Britain’s most notorious killer has died but the terrible memories of what he and Myra Hindley did, in the 1960s will live with us forever and of course continue to live with the families of their victims who will never recover.
We all have bad thoughts from time to time but most of us mean no harm and recognise that we are not perfect. We try to be better people. But Brady went beyond sin, which can be forgiven. His acts and behaviour we describe as evil. Evil can’t be dissolved. It’s much more distressing and there is a slow journey of acceptance.Brady showed no remorse, he wanted complete control over his victims and their families and despised the authorities. He was an intelligent, well read man.There were no mitigating circumstances to explain his actions, other than his pathological mind.
Brady, I believe should have hung for his horrific crimes but capital punishment was outlawed a decade before the murders. As a result we the public have suffered for decades because justice was not done.
How terrible it must have been for all the social workers, doctors, nurses, prison wardens, canteen staff, solicitors and chaplains to advice him, feed him, talk to him, treat him and care for him. What about their feelings? And what about the funeral director appointed to prepare his body for cremation? How will they feel or will they turn the job down? I have know of funeral directors who have had tyres slashed, their windows smashed and bad publicity because they have worked with the families of murderers. Over thirty funeral directors turned down Myra Hindley’s funeral because they didn’t want her travelling in their hearse. The cremator had to be switched off and completely swept down afterwards to insure no contamination of ashes.
I am a funeral celebrant and I had an interesting discussion with fellow celebrants about whether we would take his funeral service if we were asked. Opinion was divided. One celebrant said that if she was paid a huge sum she would do it. Business is business and lawyers certainly don’t turn down a well paid case; they simply weigh up the overall gain. And where do we, as professionals draw the line between one criminal and the next? The difference in Brady’s case is that he was the most evil of killers. But there again murder is murder, surely? Or could it be that some murderers and child molesters have just lost their way? Hope is always a possibility for all but not in Brady’s case.
Some celebrants felt that with carefully chosen words they could give a peaceful closure to his family and this could be very powerful and being able to give his family some peace of mind would be a huge privilege – assuming they do not revere him in any way. We mainly felt that it would be a service for a religious minister rather than a celebrant, with talk about forgiveness, sin and evil and passing him over to God for judgement or forgiveness. Celebrants, in contrast celebrate life. This is our role. What is there to celebrate in Brady’s case? I guess we could talk about Brady’s early life and how his mother loved him and cared for him. At the end of the day we are all born equal, we are all human.
In the main our celebrants felt that he didn’t deserve the privilege of a funeral and that his body should be taken to the crematorium early in the morning and disposed of.
Luckily this discussion is only hypothetical. Brady had no close family alive or willing to admit being related to him and so there will be no funeral, I assume. But the discussion presents a huge challenge to us as celebrants. Our role is to celebrate life. We look for the positive in every life, however much hurt the deceased might have inflicted on others. How do we celebrate the life of a man who had committed such evil and showed no remorse? It’s a tricky one!
I am a funeral celebrant working in West Sussex. Here’s a link to my website: