What happened to Christopher Craig after Derek Bentley's death?What did he think of the hanging?

After Derek Bentley's death, Christopher Craig was imprisoned. He reportedly felt guilt and regret over Bentley's controversial hanging. Christopher Craig was seventeen years old when he and Derek Bentley attempted a break-in at a warehouse in Croydon, London, in 1952. During the attempted burglary, Bentley was apprehended by a police officer and, in the ensuing chaos, Craig shot and killed a police officer. Since Craig was under 18, he was not eligible for the death penalty and was instead sentenced to life imprisonment. Craig was released from prison in 1963 after serving ten years of his sentence. Regarding Derek Bentley's execution, Craig felt a deep sense of guilt and remorse. Bentley was hanged on January 28, 1953, despite widespread public outcry and a petition signed by over 200 Members of Parliament. Craig reportedly believed that Bentley's execution was unjust, and that he himself was the more culpable party given that he was the one who fired the fatal shot. Bentley's case later became a pivotal example in the movement to abolish capital punishment in the United Kingdom.

After Derek Bentley was executed, Christopher Craig was sentenced to ten years in prison . Regarding Craig's thoughts on the hanging of Bentley, he expressed feelings of guilt and remorse. Christopher Craig was a key figure in the case surrounding the death of Derek Bentley, a British man executed for murder in 1953. Bentley was controversially hanged for the death of a police officer during a burglary that allegedly involved Craig, who was only 16 years old at the time . After Derek Bentley's execution, Craig was sentenced to serve time in a young offenders' institution instead of facing the death penalty, which was applicable at the time for adults. He served approximately ten years in detention. Following his release in the 1960s, Craig's life took a different turn as he moved away from the crime that had shaped his early life. He lived in relative obscurity, and there were reports that he struggled with the memories of the event and its consequences. Reports indicate that he later felt very regretful about the incident that led to Bentley's execution. There were accounts suggesting that he believed the capital punishment system was flawed and deeply affected by the tragic events they had both gone through. Craig's perspective reflected the broader societal debates occurring in Britain at the time regarding the ethics and application of the death penalty, and ultimately contributed to discussions that led to its abolition in the UK in the following decades.