Guenther Podola
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{Infobox criminal
| name = Guenther Fritz Erwin Podola
| image_name = GuentherPodola.jpg
| image_size = 200
| image_caption = Podola in 1959
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1929|02|08|df=yes}}
| birth_place = Berlin, Germany
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1959|11|05|1929|02|08|df=y}}
| death_place = Wandsworth Prison, London, England, United Kingdom
| cause = Execution by hanging
| alias = Mike Colato
| conviction = Capital murder
| conviction_penalty = Death by hanging
| conviction_status = Executed
| occupation = Thief
| spouse =
| parents =
| children =
}}
Guenther Fritz Erwin Podola (8 February 1929 – 5 November 1959, alias Mike Colato) was a German-born petty thief, and the last man to be hanged in the UK for killing a police officer.
{{cite journal
| last = Furneaux
| first = Rupert
| title = Crime Documentary Series 1 - Guenther Podola
| journal = Journal of Mental Science
| volume = 107
| issue = 447
| pages = 348
| year = 1960
}} His trial was notable and controversial because of his defence of amnesia and the use of expert witnesses to determine whether his illness was real.The Modern Law Review, Vol. 24, No. 3, May 1961, pp. 413-415
Life
Podola was born in Berlin, Germany. He was a fanatical member of the Hitler Youth movement.{{Cite web |url=http://www.stephen-stratford.co.uk/podola.htm |title=Gunter Podola |access-date=19 January 2008 |archive-date=10 February 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080210033750/http://www.stephen-stratford.co.uk/podola.htm |url-status=bot: unknown }} Podola moved to Canada in August 1952. On 1 March 1957 he was sentenced to 10 days' imprisonment following a conviction for burglary in Montreal. Then on 26 March he was sentenced for another 11 counts of theft and burglary and imprisoned for 2 years. On 25 July 1958 Podola was released and deported back to West Germany.
London
Podola moved to London on 21 May 1959. He assumed the alias of Mike Colato and pretended to be a gangster.[https://books.google.com/books?id=JaUDhjsMdcEC&dq=%22Verne+Schiffman%22&pg=PA451 Google books - Villain's Paradise: A History of Britain's Underworld, p452] He broke into the house of an American model,[http://www.crimeandinvestigation.co.uk/tv_programme/793/Infamous_Murders_Murdered_on_Duty.htm Infamous Murders: Murdered on Duty - Crime And Investigation Network] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071230173819/http://www.crimeandinvestigation.co.uk/tv_programme/793/Infamous_Murders_Murdered_on_Duty.htm |date=30 December 2007 }} Verne Schiffmann in Roland Gardens,{{cite book |last1=Long |first1=David |title=Murders of London : in the steps of the capitals killers |date=2012 |publisher=Random House |location=London |isbn=9781847946720 |pages=126–129}} and stole jewellery and furs worth £2,000. He offered to return her possessions for £500, but she notified the police who attempted to arrest Podola on 12 July 1959 in Kensington.{{Cite web |url=http://www.crimetime.co.uk/features/anthonyfrewin.php |title=Crimetime |access-date=16 January 2008 |archive-date=31 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071031094252/http://www.crimetime.co.uk//features/anthonyfrewin.php |url-status=dead }} 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. He was later apprehended and Podola claimed he was beaten up by the police[http://www.rcplondon.ac.uk/heritage/munksroll/munk_details.asp?ID=5003 Royal College of Physicians] and, as a result, lost his memory of events. The police claimed that he was merely hit on the head when they broke down the door to his hotel room.
Trial
The start of the trial was delayed for nine days while a jury heard evidence of whether Podola was medically fit to stand trial.{{cite magazine |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,894251,00.html |title=Foreign News: Verdict on Podola |magazine=Time |date=5 October 1959}} After {{frac|3|1|2}} hours of deliberation, they decided he was. A fresh jury was called to hear the trial itself which commenced on 18 July 1959. When asked for his plea, he replied: "I do not remember the crime for which I stand accused ... I am unable to answer the charges." He was defended by Frederick Lawton QC. Neurologist Michael Ashby gave evidence as an expert medical witness at his trial, as did psychiatrist Archibald Leigh, who claimed Podola was feigning his illness.
The jury took 38 minutes to find Podola guilty of murder, and he was sentenced to death by the trial judge, Mr Justice Edmund Davies. He later confessed his guilt. The Home Secretary, Rab Butler, under a little-known and little-used power, referred the case to the Court of Criminal Appeal, which upheld the conviction. The Attorney-General's refusal of leave to appeal to the House of Lords brought the case to a close in a fresh outburst of public controversy. Podola was hanged at Wandsworth Prison at 9:45 a.m. on 5 November 1959. He was buried in the prison graveyard (grave 59). His 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.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.shadyoldlady.com/location.php?loc=664 Photo of Podola including bruised eye, which he claimed occurred due to excessive police force during his arrest]
- [https://books.google.com/books?id=XyDdzU1CoCsC&dq=%22gunther+podola%22&pg=PA487 A discussion of the legal ramifications of the case for English law (p. 487-488)]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Podola, Guenther}}
Category:20th-century German murderers
Category:People convicted of murder by England and Wales
Category:People executed by England and Wales by hanging
Category:20th-century executions by England and Wales
Category:Executed people from Berlin
Category:German people executed abroad
Category:German people imprisoned in the United Kingdom
Category:Foreign nationals imprisoned in Canada
Category:German people convicted of murdering police officers
Category:People executed for murdering police officers
Category:German expatriates in Canada