Man with learning disabilities cleared of 1990 murder after decades-long justice battle
A man with learning disabilities, jailed for life in 1991 for the murder of a shopkeeper in London, has had his conviction quashed by the Court of Appeal. Oliver Campbell said his "fight for justice is finally over" after three judges ruled today (Wednesday) that his conviction for the murder of Baldev Hoondle in Hackney in July 1990 was "unsafe", reports the ECHO.
Mr Campbell was jailed when he was 21-year-old, following a trial at the Old Bailey, having also been convicted of conspiracy to rob. His case was referred to the Court of Appeal by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) which investigates potential miscarriages of justice, in 2022, with barristers telling the court in February that "compelling" new evidence proved Mr Campbell "cannot be" the killer.
They also suggested that Mr Campbell, who suffered severe brain damage as a baby, was "badgered and bullied" by police into giving a false confession. In their ruling, Lord Justice Holroyde, sitting with Mr Justice Bourne and Mrs Justice Stacey, said they had "concluded that the convictions are unsafe".
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Following the judgment, Mr Campbell, now in his 50s, told the PA news agency: "The fight for justice is finally over after nearly 34 years. I can start my life an innocent man."
Mr Campbell suffered severe brain damage as an eight-month-old baby and continues to struggle with memory, concentration and retaining information. His barrister, Michael Birnbaum KC, told the court earlier this year that there were "ample" grounds to find Mr Campbell's conviction unsafe, suggesting that he was "badgered and bullied" by police into giving a false confession over his involvement.
Mr Birnbaum said that Mr Campbell's learning disabilities meant he made admissions which were "simply absurd", and "nonsense", and contained a "litany of inconsistencies" against the facts of the case. The court heard that officers may have "deliberately lied" to adduce confessions from Mr Campbell, who was interviewed 14 times but in some cases did not have a solicitor or appropriate adult present.
Forensic psychologist Professor Gisli Hannes Gudjonsson also told judges that there was a "high risk" that Mr Campbell's mental disabilities meant he gave a false confession as a form of "acquiescence" during "relentless" questioning. Mr Birnbaum said Mr Campbell's learning difficulties meant he was "out of his depth" and "simply unable to do justice to himself" when giving evidence.
In their ruling, Lord Justice Holroyde said: "We accept that, considered in the light of the fresh evidence, the rulings might be different." He continued: "A jury knowing of the fresh evidence would be considering the reliability of those confessions in a materially different context."
"In those circumstances, we cannot say that the fresh evidence could not reasonably have affected the decision of the jury to convict."
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