In the second summer of 1965

that is to say, in December 1965, I was 11 years old. Go read this[^] and come back.

Back? Good. On the afternoon of Sunday December 19th 1965 I was in Queens Park Coburg, a stones throw north of Pentridge Prison, Melbourne. The alarms went off and, being a dumb kid, I remember running toward the alarms all agog to know what was happening. What was happening was an escape from prison.

What I saw was this; two men running away from the prison toward Sydney Road and a third man some distance behind running in the same direction. The third man suddenly fell and the other two men kept running. I later knew that the first two men were the escapees - the third man was the warder, George Hodson, who died during the escape attempt.

I reiterate; what I saw was three men running in the same direction; one of them fell and the other two kept running. At no time did I see either of the first two men turn and shoot a gun.

Alas I didn't speak up during the months following and an innocent man went to the gallows. I'm 9 years older now than Ronald Ryan was when he was hanged.

I told my step-father what I'd seen but he didn't believe me and ridiculed me. In time I came to believe that I hadn't seen what I'd seen. Until 1974 - in that year the debate over capital punishment came to a head and, finally, my home state of Victoria abolished it. The debate at the time brought it all back and I was passionately in favour of abolition. I still am!

Now let's fast forward to January 17th 1996, a cold winter in Texas. I'd been in Texas 6 weeks at the time (with 2 weeks still to go). A young girl, Amber Hagerman was kidnapped, raped and murdered. She is the young girl after whom the Amber alerts in the United States are named. This dreadful event took place within a mile or so of where I was living at the time. I remember the hue and cry and I remember the sick feeling when it was announced that she'd been found; not so much because she'd been found but because of the condition in which she'd been found.

What's the connection? The FBI issued a profile of the suspect. And I matched the profile! I really hope I don't have to say it wasn't me but just in case, it wasn't me! Of course probably 10,000 other people also matched the profile. But I have first hand experience as a witness of how things that didn't happen are presented as truth; and I also know how witnesses who could disprove something don't come forward.

Ronald Ryan, there, but for the grace of god, go I.

And that is why I am now and will forever be opposed to capital punishment!