868194247
• Grindlay, Ian, “Behind Bars: Memoirs of Jail Governor, Ian Grindlay”, Southdown Press, Melbourne
• Hansen, Brian, “The Awful Truth” Brian Hansen Publications, 2004 ISBN 1-876151-16-1,
• Opas, Philip, Throw away my wig: an autobiography of a long journey with a few sign posts
• Prior, Tom, ‘’Bolte by Bolte,’’ Craftsman Publishing, 1990 ISBN 1-875428-00-3
• Prior, Tom, ‘’A knockabout priest : the story of Father John Brosnan’’, Hargreen , North Melbourne, 1985, ISBN 0949905232
• Richards, Mike, The Hanged Man - The Life and Death of Ronald Ryan, Scribe Publications, Melbourne, 2002, ISBN 0-908011-94-6
• Sharpe, Alan, “The giant book of Crimes that shocked Australia”, ISBN 1-863090-18-5
• Dr Philip Opas, QC The Innocence of Ronald Ryan Victorian Criminal Bar Association. (Newsletter, Spring 2002).
• The Hanging of Ronald Ryan (Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) Transcript, News Articles, Video.

External links

• "New resting place for Ronald Ryan", National Nine News, 29 October, 2007
• Ewart, Heather, "35th anniversary of Australia's last execution", 7.30 Report, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 14 March, 2002
• Norden, Fr. Peter, "Remembering a hanging", Jesuit Communications Australia, 10 September, 2007
• Opas, Dr. Philip, "The Innocence of Ronald Ryan", The Victorian Criminal Bar, 2002
• "Ryan, Ronald Joseph (1925 - 1967)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 16, Melbourne University Press, 2002, p. 157.
• Ryan, Michael, "Ryan Still able to joke: mother", Home News, 27 January, 1967
• The Last Man Hanged (documentary) at IMDb

Film and Television Documentaries

• The Last Man Hanged, historical documentary, ABC, Australia, 1993
• The Last Of The Ryans, television movie, Crawford Productions, Australia, 23 April 1997
• Beyond Reasonable Doubt - The Case of Ronald Ryan, documentary series, 1977 Australian Film Commission
• Odd Man Out - The Story of Ronald Ryan Three-part television mini-series
• Who Hung Ronald Ryan? Australian Broadcasting Corporation Film (A Documentary Film on The Execution of Ronald Ryan - released 1987)

Plays

• The Blood of Helmut Lange - The Unjustified Execution of Ronald Ryan The Factory Theatre Crime Scenes.
• Dickens, Barry, Remember Ronald Ryan: A Dramatic Play, Currency Press, Sydney, 1994, ISBN 0868193925

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• People executed for murder
• People executed by hanging
• Criminals from Melbourne
• People executed by Victoria (Australia)
• Executed Australian people
• Escapees from Victoria (Australia) detention
• Australian people convicted of murder
• 20th-century executions
• People convicted of murder by Victoria (Australia)
• Australian bank robbers
• Living people
• 1967 deaths