Guenther Fritz Erwin Podola was a German-born petty thief, and the last man to be hanged in the UK for killing a police officer.
11 Facts About Guenther Podola
1.
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Guenther Podola's trial was notable and controversial because of his defence of amnesia and the use of expert witnesses to determine whether his illness was real.
3.
Guenther Podola was a fanatical member of the Hitler Youth movement.
4.
On 25 July 1958 Podola was released and deported back to West Germany.
5.
Guenther Podola assumed the alias of Mike Colato and pretended to be a gangster.
6.
Guenther Podola shot one of the officers, Detective Sergeant Raymond Purdy, through the heart with a Radom 9mm semi-automatic pistol, after he ran into a house at 105 Onslow Square.
7.
Guenther Podola was later apprehended and Podola claimed he was beaten up by the police and, as a result, lost his memory of events.
8.
The start of the trial was delayed for nine days while a jury heard evidence of whether Guenther Podola was medically fit to stand trial.
9.
Neurologist Michael Ashby gave evidence as an expert medical witness at his trial, as did psychiatrist Archibald Leigh, who claimed Guenther Podola was feigning his illness.
10.
Guenther Podola was buried in the prison graveyard.
11.
Guenther Podola's execution took place five years before the last execution of any criminal and six years before the suspension and later abolition of the death penalty.