by Ian Brady
Brady’s testimony was peppered with name-dropping, repeatedly listing the famous people he had met during almost half a century in captivity. He boasted he had been seen by Dr. Peter Scott, “the most eminent and talented psychiatrist” and erstwhile chair of the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Forensic Psychiatry Committee. He played chess in Wormwood Scrubs with another home secretary, John Stonehouse.75
Brady fooled them once. He thought. Then re-thought he should be able to again. He may have finally discovered that he had made choices back in the eighties that were as irreversible as the ones he made in the sixties. Anything he said after Altamont about being crazy or revolutionary had been bequeathed to someone else to translate for him. No matter what he says, he won’t be the one saying it. No final word. Arguments will be chaotic forever, go on, get angry. How’s that working for you? You big passionate fella you. Hospital is working out well for him, better than he says, better than he knows, which says it all, really. Helping him quell the symptoms of his prevaricating alternating madness, then and now, attempting to get him to understand how deep it sits and how well he is doing as a result of them knowing more truth than him. The conclusions of the tribunal are double binds with impossible evidentiary catches that Brady did not consider were possible before he entered the public week away from his hated Ashworth. Maybe that’s all he wanted. For a little while. Now explain petty. Maybe the fight was a bigger deal to those he was irritating with paperwork than it was for him:
As has already been said the Tribunal agreed that Mr. Brady is suffering from personality disorders namely antisocial and narcissistic. He was correctly diagnosed in 1985 with paranoid schizophrenia of a nature and degree to which reference has already been made. The differences in eminent medical opinion demonstrate that his present mental condition is complex. The present diagnosis is made more difficult because of the lack of information from him. That may be due to a deliberate choice of his or due to his mental condition. But it means that there is no direct evidence to assist. In making this comment the Tribunal does have in mind that Mr. Brady did speak with those medical experts called on his behalf in the interviews. However, his presentation during his evidence and his claim to have feigned mental illness led the Tribunal to look with very great care at the material which those experts were able to report from their interviews. That in no way seeks to criticise either the way in which they approached those interviews or their evidence or their integrity. They have sought to present as fair a picture of the case as they could. The Tribunal acknowledge that during the interviews none of them observed behaviour which struck them as being unequivocally indicative of mental illness.
In her book For the Love of Lesley, mother Ann West ends by bragging the three times she successfully shut down stage plays about the Moors murders. Ann explains how she did it and why. Easy and easier. All reasons perfectly understood as long as her place in the crimes is owned. Which is to say that she had final word on Brady. As long as it stayed hard with her daughter. Which, she proves by her success with never wavering capitulants, is true. Her place is complex, never uttered without explanation that it is a wretched place and unfair and literally mind-numbingly cruel from every single side that by dint of inconsideration is yet another sadistic attack. Never answered by anyone listening that they are without extreme sympathy for her and the shared hatred of the buried evil that destroyed her and—it must be remembered—her child. That absence. Her life is greater than any Petri dish, asshole. That’s what lies inside the words you fucking play with. Her drug-soaked requiem life and the horror of the past, the brutal emptiness of the missing always future.
The Tribunal started by looking at the position in 1985 as has already been said. It considered that the seriousness of his schizophrenia and its duration were important. It accepted the comment, that such a condition does not “just go away” especially given the nature as described in the reports of Dr. Hunter and Dr. MacCulloch and its degree at that time. It noted the improvement in his mental condition even though the administration of drug-based treatment was comparatively short. As will be seen from the view formed by the Tribunal on the issue of treatment, it considered the care which has been provided to Mr. Brady has ameliorated and prevented a deterioration in his condition. The Tribunal considered that Dr. Grounds underestimated its value when considering the continuation of a mental illness.
