Pauline Mellon ...

... with a piece that featured on The Diary of Derry Mother today, Monday, 1 September 2014. Pauline Mellon is a social justice activist from Derry who has consistently campaigned for prisoners' rights.



Two men are currently imprisoned in Maghaberry after being convicted on the most questionable evidence following the most unconvincing of trials and subsequent farce of an appeal. Sadly this is one more in a long line of miscarriages of justice perpetrated by the British justice System.


The easiest option in the majority of cases would be to remain silent particularly when it doesn't affect  you or the people closest to you. However the case of these two men who have become known as the Craigavon Two is a case that should be of great concern to all, particularly to people in the North of Ireland who know only too well of injustices, miscarriage of justice and of a litany of people who spent years in jail for crimes they did not commit. The Craigavon two have protested their innocence since their arrest for the murder PNSI Constable Stephen Carroll who was callously gunned down whilst on duty in 2009.

Yet in this an era of normalisation the case is not being given the attention it so desperately deserves, with our politicians and moral guardians remaining surprisingly silent despite the case bearing all the hallmarks of political expediency.

The recent appeal to have the men freed was later dismissed despite the evident holes in the case. Having read the official campaign literature and court judgement the following points are prominent: The star witness in the case whose identity remains hidden is known as witness M and is alleged have gained financially from his involvement in the case. His testimony was submitted 11 months after the murder when he is said to have first contacted the police, whilst under the influence of alcohol. This witness has been described by his own family member as a Walter Mitty something which would seem to have been corroborated by his failure to give honest answers during the trial. 

The more concerning but not surprising aspects of the case stem from allegations of police harassment and interference, including the arrest of a witness for the defence and attempts to sully the professional integrity of the legal team involved in the case.

Furthermore it has been alleged that the British Security Services tampered with surveillance equipment resulting in the disappearance of alleged evidence from a tracking device which was said to have been Planted in John Paul Wooton's car. With these factors in mind we can only conclude that this case involves an element of malevolence and exposes the inbuilt weaknesses in the British justice system and failings of the PSNI to carry out a robust and comprehensive investigation into the Carroll killing. As a result two men Brendan McConville and John Paul Wooton are languishing in prison cells on the strength of missing and circumstantial evidence and on the word of a Walter Mitty with an alleged vested interest.

One of the main campaigners for the two was the late Gerry Conlon, one of the Guildford Four. Prior to the Craigavon Two appeal Gerry voiced his disappointment over the silence of nationalist politicians, reminding them of how their silence could be construed as acceptance of a case that was and remains inherently flawed.

Over the past decades many miscarriages of Justice have been exposed with the accused and truth seemingly lost in a quagmire of red tape for years before any possibility of appeal, as again was witnessed in the case of Gerry Conlon of the Guildford Four who was also shunted from prison to prison by successive British Governments in an attempt to curtail his campaign to prove his innocence and that of his co-accused.

Here are but a few cases of miscarriages of justice which saw convictions secured due to non-disclosure of evidence, questionable evidence, forced statements, the fabrication of evidence, police interference and what was clearly conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.


Derek Bentley
On January 28th 1953 19 year old Derek Bentley the last prison to be hanged in Britain was executed in Wandsworth Gaol for his part in the killing of a police officer. Among the factors that led to his conviction was the fact the jury heard no evidence of his learning disabilities over the period of his two day trial. Scientific evidence later proved that the three police officers who gave evidence on Bentley shouting "Let him have it" had lied under oath. Forty five years later Derek Bentley's name was cleared having been denied the right to a fair trial.


Gerry Conlon
The cases of the Guildford Four were quashed by the Court appeal in 1989 after they spent 15 years in prison. Surprisingly in 1993 three retired detectives were acquitted of fabricating evidence and conspiracy to pervert the court of justice. Sir John May's inquiry into the Guildford and Woolwich bombings which was published in 1994, criticised every stage of the process that led to the abuse and imprisonment of the Guildford Four.


In the case of the Maguire Seven their convictions were ruled unsafe in 1990 following an inquiry which exposed flaws in the police's forensic evidence which was used to secure their convictions. On further examination it was found that the traces of nitroglycerine found on their hands and gloves were the result of innocent contamination.


The Birmingham Six
In the case of the Birmingham Six , six Irish men living in England were wrongly convicted in 1975 of bombing the Mulberry Bush bar in Birmingham in 1974. The convicted men served more than 16 years in jail until 1991 when the court of appeal quashed their conviction. The six men were partly convicted on forensic evidence which was later discredited with officers involved in the case accused of tampering with evidence, however prosecutions against those officers were shelved in 1993.
 

Judith Ward
Judith Ward was convicted in 1974 of the M62 coach bombing in which 12 soldiers and their family members were killed it was later found that she spent 17 years in prison for crimes she did not commit. During her appeal her legal team stated there had been "significant and substantial" non-disclosure of information to the defense coupled with a failure to acknowledge her mental health state.


The Bridgewater Three
The Bridgewater Three were jailed in 1978 and spent 18 years in prison for the murder of Staffordshire newspaper boy Carl Bridgewater. Appeal judges were advised that two policemen had probably fabricated an important statement. Due to the efforts of forensic scientists, the crown prosecution service accepted that the trial was"fundamentally flawed" from the outset. A fourth man Patrick Molloy who had been convicted of manslaughter and died in prison in 1981 also had his conviction reversed posthumous. Patrick Molloy had previously claimed that a “vein of corruption and dishonesty” permeated the entire proceedings.  
 

Liam Holden
In 2012 Liam Holden who was the last man handed the death sentence in the United Kingdom had his conviction for murdering a British paratrooper quashed after telling a court he confessed at gunpoint having being subjected to water boarding by members of the parachute regiment, water boarding is form of torture used to simulate drowning. Holden spent 17 years in prison after having his death sentence lessened to a term of life imprisonment and was later released on licence in 1989.
 

Patrick Livingstone
In 2013 Patrick Livingstone had his conviction for the murder Samuel Llewellyn in 1975 quashed. Livingstone was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1977. During the hearing Senior judges announced their unease over the safety of the verdict returned at the time on Patrick Livingstone. The appeal judges ruled that the the statement was secured following alleged brutality from the RUC officers involved in the case.

Today the use of immunity orders allow state protection for those who could be considered guilty of perverting the course of justice and I doubt the soldiers involved in the torture of Liam Holden or the RUC officers involved in the abuse of Pat Livingstone will ever seen the inside of a court or gaol cell for their brutal tactics which led to innocent men been wrongfully convicted and imprisoned.

Bearing the above cases in mind is it really so hard to believe that the Craigavon Two have been wrongly convicted? With the farce of a trial, farcical evidence and farcical appeal proceedings coupled with the ongoing silence of politicians, clergy, civic and community leaders the worry is who is next?

In the absence of someone like Gerry Conlon who experienced a miscarriage of justice first hand we must do all we can to highlight and support the campaign to free John Paul Wooton and Brendan McConville, prisoners of convenience and political expedience.

Free the Craigavon Two!

Pauline Mellon ...

... with a piece that featured on The Diary of Derry Mother today, Monday, 1 September 2014. Pauline Mellon is a social justice activist from Derry who has consistently campaigned for prisoners' rights.



Two men are currently imprisoned in Maghaberry after being convicted on the most questionable evidence following the most unconvincing of trials and subsequent farce of an appeal. Sadly this is one more in a long line of miscarriages of justice perpetrated by the British justice System.


The easiest option in the majority of cases would be to remain silent particularly when it doesn't affect  you or the people closest to you. However the case of these two men who have become known as the Craigavon Two is a case that should be of great concern to all, particularly to people in the North of Ireland who know only too well of injustices, miscarriage of justice and of a litany of people who spent years in jail for crimes they did not commit. The Craigavon two have protested their innocence since their arrest for the murder PNSI Constable Stephen Carroll who was callously gunned down whilst on duty in 2009.

Yet in this an era of normalisation the case is not being given the attention it so desperately deserves, with our politicians and moral guardians remaining surprisingly silent despite the case bearing all the hallmarks of political expediency.

