You Call This Justice?

In this bonus episode, I talk to Dr Sandra Lean who is an author (No Smoke, the Shocking Truth about British Justice" and "Innocents Betrayed")and researcher who works tirelessly to help people who have been wrongly convicted.

We talk about how and why she became involved in miscarriage of justice work; the controversial case of Luke Mitchell who was 14 years old when his girlfriend was murdered and he was later convicted of her murder; and other important issues regarding our legal systems.

On Valentines Day 1988, Lynette White was brutally murdered in Cardiff. The police made a public appeal on crime watch and said that they were looking for a white male who was seen by a witness near the scene of the crime with an injured hand/blood on him. However, in November 1988 they charged five innocent black and mixed race men with the murder including, John Actie despite there being no forensic evidence to link any of them to the offence and the blood of an unidentified person being found at the scene.

Although John was acquitted at the trial which took place two years after he was charged, many of the police told the community including Lynette’s family that he had got away with the crime.  The perception of “there is no smoke without fire” continued to haunt John until the eventual killer, who was a white male, was identified in January 2002. What happened was horrific and the level of police corruption regarding the investigation shocked the criminal justice system to its core.

The impact of being wrongly accused of committing any criminal offence can be life changing. Adrian Stone was 21 years old when he was charged and remanded with others in relation to a number of offences. The trial became known as the Cardiff Explosives Conspiracy Trial. In this episode, Adrian shares his story regarding what happened including; being interrogated by police forces from different parts of the Wales & England and MI5, being remanded for two years pending his trial and having to fight to clear his name after he believes evidence was planted at his home address.

In summing up the Judge said; “the central decision you have to make is as to honesty of witnesses. The main contest is between the police and the defendants.” This is a shocking story that shows the lengths some people will go to, to try to destroy an innocent man’s life.

The Cardiff University Innocence Project was founded in 2006. Over 90 Cardiff University students and other professionals try to help wrongly convicted people overturn their convictions. It is the only university innocence project in the country to have successfully helped someone overturn their conviction; Dwaine George - whereby the students, staff and experts worked for over nine years to help overturn his wrongful conviction for murder; and Gareth Jones - after a six year investigation his conviction for a serious sexual offence was overturned.

In this episode, the project leaders Dr Dennis Eady and Dr Holly Greenwood talk about the work that the project does, the success stories, how to manage the students expectations and the hurdles they face in helping a victim of a miscarriage of justice.

Since Mike was released he has become an award winning author and he campaigns for the wrongly convicted people he left behind. In this episode we talk about the work he has done including; helping people in police interviews as an appropriate adult and helping people in the family court as a Mackenzie friend.

We also talk about the death penalty because if the death penalty had still been in place Mike and others including his co-accused, the Guildford Four, Birmingham Six, Barry George and many, many others would have been hanged. Like the last man to executed in Cardiff, Mahmood Mattan who was later proved to be innocent. His gravestone reads; 'killed by injustice.'

In this episode, Mike and I have an open and frank discussion about some difficult issues regarding our criminal justice system.

It is everyones worst nightmare to be wrongly accused of historical sex offences. This is what happened to Jimmy Boyle who at the time, was a well respected teacher in Scotland. He was subsequently convicted and sentenced to over 10 years imprisonment for crimes he did not commit. Eventually, his conviction was overturned and he was acquitted of all of the charges at the re-trial.

This is a relevant story to what is currently happening in the criminal justice system as far too often, people who have been wrongly convicted of criminal offences struggle to return to the life they had before despite so much support including; in Jimmy's case from parents and former students. Tragically miscarriage of justice victims are often stigmatised by other authorities who ignore the fact that their name have been cleared. Jimmy's story also highlights the concerns raised by many in relation to the 'not proven' verdict which means exactly the same in law as a 'not guilty' verdict but is often wrongly interpreted by others to the detriment of the person who has been acquitted.

In 1975 Paddy Hill was one of six innocent men wrongly convicted of the Birmingham pub bombings which killed 21 people and injured 182. Upon his release in 1991 he promised to help those he had left behind and in 2001 he set up MOJO to give a voice to the innocent.

In this episode, I talk to Euan (MOJO’s Legal Officer) about the work the charity does to try and help people who have been wrongly convicted; the short and long term challenges their clients face as a result of being a victim of a miscarriage of justice; and he gives us a real insight into the key aspects of the Scottish Legal System – including the controversial ‘not proven’ verdict and a jury system which means people can be convicted by a simple majority of 8-7. I also talk to two of the students who have been working with MOJO, about how they want to ensure that we learn from the past to prevent innocent people from being convicted in the future.

On the 26th April 1999 Jill Dando, a well known BBC presenter and celebrity was murdered outside her home address. Over a year later Barry George, a vulnerable adult who suffered from a number of disabilities was arrested for her murder.

Despite the evidence being extremely sparse and contentious due to the police handling of the investigation, he was convicted at trial and sentenced to life imprisonment. He spent a number of years in prison for a crime he did not commit. Eventually, the Court of Appeal overturned his conviction and he was acquitted at a retrial. His sister Michelle worked tirelessly to support him through the process whilst having to cope with intense media and public scrutiny and raise her family. This is a powerful episode about what happened to her and her brother - the fight for justice goes on for Barry and many others who have been victims of a miscarriage of justice.

Over 700 subpostmasters/subpostmistresses were convicted of a number of offences based on information from the Horizon system over a 14 year period. Many peoples lives were destroyed as a result of the largest scale UK miscarriage of justice; some were sent to prison, some died before their convictions were overturned, some lost their homes; the stress of what happened affected peoples health and some could not work for years. There was also at least one person who tragically committed suicide.

In this episode I talk to Mohamed Hami about what happened to his wife, Rubbina Shaheen who was a victim of this miscarriage of justice. Rubbina lost everything including her liberty and what happened to her has had a devastating affect on their lives. Her story is a tragic example of what could happen to any of us when we are wrongly accused of committing offences that did not ever happen.

The Post Office states on their website that: -"It is a business which really matters. A business which has had a key role in UK life for centuries. One which millions of people depend on every day, every week." However, the Post Office Scandal will be the largest scale UK miscarriage of justice that this country has ever seen. In this episode I talk to barrister Lynton Orrett, from Michael Mansfield's Chambers about the background to the case and what happened in the recent April appeal. I also talk to Scott Darlington, who was a victim of this miscarriage of justice about what happened to him and finally, I talk to Marion Holmes whose late husband Peter, a former police officer tragically died before his conviction was overturned. These cases bring shame to the Post Office, one of the oldest British institutions - they have failed so many.