Stolen years by Paul Hill (Stolen Years: Before and After Guildford - Paul Hill, Ronan Bennett)

Member Name: jo1l

Product:	Stolen Years: Before and After Guildford - Paul Hill, Ronan Bennett
Date:	30/10/00 (2190 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: great book, which shows how much someone can suffer throw no fault of their own

Disadvantages: will make you so angry

Paul Hill, was one of the Guildford Four, he spent over 15 years in jail for a crime that he and the others charged with him did not commit!

This book is an autobiographical account of his life prior to Guildford and of his time spent in prison. It is by no means a light read, it raises many questions about our so called justice system, prison life and police brutality.

Paul was born in Belfast in 1954, to a working class family. He spent most of his early life in and around Belfast. In August 1974, Paul made the mistake of coming to England to look for work in London, he arrived in London with his girl friend Gina and a mate called Gerry Conlon. They did what most people in there early twenties did messed around and having a good time!

In the Autumn of 1974, The IRA had yet another bombing campaign in England. The most notorius of these were the Birmingham pub bombings and the Guildford pub bombings.

Paul was not and had never been a member of the IRA. Later when he had been arrested, charged and then imprisonsed the IRA issued statements to this fact. Members of the gang that had done the Guildford bombings even said it was them and not the four people who had been imprisoned for the crime. This statement fell on deaf ears!

Paul, his mate Gerry Conlon and Paddy Armstrong were all from Belfast. Paddy's girlfriend Carole Richardson was an English girl. Basically they were arrested along with others who were Irish. Statements were beaten out of them, interview techniques were absolutely horrendous.

Paul, confessed to the Guilford bombings after days and nights of questionings, beatings and threats made about his family. Paul fully believed that his innocence would be proven in court but obviously this was not the case. The media outrage was second to none. The polices case even though full of holes was seen to be the truth. The Police case rested on the confessions that had been beaten out of them.


At the time of their arrest Gerry Conlon's father Guiseppe came over to the main land to basically get his lad out of bother. Guiseppe was later arrested along with Gerry's aunt and her family to be known as the Mcguire 7. Guisseppe along with the whole of the McGuire family were imprisoned for handling explosives, the forensic evidence for this was based on a now discredited forensic test. Basically if you were to handle a box of matches this test would say that you had been handling explosives. This was to take years to be proven.

Guisseppe was not a well man, he was to die in prison proclaiming his innocence and that of his son.

Whilest awaiting trial for the Guildford bombings Paul was charged and found guilty of murdering a British soldier in Belfast. The trial for this was held in Belfast in a notorious diplock court ie there was not a jury present. Paul was found guilty of this murder and given a life sentence.

During this period his girlfriend Gina gave birth to their daughter Kara. Kara would be 15 before Paul saw her without the presence of a prison officer.

The judge at the trial for the Guildford bombings, in his sentencing basically told them if the death penalty had been an option for him he would have sentenced them to death. Paul was given a 30 year minium tariff.

Life in prison was hard, Paul gives graphic accounts of the beatings and torture that he endured. Solitary confinement was away of life for him. Dirty protests were away of basically keeping the prison officers away from him. Other prisoners were obviously outraged at the crimes he had committed. The main thread throw out his account of being in prison was the concern for his safety. Paul was totally alone at first, the other prisoners did not accept him and he wanted nothing to do with other IRA prisoners.

Paul also suffered 50 so called ghostings during his time in prison. A ghosting is when you are suddenly moved to anothe
r prison. Usually Pauls ghostings happened the day before his family were due to come over from Belfast. Funny isnt it?

The campaign for Pauls release was at first very small, Paul and others would basically write to any one that they thought would help. At first the replies if they got any were blunt and to the point. The turning point was a new Lawyer Gareth Pierce and the sad death of Guiseppe Conlon. Bit by bit people started to believe them. The MP Chris Mullin took up the case.

Bit by bit new evidence was found, forged confession docuements, forensic evidence was discredited. Also the media now gave coverage to it. The momento gained pace when other victims of miscourages of justice also campaigned for release eg The Birmingham 6.

Guiseppe Conlon, on his death bed in Wormwood Scrubs told his son Gerry, my death will bring about your release, they put us in here by the back door, you make sure you get out by the front door!

After several appeals and knock backs, they were given the chance to appeal again! Paul discribes the noise in his cell block the night before when it was announced on the radio that it looked like they would be free in the morning! Pandamonium broke out!

Paul also recalls being moved at this time to a London prison, so as to be near the court of appeal, after years of being moved around and beaten up with in minutes of his arrival at a new prison he was still very weary especially when the prison officer called him throw to another room. The prison officers then offered him a cuppa!

On the 19th October 1989, the court of appeal quashed the verdicts on the Guildford 4 they were finally proven innocent! Gerry Conlon, when advised to leave by a side door told the court staff,to basically F*** off! Gerry as his father told him went out via the front door! I will always remeber the image of Gerry with his sisters outside the Court of Appeal with the crowds cheering!

Paul Hill, unfor
tunately was not totaly free, he was flown to Belfast and was later cleared of the murder of the British soldier.

The police officers that beat and forged confessions out of the Guildford 4 were never found guilty of falsifying evidence or perverting the course of justice. They had stolen 15 years of the Guildford 4's lives!

Paul carried on campaigning and was with the Birmingham 6 when they were finally shown to be innocent too. He later married one of the Kennedy's.

Gerry Conlon also wrote an account of his time in prison, this book is called Stolen Years and again is well worth reading.

Read this book, but be prepared to have your belief in our justice system thrown to the wind.

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