Andrew Adams ,36 , was freed from jail yesterday after spending 15 years incarcerated for the murder of Jack Royal in 1990 . Adams was 23 years old and Royal 58 at the time.
After 15 years of imprisonment Adam's conviction for murder was quashed by Lord Justice Gage , Mr Justice Silber and Mr Justice Treacy . They ruled that 'criticisms and failures ' relating to the handling of Adams' defence and specially pre-trial had rendered the verdict unsafe. The defence at the time failed to prepare their case properly and did not give the jury the opportunity to hear important evidence about Kevin Thompson the main prosecution witness , which would have undermined the cae for the prosecution .
So Adams is free, and who had heard of him up until now ?, I certainly haven't. I guess the case must have been very high profile at the time , at least there was a good coverage on his release.
Cases like this can be very alarming and can put the abolition of the death penalty in good light .
Now Adams, according to the report by Karen Mcveigh in today's paragon of independent reporting and truth ,and possibly the best of a bad bunch of propaganda sheets The Guardian , was originally found guilty of killing Jack Royal in a 'gangland style shooting ' .The murder was said to have been a revenge attack for the death of David Thompson (No relation of Kevin Thompson) who had been fatally attacked by Royal ,the 58 year old retired science teacher, in a street fight in 1987 . It was alleged that Adams and John Hands (also acquitted of the same crime ) , were persuaded by Catherine Thompson , the dad man's sister to murder Mr Royal . She was also acquitted of soliciting murder. This travesty of justice followed a failed attempt to prosecute a Mr Walter Hepple for the murder of Mr Royal . The other irony to this case is that Mr Royal himself had been acquitted of murdering Mr Thompson ( a former business partener of his son) , Royal had been cleared of murder, and after two trials it was ruled that he acted in self defence .
It seems to get complicated . An innocent man though, adheres to one story however ridiculous or ignored , The truth sticks and is one whereas cunning alibis and lies are many and constantly changing. Good luick to Adams , I hope he gets the conpensation that he deserves. His only regret was that his mother was not there to witness this moment , as she died whilst he was still in prison.
Adams reported that he had mixed emotions and that he had to wait 15 years for the result he should have had in the first place. he thanked his current legal team and also expressed sympathy for the family of the murdered man Mr Royal as the killer is still at large.
The Chief Superintendent of Northumbria Polce ,Steve Bolam, refused to comment as he stated he had not yet had the opportunity to study the findings.
It is quite shocking how in a country that prides itself on its standards of justice , that this could happen . But when corruption sets in at any level of the process it is not difficult to see how one can be swept away , have an ufair trial and suffer the ignominity of languishing in jail for years for a crime one did not commit There are many ways this has happened especially in cases that are politically motivated . Remember the cases of suspected IRA members being falsely imprisoned . It was the Bradford , Guildford and if I remember clearly Birmingham groups of indivisuals locked up after falsified evidence , confessions taken after beatings by the police etc. SoundS like a cAse out of the annals of Amnesty international . But truly there are many ways a false conviction can be successfully upheld .Much depends on the competence of the defence or prosecution rather than the integrity of the jury .
justice has not been done,because nothing can compensate for those 15 years .Lets say that injustice has been slightly thwarted and the man has not been left forgotten like many others we have not heard of in this country and possibly hundreds of thounsands in other countries that languish in prisons within regimes that do not even pretend to value true justice , democracy or human rights .
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
May I suggest reading this Heartfelt Story. I read your blog and thought you may be interested in it. Here is something I read about it:Who And Where Is Dennis Fritz, You say after reading John Grisham's Wonderful Book "The Innocent man", Grisham's First non-fiction book. The Other Innocent Man hardly mentioned in "The Innocent Man" has his own compelling and fascinating story to tell in "Journey Toward Justice". John Grisham endorsed Dennis Fritz's Book on the Front Cover. Dennis Fritz wrote his Book Published by Seven Locks Press, to bring awareness about False Convictions, and The Death Penalty. "Journey Toward Justice" is a testimony to the Triumph of the Human Spirit and is a Stunning and Shocking Memoir. Dennis Fritz was wrongfully convicted of murder after a swift trail. The only thing that saved him from the Death Penalty was a lone vote from a juror. "The Innocent Man" by John Grisham is all about Ronnie Williamson, Dennis Fritz's was his co-defendant. Ronnie Williamson was sentenced to the Death Penalty. Both were exonerated after spending 12 years in prison. Both Freed by a simple DNA test, The real killer was one of the Prosecution's Key Witness. John Grisham's "The Innocent Man" tells half the story. Dennis Fritz's Story needs to be heard. Read about how he wrote hundreds of letters and appellate briefs in his own defense and immersed himself in an intense study of law. He was a school teacher and a ordinary man from Ada Oklahoma, whose wife was brutally murdered in 1975. On May 8, 1987 while raising his young daughter alone, he was put under arrest and on his way to jail on charges of rape and murder. Since then, it has been a long hard road filled with twist and turns. Dennis Fritz is now on his "Journey Toward Justice". He never blamed the Lord and soley relied on his faith in God to make it through. He waited for God's time and never gave up.
ReplyDelete