Shows
You Call This Justice?Dr Sandra Lean - The Shocking Truth About British JusticeIn 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.2021-11-2849 minYou Call This Justice?John Actie - The Truth Is Coming Out at LastOn 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...2021-11-1433 minYou Call This Justice?Adrian Stone - The Cardiff Explosives Conspiracy TrialThe 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...2021-11-0739 minYou Call This Justice?Cardiff University Innocence ProjectThe 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...2021-10-3135 minYou Call This Justice?Michael O'Brien - Fight for JusticeSince 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...2021-10-2427 minYou Call This Justice?Jimmy Boyle - Much Madness is Presumption of GuiltIt 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...2021-10-1739 minYou Call This Justice?MOJO - Bringing Hope to The InnocentIn 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 gi...2021-10-1050 minYou Call This Justice?Michelle Diskin Bates - “Stand Against Injustice"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...2021-10-0352 minYou Call This Justice?Post Office Scandal - Part 2Over 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...2021-09-2637 minYou Call This Justice?Post Office Scandal - Part 1The 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 m...2021-09-1956 minYou Call This Justice?Don Hale - The Battle to Free Stephen DowningStephen was of good character and had learning difficulties when he was wrongly convicted of the murder of Wendy Sewell (Bakewell Cemetery Murder) when he was only 17 years old. He spent 27 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. In this episode I talk to investigative journalist Don Hale OBE, who shares his story about what happened when he started to investigate whether or not Stephen had committed the crime. It is a shocking story as Don received unprecedented intimidation and harassment from the police and death threats from 'A; another or a group of people, who...2021-09-1252 minYou Call This Justice?Michael O'Brien - Fight for FreedomMichael O’Brien was nineteen when he was wrongly convicted of the murder of Philip Saunders in 1987. He spent over 11 years in prison for a crime he did not commit and he became known as one of the Cardiff Newsagents Three. In this episode he shares his harrowing story with me and how he battled for years to clear his name.2021-09-0540 minYou Call This Justice?You Call This Justice? TrailerThis trailer gives you an insight into the forthcoming podcast series that looks at high profile UK Miscarriage of Justice cases where my guests share their harrowing experiences of the UK Criminal Justice System.2021-08-2901 min