Peter William Sutcliffe (1946-2020)

The Yorkshire Ripper murdered 13 women Tried to kill seven more at the very least Died of Covid, Black Friday the 13th Slayer of: Wilma, Emily, Irene, Patricia Jayne,Jean, Yvonne, Josephine Helen, Marguerite & Vera Barbara & Jacqueline… He stole their hopes, their futures Creature of the night, of blood, of evil Their deaths were terror-laden, Hammered, slashed, stabbed, stamped upon In the dark, in alleys and parks, unseen, unaided Raised a Catholic, Sutcliffe was a loner Gravedigger, voyeur, sadist, lorry driver A hoaxer delayed his capture ‘Wearside Jack' laid a false trail of tapes and letters John Samuel Humble, alcoholic trickster The Leeds Revolutionary Feminist Group Marched out to 'Reclaim the Night' Criticised the police for victim-blaming, For suggesting that women stayed indoors To hide in safety, after darkness fell Sutcliffe declared the voice of God drove him to kill The Attorney General, said of the Ripper's victims "Some were prostitutes, but …the saddest part of the case Is that some were not. The last six attacks Were on totally respectable women." When is the worth of a woman's life described by work? Later, his fellow inmates passed their sentences: At Parkhurst Prison, a prisoner plunged broken glass Into his face. In Broadmoor, a robber strangled him with a cable He wis stabbed in both eyes by a prisoner wielding a pen Blinded in the left eye, the other badly damaged Another fellow inmate lunged at him with a knife Shouting "You fucking raping, murdering bastard, ' As he stabbed his cheek. Wilma, Emily, Irene, Patricia Jayne,Jean, Yvonne, Josephine Helen, Marguerite & Vera Barbara & Jacqueline… He stole their hopes, their futures Creature of the night, of blood, of evil The devil incarnate, bringer of hate and death Had passed into criminal history, unmourned The shattered families of the women he had slain Spoke only of closure, as the tide of time Finally cleared the beach, a clean sweep