I doubt very much would have been added to the grand subject by the anti-censorship argument for the off-Broadway, off-West End, most likely forever student plays. Without the plays being brought to Ann’s attention by reporters, and Ann explaining the presentation of her grief to the playwrights, who themselves got their source material from the reporters, the playwrights bucked away from the spectacle. Owing ultimately to an agreement before any words other than the journalism remaining. Ann fixed the conversation and the voices on the other end of the line weren’t telling her how wrong they thought she was, rather that her point of view was sure to be presented within the play.
One of the witnesses was a Mark Sheppard who the court explained was close to Brady. Sheppard even explained that he would knock on Brady’s door if he saw him eating just to give Brady a chance to hide the food he was eating and save Brady embarrassing himself. Sadly, it was Mr. Sheppard’s testimony that caused Brady much damage as the conclusions of the court pointed out:
One feature which troubled Dr. Grounds was the fact that they were all observed whilst Mr. Brady was in his room. The question whether that may be part of his attempts to hide his illness was not explored. Miss Lieven Q.C. pointed out that he is an elderly, socially isolated man who could be expected to talk to the television or one might reasonably add, to himself. This is a possible explanation which the Tribunal considered.
I find it impossible to not take her side. I find it revolting to say she has a side. As in just a side instead. Sounds apologetic and reductive to the result of, finally, being some sick ooze that slithers into a grub that should be wiped off the floor and thrown into the garbage with the tampons others can pick through when they get that low as well. Like cops and journalists do. The way it lies about guilt then. The obscenity—that without worth, formally and figuratively—adds nothing including the sickening idea that forward is the only option. And can be indulged to a singular level of coping if not outright health. Nausea, if it exists, this way, could even be argued to a significant vaunted result. Something like vomit could be provoked to catharsis. Appreciating catharsis as an idea instead of a regret. And you ended up there, lucky somehow.
In 2005:
ITV is turning the Moors Murders into a drama, with the families of the victims of Myra Hindley and Ian Brady, the most notorious killers in contemporary British history, offering full co-operation.
The producers have traced everybody apart from the family of Edward Evans, 17, the final victim. It is thought that, after four decades, he has no living relative.
Danny Kilbride, the brother of the second victim, John Kilbride, 12, who was murdered in November 1963 after he was picked up at a market, said: “I’ve gone through the script with the producer and it seems accurate.
“I’m pleased it’s being produced locally and I’d rather it was made in my lifetime so I can help as much as I can to try and make it true to life.’”
Alan West, the stepfather of the fourth victim Lesley Ann Downey, who was murdered on Boxing Day 1964, after Hindley recorded the ten-year-old begging for her life, said: “People have got to know what happened. The younger generation might not know anything about it, but should do.
“It’s part of our history and it’s important to me to keep the memory of Lesley Ann alive.”
Filming is soon to begin in Manchester, with the programme to be broadcast next year. The film-makers have spent two years in intensive research with detectives who worked on the case, with relatives of the murdered children and with Hindley’s brother-in-law, David Smith, who was a vital witness at the trial.
Gran
ada, which has made dramas about Bloody Sunday, the murder of Stephen Lawrence and the Hillsborough disaster, said that See No Evil: The Story Of The Moors Murders would be “sober” and “unsensational.”
Neil McKay, the writer who was also behind another dramatic crime reconstruction, The Hunt For The Yorkshire Ripper, said: “It tells the extraordinary story of how Ian Brady and Myra Hindley were brought to justice, but the focus is not only on their crimes, but also on the effects of those crimes on the families of their victims and on Hindley’s sister, Maureen.
“The response from the families of the victims to the project has been enormously encouraging and we hope the finished film will do them justice.”
Jeff Pope, executive producer, said: “We felt that now was the right time to make this programme. In the anniversary year of the trial we’re going to take an in-depth look at how two of Britain’s most notorious child killers were caught.”76
The Tribunal considered that the instances had to be viewed in the context of a long and serious mental illness in which the symptoms had been severe and had borne similarities to the eleven instances. This led the Tribunal to conclude that he was still suffering from hallucinations on occasions. They are indicative of the nature and degree of the illness. Dr. Grounds suggested that they were at most residual occasions of an illness that has largely ameliorated. In relation to this submission the Tribunal considered that the beneficial effect of the environment must be taken into consideration. It acknowledged that it is difficult to assess the extent to which the condition is ameliorated but having regard to the present stability set against the seriousness of the illness prior to and at the time of his admission, it must be a significant factor.
