Craig Hodson-Walker's mother calls for death penalty for murderers
Dec 17 2009 By Catherine Lillington
Mother Judith Hodson-Walker has described how she has had to endure living and working in the Worcestershire village post office where her son was “brutally shot”.
She spoke as three men were convicted of his murder at the end of a ten-week trial at Birmingham Crown Court, in which a jury found Christopher Morrissey, 32, his brother Declan Morrissey, 34, and Anselm Ribera, 34, guilty of murdering 29-year-old Craig Hodson-Walker.
They were also convicted of attempting to murder Craig’s father, sub-postmaster Ken Hodson-Walker.
A fourth defendant, getaway driver Adrian Snape, was cleared of both charges after admitting attempted robbery.
Craig, who was engaged to be married, was shot through the heart as he tried to fend off the masked gang at the family business in Fairfield, near Bromsgrove, in January.
His parents have pleaded to bring back hanging and said no sentence would be good enough because the killers “are still breathing”.
Judith, 57, said: “They took away Craig’s right to live, so why should they have any right to live? Bring back hanging.
“Make the deterrent harder, make people think twice before they go to commit a crime.”
Mrs Hodson-Walker spoke of how the murder had affected her daily life.
“I no longer live, I exist, and I keep together what is left of my family with no thought for what the future holds.
“I’m scared that if I stop I won’t be able to carry on. I have had to endure living and working in the place where my son was so brutally shot – walking past the same spot daily where Craig lay in my arms, dying as his life escaped his body, his beautiful blue eyes slowly fading and becoming lifeless.
“The world will never replace someone as special as Craig, but heaven has gained a special angel.
“Our lives have been destroyed by mindless dregs that had no thought but to take what was not theirs materially but more importantly emotionally.
“Craig’s passion for life was extinguished by the actions of men who have no values and no sense of purpose, other than to take what was not theirs.
