Seated at Heroes And Villains brewery, waiting to hear criminal lawyer Tom Percy KC perform with his band and reflect on his fascinating life, I turned to the stranger beside me.
“With his job, Tom’s no doubt a hero to some and a villain to others. What’s he to you?”
 “Definitely my hero,” the man replied, softly. “I was wrongly convicted for killing my girlfriend. Tom got me acquitted. I owe him everything.”
I gasped. Of course, the man was John Button, jailed as a teenager for killing his girlfriend, though in reality it was serial killer Eric Cooke who had committed the crime. It would be 40 years before John’s name was cleared.
As we waited for Tom to take to the stage, John recalled how lonely it was in jail, how he was only allowed to write to his mother once a month. How tough it was to fit back into society after he’d served his time.
Like me, John had come to hear Tom sing and reflect on some of his career highlights, which naturally included overturning John’s conviction.
We weren’t disappointed.
 Tom talked about his Kalgoorlie childhood, then becoming a homesick boarder at Scotch college. Later he went to UWA, where he didn’t get great marks, but had a great time.
There was the time he and a mate took on a dare and streaked across campus, their testicles brushing over a nun who happened to be in the way.. Finally, he became a criminal lawyer, and instantly loved the job.
And of course, he recalled the day when he was in his office and a journalist, Estelle Blackburn, phoned wanting to see him. She said she’d been researching John Button’s case, was convinced he’d been wrongly jailed, and wanted Tom to help clear his name.
“She said, ‘there’s some good news and bad news.. There’s about a million dollars worth of work to be done,” Tom recounted.
“I said, ‘what could be better than that?’Â She said ‘the bad news is, you’re going to have to do it for free,’ then gave me the book she’d just written about it.”
Initially unenthused, Tom told her he’d get back to her, and chucked out her number.
But upon reading her book, he was gobsmacked. “It seemed like the worst injustice I’d ever read.” Which he is how he and a small team, including lawyer John Davies, devoted years on the case, pro bono.
“Having to resurrect a case after 40 years takes some doing. But in 2002, John Button was completely acquitted.” I turned to the man beside me, who looked emotional as we all broke into applause.
Tom also went on to successfully assist Daryl Beamish, who Estelle also maintained had been wrongly convicted of murder – when in both cases, the real killer was Eric Cook.
The evening flew by, as in between songs, Tom regaled us with tales of dopey crims who left their evidence in plain sight, famous Bali drug cases, battling gold prospectors and many other weird and wonderful cases.
A memorable night from one of WA’s most accomplished criminal lawyers, who’s also a talented raconteur and musician.
He’s planning to do more shows like this – be sure to head along if you’re drawn to crime, rhythm and rhyme.
Great article Jac.
Thanks George! Quite the compliment, coming from you, the sage wordsmith!
Good yarn Jac. Lots to note. BC.
Jacqueline , what a splendid warm and lovely review of Tom Percy a lawyer with a heart- and a brain.
Thank you.
George Williams