And there’s some drugs you could take. Like everyone I know. Like Ann West and the fat old faggots in the restroom of faggot bars waiting for something like a hard cock that doesn’t outwardly express hatred. Before it gets a chance to piss. So that the queer with his cock out just doesn’t say it. When he looks down at your head. I miss you. Say that. Tell the mouth. You don’t know, do you? It wouldn’t work out. What wouldn’t work out? How do you see the future, creep? I know that she was contorted. Also don’t suspect she would have ever been worth all that much. There’s an ugly joke that you could make. You don’t get points for saying it as an example of what you shouldn’t have said. How you thought better. And how it doesn’t exist if you don’t say it. You should try to do it without hiding or hurting or being brave: When you consider Brady haranguing God after the murders and consider Winnie’s lifetime of hoping that Keith would get a Christian burial. In effect, Keith had a Christian burial.
The Tribunal concluded that the hallucinations did continue. Their precise frequency is not capable of being ascertained because of the lack of information from Mr. Brady. But the Tribunal did not accept that they were simply residual. Miss Lieven Q.C. submitted that if he is suffering from hallucinations they do not disable him in any sense. She continued that, “they are clearly not controlling his actions and are not considered to need medical treatment.” The Tribunal is of the view that this is to isolate one aspect of the case. Mr. Sheppard gave a detailed account of a day in the life of Mr. Brady. The Tribunal considered that it demonstrated that his mental condition was clearly leading him to an isolated lifestyle. This was noticeably worse since his illness in July 2012. It is not possible to isolate one aspect and assert that it does not disable. It does; it contributes to his withdrawal from activities with other people.
Who beat you up? Who is responsible for that thing you became? This thing that it can’t even get any longer, just slurring madness to everyone else and the poor cunt who has to deal with it says: His mind gave up. The body didn’t, I wish it would have been both. Forgive what? I have to clean up this mess. It’s just this shit and bile that keeps pouring out. I get to clean up the self-absorbed hatred that looks like this. I know to clean it so others don’t have to do it. I don’t know where it goes. I have to tell you.
Parasites don’t wallow, do they. You’re more inadequate than miserly.
Ann saw the pictures again, didn’t she?
Some slug says I fucking knew it. Adds. Makes sense, doesn’t it. She’s been moving there all along. It had to happen. The words are always laced with it. Slurred with that.
Miss Lieven Q.C. submitted that the beliefs do not have a bizarre quality. The Tribunal has already commented upon that. She acknowledged that Dr. Grounds agreed that it is not necessary for his beliefs to have a bizarre quality. When he was disclosing matters in 1985 he spoke of the circumstances which were clearly bizarre. She submits that now they are primarily “attributions of malevolence.” She further submits that his paranoid views now arise from his life in the hospital. They are all focused around his existing environment and are rooted in real events which has some explicable basis.
Ann West, the mother of Lesley Ann Downey, gave permission for the photograph to be broadcast, not long before she died of liver cancer in February. Mrs. West also wanted the tape recording of Lesley Ann begging for mercy to be played on television but it was ruled too harrowing for broadcast. The Channel 5 programme makers recorded the last interview with Ann West, in which she describes her daughter as “the perfect child.”77
The Tribunal accept that to a large extent they do relate to his life in Ashworth and those with whom he is in contact. This can be traced back to when he was in prison. Then it was directed to those who represented the Home Office. At a time when he was still clearly ill, it was directed to a series of Responsible Medical Officers leading eventually to Dr. Collins. But it goes much further because it also involves those not connected with the hospital. There is no factual and explicable basis for his attitude towards the optician or to the Tribunal. Miss Lieven Q.C. accepts that it is disproportionate and extreme in terms of its duration. This is Dr. Collins’ point which he says is indicative of it being paranoia greater than would be consistent with personality disorder.
