Victor Edward Betts

Victor Betts for murder committed during the course of a robbery. The case had established that a person need not be present when a crime is committed to be regarded as an accessory after the fact.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment_in_the_United_Kingdom

This is an intersteing case because it set a president for the concept of 'common design'.

Betts and and Ridley had driven to the location of the robbery and Betts had got out and followed Andrews who was wondering down the street with a bag of cash. Betts grabbed the bag of cash, and hit Andrews on the head, then made his getaway in the yellow car driven by Ridley. However, Andrews had a thin skull and died of the injury. The robbery was witnessed by Charles Dowd who saw Betts make a getaway in a yellow car.

Both men were convicted of murder as Andrews had died as the result of a robbery, and both men were party to the common design.

Betts was hung, but Ridley was reprived and served time in jail.