Justice Jersey Style
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JUSTICE JERSEY STYLE A TRUE STORY BASED ON THE LIFE OF ALAN WILLIAM NORTON 2 PREFACE SPEAK YOUR TRUTH QUIETLY FROM YOUR HEART YOU WILL BE HEARD ONLY THOSE WHO SPEAK THE TRUTH WILL PEACE BE ASSURED IN THEIR LIFETIME AND IN DEATH I SPEAK MY TRUTH QUIETLY 3 THE LONG FIGHT FOR JUSTICE A true story of one man’s fight to prove his innocence of a crime which has all but destroyed his life for the past 49 years No Part of the transcript or its contents may be reproduced or published without the owners prior authorization Copyright owned by Alan William Norton 2014 4 CHAPTER 1 - GROWING UP CHAPTER 2 - THE ATTACK’S CHAPTER 3 - ARRESTED CHAPTER 4 - CASE AGAINST ME CHAPTER 5 - WITCHES AND THE SUPER COP PICTURES CHAPTER 6 - ANNONYM0US PHONE CALLS CHAPTER 7 - FIT UP 5 CHAPTER 8 - FATHER’S STRANGE QUESTIONS CHAPTER 9 - THE LONG DELIBERATION CHAPTER 10 - THE BEAST IS CAUGHT CHAPTER 11 - FREEDOM CHAPTER 12 - FAMILY SECRETS CHAPTER 13 - CONCLUSION 6 CHAPTER 1 OCTOBER 1965 How long had they been knocking – I don’t know, but eventually getting out of bed pulling the curtains and opening the window `I realized it was the Police. “Alan can you come down to the station and answer a few questions”. “Ok” getting dressed by this time the wife had woken up, it’s only the Police love” giving her a kiss – “I won’t be long”. Little did I know it would be June 2013 before I stood back outside the house again! 48 years later!!!! We were a big family, 7 brothers and sisters all told, plus unfortunately 2 little siblings who didn’t make it, my mother a Jersey born girl, born in 1914 met and married my father a Londoner who was working in Jersey at the time in December 1935. Mum was twenty one when she got married, within two months of marriage they had a son Williams Charles who my mum loved dearly, unfortunately the poor boy died within ten months of birth, a terrible and painful death which needed never to have happened, he suffered from quiet a common problem amongst babies of that age when the intestine become pushed or trapped into another area and obstructed the bowel, causing severe pain, vomiting and bleeding, if treated within five days by surgery he would have lived but no he was left to suffer a painful death, his poor mother suffered, her husband was unmoved, a cruel and callous man he would not get medical aid, he ruled his wife and family with an iron fist. In 1940 with the Island being unprotected it was easy for the Germans to occupy the Island, my mother and father with their young son Robert, who was born within twelve months of the death of her first child, who mother now poured all her love and feelings into protecting her son, as by now her husband was showing his cruel side of his nature. They like many other families moved to the north of England, Bolton, within a year of 7 arriving at Bolton, a daughter Marion was born and on the 3rd March 1943 I was born, Janet was born 2 years later. Around late 1945 the family returned back to Jersey to live, strange as it may seem back to the same house they had left a few years ago, life for the ever increasing family was tough as it was for many families at that time. I can’t remember very much of my childhood, there was no love shown, mum was far too busy looking after the house, struggling to find enough food to feed the ever increasing family, whilst her husband continued his cruel ways. The amount of tears I’ve shed since learning so much about my poor mum’s awful life ad her horrible death at the hands of her cruel husband, an evil man who had his way whether she wanted to or not, struggling to keep the house going, remember there were no washing machines or dryers in those days, as I got older it was my job to fill the copper and baths, so mum could get up early and do the washing, it took fourteen journeys with a heavy bucket in each hand to fill up the copper and baths, from the pump at the well, carry them down a long path to the shed where the washing was done. Next to the shed was the toilet a long walk in cold damp nights! The bucket to be emptied when it was full! The house had no central heating, just a coal fire oven, winter nights the cracks and crevices around the windows and doors were stuffed with paper or old cloths to keep the draughts out! I very well remember as a young boy climbing into a freezing cold bed, curling up like a snail under the bed sheets and eventually falling asleep once the body temperature warmed up! If you were lucky enough you could grab the only hot water bottle available – but that wasn’t very often! It wasn’t until the late 50’s, early 60’s that we got running water in the kitchen and an inside loo – Bliss!! As a youngster I played on the farm, our house was on the edge of the farmland, hours of scrumping and pulling carrots out of the ground, cleaning them, eating them that with sprouts and tomatoes that kept us going through the day, it 8 seemed the sun always shone, no global warming in those days, we were out all day on the farm or down the beach climbing all over the rocks and forever swimming, life for a youngster was a lot safer in those days. It seemed our family never stopped growing two more sisters and a brother arrived making a total of seven brothers and sisters all living in half a house/kitchen, small front room, two bedrooms on the first floor plus the attic where Bob and I slept. Christmas there was very little money, presents consisted mainly of a stocking with little treats, an orange, nuts and a few little trinkets the highlight was the roast dinner! Chicken or pork plus the pudding for after’s – Great! As I got older in order to get myself a bicycle I went up to the dump and found a frame, some old wheels, searched around and managed to find two old tyre’s and inner-tubes and built my pride and joy- my own bike. It had no brakes, it was what was called a “fixed wheel” bike in order to stop you had to stand on the pedals which stopped the bike! – Great Fun!! I remember going for a long ride one day eventually getting to the top of the hill, I decided to see how fast I could come down the hill – too fast apparently, I lost control. I was going so fast I couldn’t put my feet on the pedals to stop the bike – I hit a lamppost – broken arm and a split head was the result!! I finished up in hospital after having my arm put in plaster and my head stitched up I was met by my mother- who wasn’t too pleased. Going back home I was sick all over the floor of the bus, quickly grabbing me by the arm mum rushed me off the bus before the conductor found out – I received a good telling off for making a mess!! On doctor’s advice mum was told not to have any more babies now in her early forties her body had carried eight babies and that was too much for her. It could be fatal if she got pregnant again. Unfortunately the doctor’s advice was ignored and anyway her cruel husband and ruler of the house was not going to be told by the doctor what to do. He carried on his cruel 9 ways using her whenever he wanted too. The consequences were fatal!! I clearly remembering the day I had returned home and finding mum wasn’t around went to her bedroom and knocked on the door, on opening the door I asked if she was alright? Did she need anything? She replied no. I quietly closed the door. I was fourteen at that time. A couple of hours later my father arrived home, he went to the bedroom, panic ensured an ambulance was called and mum was taken to hospital, we were in the kitchen at the time he said “mum is dead”, with that life was to go on, we were not allowed to grieve, we were not allowed to go the funeral, all what happened was we were all made aware of our tasks to keep the home running. The death of our mother hit all of us hard, none more so than Bob, being born after mum had lost her first child had made her very protected of Bob, and understandable so, especially as her marriage was becoming a nightmare, she was slowly being destroyed by her cruel husband. Years later I learnt about my mother’s cruel death, my mother’s death certificate reads “Irreversible shock due to hemorrhage abortion”, What it doesn’t say is my father decided that the baby had to go, so before he set off to work that morning he attempted an abortion – using a straightened out coat hanger! – The result proved fatal! – Poor mum bled to death. When mum married she was bright vibrant woman, when she died mum was a broken and destroyed woman, destroyed by her cruel husband, knocking her about and all the verbal abuse she had to take.