Harold Shipman: Difference between revisions
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Shipman died on 13 January 2004, after commiting suicide in his cell at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wakefield_Prison Wakefield Prison] in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Yorkshire West Yorkshire]. | Shipman died on 13 January 2004, after commiting suicide in his cell at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wakefield_Prison Wakefield Prison] in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Yorkshire West Yorkshire]. | ||
==Early life and career== | ==Early life and career== | ||
Harold Frederick Shipman was born in Bestwood council estate< | Harold Frederick Shipman was born in Bestwood council estate<span style="font-size:11.199999809265137px;line-height:0px;"> </span>in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nottingham Nottingham], England, the second of four children of Vera and Harold Shipman, a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truck lorry] driver. His [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Working_class working class] parents were devout [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methodist Methodists]. Shipman was particularly close to his mother, who died of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lung_cancer lung cancer] when he was 17. Her death came in a manner similar to what later became Shipman's own [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modus_operandi modus operandi]: in the later stages of her disease, she had [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morphine morphine] administered at home by a doctor. Shipman witnessed his mother's pain subside in spite of her terminal condition, up until her death on 21 June 1963. | ||
Shipman studied medicine at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leeds_School_of_Medicine Leeds School of Medicine] and graduated in 1970. | Shipman studied medicine at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leeds_School_of_Medicine Leeds School of Medicine] and graduated in 1970. He started work at Pontefract General [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/infirmary Infirmary] in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontefract Pontefract], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Riding_of_Yorkshire West Riding of Yorkshire], and in 1974 took his first position as a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_practitioner general practitioner] (GP) at the Abraham Ormerod Medical Centre in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Todmorden Todmorden], West Yorkshire. In 1975 he was caught forging prescriptions of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pethidine pethidine] for his own use. He was fined £600, and briefly attended a drug rehabilitation clinic in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/York York]. After a brief period as medical officer for [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hatfield_College Hatfield College], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durham Durham], and temporary work for the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Coal_Board National Coal Board], he became a GP at the Donneybrook Medical Centre in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyde,_Greater_Manchester Hyde, Greater Manchester], in 1977. | ||
Shipman continued working as a GP in Hyde throughout the 1980s and founded his own surgery at 21 Market Street in 1993, becoming a respected member of the community. In 1983, he was interviewed on the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granada_television Granada television] documentary ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_in_Action World in Action]'' on how the mentally ill should be treated in the community. | Shipman continued working as a GP in Hyde throughout the 1980s and founded his own surgery at 21 Market Street in 1993, becoming a respected member of the community. In 1983, he was interviewed on the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granada_television Granada television] documentary ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_in_Action World in Action]'' on how the mentally ill should be treated in the community. | ||
==Detection== | ==Detection== | ||
In March 1998, Dr Linda Reynolds of the Brooke Surgery in Hyde, prompted by Deborah Massey from Frank Massey and Son's funeral parlour, expressed concerns to John Pollard, the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coroner coroner] for the South Manchester District, about the high death rate among Shipman's patients. In particular, she was concerned about the large number of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cremation cremation] forms for elderly women that he had needed countersigned. The matter was brought to the attention of the police, who were unable to find sufficient evidence to bring charges; ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Shipman#Aftermath The Shipman Inquiry]'' later blamed the police for assigning inexperienced officers to the case. Between 17 April 1998, when the police abandoned the investigation, and Shipman's eventual arrest, he killed three more people.