John Thomas Straffen (27 February 1930 – 19 November 2007) was a British serial killer who was the longest-serving prisoner in British history. After killing two young girls in the summer of 1951, he was found unfit to plead at trial and committed to Broadmoor Hospital. During a brief escape in 1952, he killed again. This time, Straffen was convicted of murder and sentenced to death. Reprieved because of his mental state, he had his sentence commuted to life imprisonment. Straffen remained in prison until his death after 55 years, 3 months, and 26 days of incarceration.
Early life
John Straffen's father, John Straffen Sr, was a soldier in the British Army. The younger Straffen was the third child in the family; his older sister was regarded as a "high grade mental defective" who died in 1952. Straffen was born at Bordon Camp in Hampshire, where his father was then based. When Straffen was two years old, his father was posted abroad and the family spent six years in India. Returning to the United Kingdom in March 1938, Straffen's father took a discharge from the Army and the family settled in Bath, Somerset.
In October 1938, Straffen was referred to a child guidance clinic for stealing and truancy. In June 1939, he first came before a juvenile court for stealing a purse from a girl and was given two years probation. Straffen's probation officer found that he did not understand the difference between right and wrong, or the meaning of probation. The family was living in crowded lodgings at the time, and Straffen's mother had no time to help, so the probation officer took the boy to a psychiatrist. As a result, Straffen was certified as a mental defective under the Mental Deficiency Act 1927. A report was compiled on Straffen in 1940 which assessed his I.Q. as 58 and placed his mental age at six.
From June 1940, the local council sent Straffen to a residential school for mentally defective children, St Joseph's School in Sambourne, Warwickshire. Two years later, he moved to Besford Court, a senior school. Straffen was observed as a solitary boy who took correction very badly. At age 14, he was suspected of strangling two geese. At age 16, the school authorities undertook a review which found his I.Q. was 64 and his mental age was nine years six months, recommending his discharge.
Criminal career
Straffen returned home to Bath in March 1946, where the Medical Officer of Health examined him and found he still warranted certification under the Mental Deficiency Act. After several short-term jobs, he found a place as a machinist in a clothing factory. Early in 1947, Straffen began to enter unoccupied homes and steal small items to hide them; he never took them home or gave the items to others. Straffen had no friends and began stealing without being enticed by others.
On 27 July 1947, a 13-year-old girl reported to police that a boy called John had assaulted her by putting his hand over her mouth and saying, "What would you do if I killed you? I have done it before." This incident was not connected to Straffen at the time. Six weeks later, Straffen was found to have strangled five chickens belonging to the father of a girl with whom he had a row. When arrested, he was also under suspicion for burglary and, in his police interview, cheerfully confessed to it and many other incidents to which he had not been connected. Straffen was remanded in custody and the Medical Officer of HM Prison Horfield examined him, certifying that he was mentally retarded. On 10 October, he was committed to Hortham Colony in Bristol under the Mental Deficiency Act 1913.
Hortham was an "open" colony which specialised in training mentally disabled offenders for resettlement in the community. As Straffen had been under investigation for burglary, his certificate stated that he was "not of violent or dangerous propensities." He was well-behaved at Hortham and isolated from other inmates. As a result, in July 1949 he was transferred to a lower-security agricultural hostel in Winchester. There he did well initially, but fell back into old ways when he stole a bag of walnuts and was sent back to Hortham in February 1950. In August 1950, Straffen was in trouble with Hortham authorities when he went home without leave and resisted the police when they went to recapture him.