Murder conviction quashed after seven years

AFP – 4 hrs ago

A man who spent more than seven years in jail for a murder that he maintains he did not commit has had his conviction quashed.

Sam Hallam, 24, was sentenced to life and ordered to serve a minimum of 12 years in 2005 after being found guilty at the Old Bailey of killing a trainee chef in Clerkenwell, central London.

But Justices Hallett, Openshaw and Spencer ruled at the Court of Appeal on Thursday that his conviction was "unsafe".

The prisoner, of Hoxton, east London, was released on bail in a dramatic turnaround on Wednesday after prosecutors said they were not opposing his appeal.

In a statement read outside court by Paul May, who led the campaign to free him, Hallam said: "I don't want anyone else ever to suffer what I've been through."

"The identification evidence against me was so unreliable it should have never been put to the jury."

Hallam was 18 when he was convicted of the murder of Essayas Kassahun, 21, who died after being attacked by a group of youths on the St Luke's estate in October 2004.

The prosecution case against him was based mainly on the evidence of two witnesses who said they were at the murder scene, with no forensic evidence linking him to the attack.

Appeal judges considered fresh evidence from post-trial examination of Hallam's mobile telephone which showed picutres of him with family on the day Kassahun was attacked.

His QC, Henry Blaxland, told the court his client, whose earlier appeal was denied in 2007, was the victim of a "serious miscarriage of justice".

Family, friends and supporters of Hallam, including actor Ray Winstone, have campaigned tenaciously for his release, insisting his innocence.

Crowds seated in the public gallery during the hearing broke into applause and shouted "justice" when the ruling was read out.

  1. Convicted cop killer's appeal deniedPlay Video

    Convicted cop killer's appeal denie …

    WCNC Charlotte

  2. Stanley Cole Appeal

    Stanley Cole Appeal

    WAPT - Jackson

  3. Colorado prosecutors using DNA to free …

    GRAND JUNCTION, Co. (Reuters) - Colorado prosecutors sought on Monday to free &#8230 Full Story »Colorado prosecutors using DNA to free man convicted of 1994 murder

    Reuters

  4. Stanley Cole AppealPlay Video

    Stanley Cole Appeal

    WAPT - Jackson

Most Popular

  • Why (and How) to Turn Off Socialcam on Facebook
  • Robert F. Kennedy's estranged wife Mary dead at 52
  • Census: Minorities now surpass whites in US births
  • Sugar can make you dumb, US scientists warn
  • Report: Donna Summer Dead at 63
  • Pa. Couple Tired of Cars Crashing Into Home
  1. Singer Donna Summer dead at 63

    Singer Donna Summer dead at 63

  2. Common toy's sneaky fitness results

    Common toy's sneaky fitness results

  3. New Segway-like personal vehicle unveiled

    New Segway-like personal vehicle unveiled

  4. Ouch! Insurers pay $ 479 mil for dog bites

    Ouch! Insurers pay $ 479 mil for dog bites

[ [ [['A picture is worth a thousand words', 5]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/why-facebook-bought-instagram-4-theories-160400376.html', '[Related: Why Facebook bought Instagram: 4 theories]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 9]], 'http://contributor.yahoo.com/join/yahoonews_virginiabeach', '[Did you witness the jet crash? Share your story with Yahoo! News]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['A JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GV9zpj', '[Related: View photos of the JetBlue plane in Amarillo]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Dick Clark', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/dick-clark-dies-at-82-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/c/21/c217c61aa2d5872244c08caa13c16ec5.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'Reuters', ], [ [['the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 15]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/white-house-stays-out-of-teen-s-killing-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120411/martinzimmermen.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['Titanic', 7]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/titanic-anniversary/', ' ', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/b/4e/b4e5ad9f00b5dfeeec2226d53e173569.jpeg', '550', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 6]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/navy-jet-crashes-in-virginia-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120406/jet_ap.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP', ] ]

