Frederick Geoffrey Lawrence

Who was Frederick Geoffrey Lawrence?

Sir Frederick Geoffrey Lawrence QC was a British lawyer, High Court Judge, Chairman of the Bar Council and Chairman of the National Incomes Commission. He first came to prominence when he defended suspected serial killer Dr John Bodkin Adams in 1957, the first murder case he handled. Press coverage of the case prior to the trial suggested Adams was guilty and that the verdict would be a foregone conclusion, but Lawrence successfully secured an acquittal. Adams, if convicted, would have hanged.