Last week the Supreme Court of the 26 Counties ended its hearing into the appeal of Noel and Marie Murray. The court will give its "judgement' shortly, but it appears unlikely that the Murrays will win reprieve sentence of hanging passed against them in June after they had "found guilty' killing a policeman during a bank raid.
The latest legal proceedings in the Murray's case have proved as farcical as the others. The original "trial" in June took place at the Special Criminal Court in Dublin, main feature is that it deprives those brougnt Derore it or we elementary civil right of trial by jury. Instead, three judges appointed by the Irish Government pass judgement.
Although the only substantial evi- claiming that they had been extracted through torture - the judges found no difficulty in delivering a verdict of guilty and in sentencing the Murrays to death by hanging. opinion has come out against the executions ainst the 1,000 people in Dublin last weekend. Throughout Europe there has been a response, known writers as Jean Paul Sartre, Ernest Bloch signing telegram Supreme Court to Murrays' release.
Murrays can be compared with the brutal executions carried out by the Spanish Franco's Spanish dictatorship, the Irish Government has denied its chosen tarthe court gets any semblance of a fair trial, and is threatening to ignore the impressive world wide protests which Have arisen in - a demonstration ag- States mar hangings attracted ove such well will swamp them like we did in Derry' (where 'peace' women physically attacked the Catholic "justice' women). In fact the Belfast. Recent demonstrations in Cardiff, Birmingham and Manchester have also shown the "movement' to be in crisis.
The one area where they can still claim to have support is in the NUS. It cannot be ruled out that the Communist Party will attempt to turn the Trafalgar Square demonstration on 27 November into a success for the peace people by mobilising student support through the Broad Left. The Canterburv conference can and musi blow against such a The most lasting way that this can be done is if the conference clearly under• normally reasonable demana for an ena to repression - a. students have placed it on, for example,