After 70 years it became clear: the accused was executed for no wrongdoing

A UK family of Somali descent has received an apology for the wrongful conviction of their father and grandfather who were executed 70 years ago. Mahmoud Matan, a British Somali, who was hanged in 1952 after being found guilty of murder in Cardiff. The jury was all white

The family of a man wrongly convicted of murder has received a police apology for the “terrible suffering” the miscarriage of justice caused, 70 years after he was executed in a British prison.

Mahmoud Matan, a Somali-British father of three, was hanged at the age of 28 on September 1952 after being convicted of killing Lily Wolfart in her clothes shop in Cardiff. He maintained his innocence until the end, but racism won and he was hanged to death.

Police apologise for wrongful conviction of man executed 70 years ago https://t.co/0m0shQcYGP

— The Guardian (@guardian) September 3, 2022

The “Guardian” reported that in 1998, after a tireless campaign by his family, his conviction was the first referral of the Criminal Cases Review Commission that was overturned in the Court of Appeals. Jeremy Vaughan, Chief Constable of South Wales Police, said: “This is a case that for much of its time, racism, bias and prejudice was prevalent throughout society, including the criminal justice system, there is no doubt that Mahmoud Matan fell victim to a miscarriage of justice as a result of a poor prosecution, which the police were clearly a part of.”

Detectives from Cardiff City Police, now part of South Wales Police, investigated the killing of Wolfert, 41, who had her throat slashed in a shop in March 1952. Vaughan said the investigation was 70 years ago, but “it is right and proper that there should be an apology from the police for what went so wrong in the case This was 70 years ago, and for the terrible suffering of Mr. Matan’s family and of all those affected by this tragedy for many years.”

He also said, “To this day, we are still working hard to ensure that racism and prejudice are eradicated from society and the police.” Matan’s wife, Laura, and their three sons, David, Omar and Marvin, worked for 46 years to clear his name, but they have all died since then. Tanya Matan, Matan’s granddaughter, told the BBC that the apology was “too late for the people who were directly affected as they are no longer with us and still, we still haven’t heard the words I/we are sorry”.

Matan was charged and convicted by an all-white jury in a three-day trial in Swansea. This despite the fact that there was no forensic evidence and his alibi was supported by witnesses. Matan spoke very little English and during the trial his defense attorney called him a “semi-civilized savage”. In 2001, the Matan family received compensation from the Ministry of the Interior but have not yet received an apology from the police.