The recent appeal to have the men freed was later dismissed despite the evident holes in the case. Having read the official campaign literature and court judgement the following points are prominent: The star witness in the case whose identity remains hidden is known as witness M and is alleged have gained financially from his involvement in the case. His testimony was submitted 11 months after the murder when he is said to have first contacted the police, whilst under the influence of alcohol. This witness has been described by his own family member as a Walter Mitty something which would seem to have been corroborated by his failure to give honest answers during the trial. 

The more concerning but not surprising aspects of the case stem from allegations of police harassment and interference, including the arrest of a witness for the defence and attempts to sully the professional integrity of the legal team involved in the case.

Furthermore it has been alleged that the British Security Services tampered with surveillance equipment resulting in the disappearance of alleged evidence from a tracking device which was said to have been Planted in John Paul Wooton's car. With these factors in mind we can only conclude that this case involves an element of malevolence and exposes the inbuilt weaknesses in the British justice system and failings of the PSNI to carry out a robust and comprehensive investigation into the Carroll killing. As a result two men Brendan McConville and John Paul Wooton are languishing in prison cells on the strength of missing and circumstantial evidence and on the word of a Walter Mitty with an alleged vested interest.

One of the main campaigners for the two was the late Gerry Conlon, one of the Guildford Four. Prior to the Craigavon Two appeal Gerry voiced his disappointment over the silence of nationalist politicians, reminding them of how their silence could be construed as acceptance of a case that was and remains inherently flawed.

Over the past decades many miscarriages of Justice have been exposed with the accused and truth seemingly lost in a quagmire of red tape for years before any possibility of appeal, as again was witnessed in the case of Gerry Conlon of the Guildford Four who was also shunted from prison to prison by successive British Governments in an attempt to curtail his campaign to prove his innocence and that of his co-accused.

Here are but a few cases of miscarriages of justice which saw convictions secured due to non-disclosure of evidence, questionable evidence, forced statements, the fabrication of evidence, police interference and what was clearly conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.


Derek Bentley
On January 28th 1953 19 year old Derek Bentley the last prison to be hanged in Britain was executed in Wandsworth Gaol for his part in the killing of a police officer. Among the factors that led to his conviction was the fact the jury heard no evidence of his learning disabilities over the period of his two day trial. Scientific evidence later proved that the three police officers who gave evidence on Bentley shouting "Let him have it" had lied under oath. Forty five years later Derek Bentley's name was cleared having been denied the right to a fair trial.


Gerry Conlon
The cases of the Guildford Four were quashed by the Court appeal in 1989 after they spent 15 years in prison. Surprisingly in 1993 three retired detectives were acquitted of fabricating evidence and conspiracy to pervert the court of justice. Sir John May's inquiry into the Guildford and Woolwich bombings which was published in 1994, criticised every stage of the process that led to the abuse and imprisonment of the Guildford Four.


In the case of the Maguire Seven their convictions were ruled unsafe in 1990 following an inquiry which exposed flaws in the police's forensic evidence which was used to secure their convictions. On further examination it was found that the traces of nitroglycerine found on their hands and gloves were the result of innocent contamination.


The Birmingham Six
In the case of the Birmingham Six , six Irish men living in England were wrongly convicted in 1975 of bombing the Mulberry Bush bar in Birmingham in 1974. The convicted men served more than 16 years in jail until 1991 when the court of appeal quashed their conviction. The six men were partly convicted on forensic evidence which was later discredited with officers involved in the case accused of tampering with evidence, however prosecutions against those officers were shelved in 1993.
 

Judith Ward
Judith Ward was convicted in 1974 of the M62 coach bombing in which 12 soldiers and their family members were killed it was later found that she spent 17 years in prison for crimes she did not commit. During her appeal her legal team stated there had been "significant and substantial" non-disclosure of information to the defense coupled with a failure to acknowledge her mental health state.


The Bridgewater Three
The Bridgewater Three were jailed in 1978 and spent 18 years in prison for the murder of Staffordshire newspaper boy Carl Bridgewater. Appeal judges were advised that two policemen had probably fabricated an important statement. Due to the efforts of forensic scientists, the crown prosecution service accepted that the trial was"fundamentally flawed" from the outset. A fourth man Patrick Molloy who had been convicted of manslaughter and died in prison in 1981 also had his conviction reversed posthumous. Patrick Molloy had previously claimed that a “vein of corruption and dishonesty” permeated the entire proceedings.  
 