In the interview, Mrs. West says she believed publicising the photograph and tape recording would bring home the evil of Brady and Hindley. Police found the photograph, along with the tape recording of Lesley Ann’s final moments, in a luggage locker at a railway station. The picture helped convict Hindley and Brady of murder in 1966. A bedhead seen in the photo matched one in a room at their home in Hyde, Greater Manchester. The former CID officer on the case, Peter Topping, believes the shock value of showing the picture of Lesley Ann will keep Hindley in jail until she dies. “She really was, and is, a very, very evil woman,” he says on the programme.
Hindley lost her appeal in November 1998 against Home Secretary Jack Straw’s decision to keep her in prison for the rest of her life. At the time Hindley’s supporter, Lord Longford, said he no longer expected to see her released in his lifetime, adding: “The fight goes on.”78
The Tribunal acknowledged that it is very difficult to isolate those aspects which relate to one or other condition. It considered the evidence of Dr. Logan particularly important in this regard when she spoke of the symptoms resonating off each other. They considered the features which indicated mental illness as an origin rather than his personality disorder.
An existential experience becomes reality. No longer an experiment after the results are issued to the next phase. You don’t get to call it an experiment any longer. Unless you’re saying sorry. Saying, then, I was ignorant. I know more now. What, you were hoping to find exactly what you already knew? Testing what for whom? What were you hoping for? An experience instead brings being sat fat back in it. With the same want of results.
You weren’t expecting to be pushed back to the place you feared was a strong possibility? That had to be part of the hypothesis, your half-assed equation, and your well-known lists of plans and codes and all the things that could have gone wrong like they did every fucking time.
But what you were left with. That’s the part you might be hiding.
Brady’s mythic biography would be the
part where he, possibly, says he made mistakes and apologizes and can’t bring himself to let go of the single thing that helps him pass the time. Say, learning a way into pedophilia as a practice. Comes from fear. Existentialism is apt. Leaving something to tell everyone how stupid he’s been. And he knew. Because he hated what happened. Hate being much bigger than the language allowed. And still swimming in it, learning to enjoy that, learning to tell idiots that learning anything made something. That wouldn’t explain what it did to you unless it makes you insane and even more unsympathetic. In a survey of child sex offenders who committed suicide, 78% of the 106 cases studied “wrote statements of self-blame”:
Statements of self-blame most often consisted of generalized statements as opposed to directly addressing his responsibility for the accusations. Generalized statements frequently discussed how they had “messed up” their life, been a disappointment, and made a lot of mistakes. In 37% of the notes, the offender blamed others. Blaming others most often included events (e.g. deaths of loved ones, divorce, difficult childhood) in the past or relationship problems with family members. In some cases, the offender held law enforcement responsible for ruining their lives.79
The Tribunal accepted the evidence of Dr. Collins on this aspect. It acknowledged that Dr. Grounds can point to a factual origin but the extent of his paranoia, its duration and the transferability of it seem to demonstrate that it is due to his mental illness.
Sad fuck gentlemen who commit suicide after being arrested on child pornography charges. Who, it is placarded, can’t cope with the public shame and self-hatred. Rather than the guilt, the empathy. Over what they’ve done. When they have not. Yet. Always. Having been found out what they do in private. With themselves. Yipping to themselves and only hearing it bounced off the wall, not the mirror.
Brady makes a point of wanting to die because there is nothing else for him to do in his life. Just more years of the same in the zoo. The transcripts are created by the audience who come to watch him in the zoo. The decisions to keep him there are made far away from him. Yet the people who watch him, report back, share their experiences of watching him rock back and forth in his cage and see him leave the cage to move into the common areas where his species interacts or cowers or instincts around the other animals. Not being an animal, he wastes his time in his head and desperately worthlessly argues about what it would be like to waste his time daily in the past.