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-13">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Shipman#cite_note-13 [13]]</sup><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-14">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Shipman#cite_note-14 [14]]</sup> His last victim was Kathleen Grundy, a former [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Mayor Lady Mayor] of Hyde, who was found dead at her home on 24 June 1998. Shipman was the last person to see her alive, and later signed her [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_certificate death certificate], recording "old age" as cause of death. | In March 1998, Dr Linda Reynolds of the Brooke Surgery in Hyde, prompted by Deborah Massey from Frank Massey and Son's funeral parlour, expressed concerns to John Pollard, the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coroner coroner] for the South Manchester District, about the high death rate among Shipman's patients. In particular, she was concerned about the large number of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cremation cremation] forms for elderly women that he had needed countersigned. The matter was brought to the attention of the police, who were unable to find sufficient evidence to bring charges; ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Shipman#Aftermath The Shipman Inquiry]'' later blamed the police for assigning inexperienced officers to the case. Between 17 April 1998, when the police abandoned the investigation, and Shipman's eventual arrest, he killed three more people.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-13">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Shipman#cite_note-13 [13]]</sup><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-14">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Shipman#cite_note-14 [14]]</sup> His last victim was Kathleen Grundy, a former [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Mayor Lady Mayor] of Hyde, who was found dead at her home on 24 June 1998. Shipman was the last person to see her alive, and later signed her [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_certificate death certificate], recording "old age" as cause of death. | ||
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Despite the prosecutions of Dr [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bodkin_Adams John Bodkin Adams] in 1957, Dr [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_Arthur Leonard Arthur] in 1981, and Dr [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Lodwig Thomas Lodwig] in 1990 (amongst others),<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-22">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Shipman#cite_note-22 [22]]</sup> Shipman is the only doctor in British legal history to be found guilty of killing patients.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-23">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Shipman#cite_note-23 [23]]</sup> According to historian Pamela Cullen, Adams had also been a serial killer—potentially killing up to 165 of his patients between 1946 and 1956, but as he "was found not guilty, there was no impetus to examine the flaws in the system until the Shipman case. Had these issues been addressed earlier, it might have been more difficult for Shipman to commit his crimes."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-24">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Shipman#cite_note-24 [24]]</sup> H. G. Kinnell, writing in the ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Medical_Journal British Medical Journal]'', also speculates that Adams "possibly provided the role model for Shipman".<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-25">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Shipman#cite_note-25 [25]]</sup> | Despite the prosecutions of Dr [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bodkin_Adams John Bodkin Adams] in 1957, Dr [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_Arthur Leonard Arthur] in 1981, and Dr [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Lodwig Thomas Lodwig] in 1990 (amongst others),<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-22">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Shipman#cite_note-22 [22]]</sup> Shipman is the only doctor in British legal history to be found guilty of killing patients.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-23">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Shipman#cite_note-23 [23]]</sup> According to historian Pamela Cullen, Adams had also been a serial killer—potentially killing up to 165 of his patients between 1946 and 1956, but as he "was found not guilty, there was no impetus to examine the flaws in the system until the Shipman case. Had these issues been addressed earlier, it might have been more difficult for Shipman to commit his crimes."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-24">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Shipman#cite_note-24 [24]]</sup> H. G. Kinnell, writing in the ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Medical_Journal British Medical Journal]'', also speculates that Adams "possibly provided the role model for Shipman".<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-25">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Shipman#cite_note-25 [25]]</sup> | ||
==Death== | ==Death== | ||
Harold Shipman committed suicide by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanging hanging] in his cell at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wakefield_Prison Wakefield Prison] at 06:20 on 13 January 2004, on the eve of his 58th birthday, and was pronounced dead at 08:10. A [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Her_Majesty%27s_Prison_Service Prison Service] statement indicated that Shipman had hanged himself from the window bars of his cell using bed sheets. | Harold Shipman committed suicide by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanging hanging] in his cell at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wakefield_Prison Wakefield Prison] at 06:20 on 13 January 2004, on the eve of his 58th birthday, and was pronounced dead at 08:10. A [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Her_Majesty%27s_Prison_Service Prison Service] statement indicated that Shipman had hanged himself from the window bars of his cell using bed sheets. Some British [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tabloid_%28newspaper_format%29 tabloids] expressed joy at his suicide and encouraged other serial killers to follow his example; ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sun_%28newspaper%29 The Sun]'' ran a celebratory front page headline, "Ship Ship hooray!" | ||