[ [ [[' the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 4]], '28924649', '0' ], [ [['because I know God protects me', 14], ['Brian Snow was at a nearby credit union', 5]], '28811216', '0' ], [ [['The state news agency RIA-Novosti quoted Rosaviatsiya', 6]], '28805461', '0' ], [ [['measure all but certain to fail in the face of bipartisan', 4]], '28771014', '0' ], [ [['matter what you do in this case', 5]], '28759848', '0' ], [ [['presume laws are constitutional', 7]], '28747556', '0' ], [ [['has destroyed 15 to 25 houses', 7]], '28744868', '0' ], [ [['short answer is yes', 7]], '28746030', '0' ], [ [['opportunity to tell the real story', 7]], '28731764', '0' ], [ [['entirely respectable way to put off the searing constitutional controversy', 7]], '28723797', '0' ], [ [['point of my campaign is that big ideas matter', 9]], '28712293', '0' ], [ [['As the standoff dragged into a second day', 7]], '28687424', '0' ], [ [['French police stepped up the search', 17]], '28667224', '0' ], [ [['Seeking to elevate his candidacy back to a general', 8]], '28660934', '0' ], [ [['The tragic story of Trayvon Martin', 4]], '28647343', '0' ], [ [['Karzai will get a chance soon to express', 8]], '28630306', '0' ], [ [['powerful storms stretching', 8]], '28493546', '0' ], [ [['basic norm that death is private', 6]], '28413590', '0' ], [ [['songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album', 6]], '28413590', '1', 'Watch music videos from Whitney Houston ', 'on Yahoo! Music', 'http://music.yahoo.com' ], [ [['keyword', 99999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]

Read More @ Source

Johnston man admits to wife's murder, dismemberment

Johnston man admits to wife's murder, dismemberment

Video Rating: 0 / 5



Criminal Stories Here

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Charges dismissed in grisly Ypsilanti Township triple homicide

Image
For nearly six years, they were locked up facing a possible death sentence for a grisly 2001 triple homicide in Ypsilanti Township. On Friday, a federal judge dismissed the charges against Deondre Byrd and three other men after a federal prosecutor said new evidence came to light last Friday that prevented the government from taking the case to trial. It was the second time in three years that Byrd escaped murder charges. He has been imprisoned in recent years for both the triple homicide and the slaying of a 16-year-old girl in Ann Arbor, but he has been convicted on only a federal gun charge. "Obviously, I'm pretty upset that almost 11 years later, we still don't have any answers," said Christy Brown, 30, a close family friend of the victims of the triple homicide. She said she got a call from federal prosecutors Thursday saying the case was being dropped, but they wouldn't elaborate. "I was very surprised. I honestly thought they were making some...
Keep reading

Flint's battlefield: A three-year murder map

Image
FLINT, MI -- There have been 189 murders in the city since 2010. Below is a map of the locations of each murder in the last three years, as well as the names of the slain on Flint's battlefield. The spike in murders occurred almost immediately after large-scale layoffs in March of 2010. By year's end the city had set a record with 66 murders, breaking the previous mark of 61 set in 1986. Killing continued in 2011 with 57 murders. A look at the map shows the majority of the murders took place on the north and east sides, historically the most economically depressed areas of the city. Just 25 murders in the last three years occurred south of Court Street. The map is color-coded by year. Green markers denote 2012 murders while red markers are from 2011 and blue from 2010. 2012 No. 1: Jan. 11: Kevin Berger, 55, died Jan. 11 after a Jan. 10 double shooting at his home on Keller Avenue near Welch Boulevard around 10:15 pm. Darius McGee, 25, was also critically shot. He survi...
Keep reading

Manslaughter charges dropped against Keys man accused of letting girl drive drunk before she crashed and died

Image
A manslaughter charge against a Marathon man accused of helping cause the death of a teenager by letting her drive drunk has been dropped due to what prosecutors say is lack of evidence. Michael Mearns, 26, the son of former Marathon Mayor Randy Mearns and grandson of former Marathon Councilwoman Margie Mearns, had been charged with manslaughter by culpable negligence following a Feb. 25, 2011, crash in which 17-year-old Amber Kogelis of Lower Matecumbe Key died. "You have to prove he knew she was drinking," State Attorney Catherine Vogel said Wednesday. "It's clear we do not have evidence of the impairment." That's even though an autopsy revealed Kogelis had a blood alcohol content of .125. In Florida, .08 is considered legally drunk. "It didn't rise to the level beyond a reasonable doubt," said Assistant State Attorney Paunece Ramage. "She wasn't stumbling, she wasn't holding herself up" in a video prosecutors re...
Keep reading