Police corruption and misconduct

In 1975 an English court sentenced Gerry Conlon, aged 21, to life imprisonment for murder in a terrorist bombing. Surrey police officers held Conlon in custody without charge, deprived him of sleep and the basic necessities of life, repeatedly threatened his family and beat him until he signed a false confession. His conviction was overturned and he was released from jail in 1989 (see chapter 6). Conlon's troubles with the police had started when he was a young man growing up in an anti-government republican family in the strife-torn city of Belfast, where police formed a powerful anti-republican force. In his autobiography he described one of his encounters with the local constabulary.