Beyond reasonable doubt: the Ronald Ryan case

A dramatised recreation of the trial of Ronald Ryan for the murder of a Pentridge prison officer with events leading up to the trial and a re-examination of the evidence. Ronald Ryan was the last man hanged in Australia in 1967. He was sentenced to death for allegedly shooting a warder while escaping from Pentridge Prison in the company of fellow prisoner, Peter Walker. Presenter Gordon Hawkins re-examines the scenario put forward by the prosecution at Ryan’s trial, using animated re-enactments and discussion of forensic evidence offered at the trial. He investigates the possibility that Ryan’s conviction was made without him being given the benefit of the doubt, and discusses the inequities and problems the trial system itself can create for the accused person at trial. Starring Bill Hunter as Ronald Ryan.