Liam Holden
In 2012 Liam Holden who was the last man handed the death sentence in the United Kingdom had his conviction for murdering a British paratrooper quashed after telling a court he confessed at gunpoint having being subjected to water boarding by members of the parachute regiment, water boarding is form of torture used to simulate drowning. Holden spent 17 years in prison after having his death sentence lessened to a term of life imprisonment and was later released on licence in 1989.
 

Patrick Livingstone
In 2013 Patrick Livingstone had his conviction for the murder Samuel Llewellyn in 1975 quashed. Livingstone was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1977. During the hearing Senior judges announced their unease over the safety of the verdict returned at the time on Patrick Livingstone. The appeal judges ruled that the the statement was secured following alleged brutality from the RUC officers involved in the case.

Today the use of immunity orders allow state protection for those who could be considered guilty of perverting the course of justice and I doubt the soldiers involved in the torture of Liam Holden or the RUC officers involved in the abuse of Pat Livingstone will ever seen the inside of a court or gaol cell for their brutal tactics which led to innocent men been wrongfully convicted and imprisoned.

Bearing the above cases in mind is it really so hard to believe that the Craigavon Two have been wrongly convicted? With the farce of a trial, farcical evidence and farcical appeal proceedings coupled with the ongoing silence of politicians, clergy, civic and community leaders the worry is who is next?

In the absence of someone like Gerry Conlon who experienced a miscarriage of justice first hand we must do all we can to highlight and support the campaign to free John Paul Wooton and Brendan McConville, prisoners of convenience and political expedience.

5 comments:

  1. Pauline,

    a timely intervention on an important issue. When we listen to Danny Morrison today admit he supports the British judiciary in the North because Catholic judges can now sit in Diplock courts and preside over miscarriages of justice on a par with Protestant judges, it is so easy to see how the urge exists on the part of many to ignore these issues.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The Craigavon Two case.. If it wasn't so serious, it would make a great Monty Python sketch it's that ludicrous...

    A man almost a year after the events, skulled (drunk), with a hand full of green backs from the Feds , has a moment of 'clarity' and the Spooks at Whitehall give him a letter like in a James Bond movie and he (M) makes his version of events up as he goes along..

    It came to light as part of the arrest of the new witness that his house had been bugged for a considerable period of time and that these audio recordings had been transcripted, yet today the prosecution claimed in court that their was no audio available for the day when the new witness claims he was harassed and threatened by the PSNI.

    I even doubt Spike Milligan in his madness could have wrote a script like that....If Shakespeare wrote black humour it would have read like the court case.

    The Gerry McGeough case.. If you changed Gerry to a black man living in the Mississippi delta and his Presidential Pardon went missing, Congress would impeach the President who signed it.... And every civil rights group would have been all over it.

    What I've noticed is there are certain pockets such as Craigavaon, Ardoyne, parts of Derry where PSF have lost their grip or are just about hanging on is where the clamp down is felt hardest. The minute anyone voices an opinion that goes against the grain or exposes PSF's arguments (not necessarily with the Irish Republicanism) but any aspect of their narrative (housing, health budget, welfare, jobs for the boys) you are labeled at best anti peace process or a dissident, therefore you must be a member of PFR-ism therefore "fuck you sonny, 10yrs hard labour"...

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  3. Anthony

    The silence on this issue is deeply concerning. Following the death of Gerry Conlon I watched the televised report on his funeral noting the keenness of the great and good to carry his coffin and thought if only they would take on to finish the work Gerry did on the issue of the Craigavon two. But then some of those in the queue that day were not fit to lace Gerry's boots let alone fight for justice for no other reasons than the right ones. That day I vowed as an individual to use the tools available to me to highlight this issue, no matter how small.

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  4. When it's put like this, it makes you wonder about their legal representatives,surely they could of driven a horse and cart through these holes in the prosecution case?

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  5. Pauline,

    for some the funeral of Gerry was a photo op or potential shoulder rubbing exercise. Some turned up who Gerry couldn't stand the sight of, felt betrayed and shafted by them.

    You are doing a good job on these issues.

    ReplyDelete