TIM EVANS WAS EXECUTED -- "CHRISTIE WAS THE MURDERER, AND THE JUDGE AND JURY TOO"

One more example of the power of music: "Go Down Ye Murderers" by Ewan MacColl, also known as "The Ballad of Tim Evans." 

Arguably the injustice in the case (the man was executed for a crime he did not commit) was brought to the public's attention by a song. Protest songs didn't start with Bob Dylan, they have always been part of the broadside world and the folk tradition. 

While the Christie case got some notoriety at the time, it was the enduring ballad from MacColl, covered by many artists, that kept the case in the public's mind. His song did not focus on Christie, the way the media focused on him (and as the media focused on John Gacy or Ed Gein or Charles Manson). The song didn't focus on the victims either. MacColl's attention was drawn to Tim Evans, who was hanged before the real killer was revealed. In fact, Christie testified against Evans at the trial.

John Christie managed to kill a number of prostitutes, his wife, and an upstairs neighbor (Mrs. Evans, who was seeking his help with an abortion) but he managed to elude detection...until a new tenant at 10 Rillington Place discovered a hidden body. More bodies were found. 10 Rillington Place became such a notorious address that the building was torn down and the street re-named. 

Under the title "The Ballad of Tim Evans," Americans heard the song via Judy Collins. The Ivy League Trio got there first, but nobody seems to remember them. Over the years, many others have recorded the song as a reminder of how final Capitol Punishment can be. Indeed, many rightly believe that unless it's a very obvious case with total proof, or involving a career criminal, it might be wise to settle for life in prison (which is also cruel and unusual). If it's some bastard who kills his family, or murders and rapes, or kills just to cover up a chump change robbery...hell, fry 'em and be quick about it. 

"10 Rillington Place" was a book by Ludovic Kennedy, which became a grim movie (with perennial victim John Hurt as Tim Evans). It was re-made in England recently as a 3-part TV drama. Several TV documentaries have chronicled John Christie, and if you have a morbid interest in the case,  Kennedy's excellent book is easy to find. There's also the more recent "John Christie of Rillington Place" by Jonathan Oates, which isn't quite as vivid a read, but offers extra details on the case. You can avoid the idiot book that insists that the address housed TWO killers by coincidence. In this scenario, Christie didn't seize the opportunity to perform an abortion (and kill and rape and pretend the procedure just went wrong). Instead, Evans somehow went nuts over the impending second child, and killed both wife and child. 

Christie, amused by his celebrity, and his new status as a dangerous man and not just a mild-looking middle-aged weasel, vacillated between admitting to ALL the killings and just SOME of them. Knowing how people feel about child murderers, he insisted he didn't kill the Evans child. Above, the story as it appeared in the digest-sized PEOPLE WEEKLY (no relation to the current gossip mag called PEOPLE). Below, the Karan Casey version of the song,

THE BALLAD OF TIM EVANS - instant download or listen on line. No bogus link taking you to a porn site or pay site