Some of the victims' families said they felt cheated, | Some of the victims' families said they felt cheated, as his suicide meant they would never have the satisfaction of Shipman's confession, and answers as to why he committed his crimes. The Home Secretary [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Blunkett David Blunkett] noted that celebration was tempting, saying: "You wake up and you receive a call telling you Shipman has topped himself and you think, is it too early to open a bottle? And then you discover that everybody's very upset that he's done it." | ||
Despite ''The Sun'''s celebration of Shipman's suicide, his death divided national newspapers, with the ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daily_Mirror Daily Mirror]'' branding him a "cold coward" and condemning the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prison_Service Prison Service] for allowing his suicide to happen. ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Independent The Independent]'', on the other hand, called for the inquiry into Shipman's suicide to look more widely at the state of Britain's prisons as well as the welfare of inmates. | Despite ''The Sun'''s celebration of Shipman's suicide, his death divided national newspapers, with the ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daily_Mirror Daily Mirror]'' branding him a "cold coward" and condemning the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prison_Service Prison Service] for allowing his suicide to happen. ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Independent The Independent]'', on the other hand, called for the inquiry into Shipman's suicide to look more widely at the state of Britain's prisons as well as the welfare of inmates. In ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Guardian The Guardian]'', an article by Sir [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Ramsbotham David Ramsbotham] (former [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Her_Majesty%27s_Chief_Inspector_of_Prisons Chief Inspector of Prisons]) suggested that [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whole_life_tariff whole life sentencing] be replaced by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indefinite_sentencing indefinite sentencing] as these would at least give prisoners the hope of eventual release and reduce the risk of their committing suicide as well as making their management easier for prison officials. | ||
Shipman's motive for suicide was never established, although he had reportedly told his [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Probation_officer probation officer] that he was considering suicide so that his widow could receive a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Health_Service_%28England%29 National Health Service] (NHS) pension and lump sum, even though he had been stripped of his own pension. | Shipman's motive for suicide was never established, although he had reportedly told his [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Probation_officer probation officer] that he was considering suicide so that his widow could receive a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Health_Service_%28England%29 National Health Service] (NHS) pension and lump sum, even though he had been stripped of his own pension. His wife received a full NHS pension, which she would not have been entitled to if he had died after the age of 60. Shipman had been encouraged to take part in courses which would have had him confess his guilt. After refusing, he became emotional and close to tears when privileges — including the opportunity to telephone his wife — were removed. Privileges had been returned the week before the suicide. Additionally, Primrose, who had consistently believed that Shipman was innocent, might have begun to suspect his guilt. According to Shipman's ex-cellmate Tony Fleming, Primrose had recently written a letter to her husband, exhorting him to "tell me everything, no matter what". | ||
==Aftermath== | ==Aftermath== | ||
In January 2001, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Gregg Chris Gregg], a senior West [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yorkshire Yorkshire] detective, was selected to lead an investigation into 22 of the West Yorkshire deaths. Following this, a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shipman_Inquiry report] into Shipman's activities submitted in July 2002 concluded that he had killed at least 215 of his patients between 1975 and 1998, during which time he practised in Todmorden, West Yorkshire (1974–1975), and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyde,_Greater_Manchester Hyde, Greater Manchester] (1977–1998). Dame [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janet_Smith_%28judge%29 Janet Smith], the judge who submitted the report, admitted that many more suspicious deaths could not be definitively ascribed to him. Most of his victims were elderly women in good health. | In January 2001, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Gregg Chris Gregg], a senior West [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yorkshire Yorkshire] detective, was selected to lead an investigation into 22 of the West Yorkshire deaths. Following this, a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shipman_Inquiry report] into Shipman's activities submitted in July 2002 concluded that he had killed at least 215 of his patients between 1975 and 1998, during which time he practised in Todmorden, West Yorkshire (1974–1975), and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyde,_Greater_Manchester Hyde, Greater Manchester] (1977–1998). Dame [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janet_Smith_%28judge%29 Janet Smith], the judge who submitted the report, admitted that many more suspicious deaths could not be definitively ascribed to him. Most of his victims were elderly women in good health. | ||