25 YEARS SERVED BY INNOCENT BRITON

Another case of "verballing" (alleged confessions actually written by police)

A man who served 25 years for the attempted murder of a nine-year-old boy had his conviction overturned by the Court of Appeal yesterday. Paul Blackburn, 41, from Warrington, Cheshire, who was 15 when he was found guilty by a jury 26 years ago, was present in the London courtroom to hear three judges declare his December 1978 conviction unsafe. His lawyer said that he would be seeking a substantial sum in compensation. Lord Justice Keene, Mr Justice Newman and Mr Justice Walker had been told by Mr Blackburn’s barrister that he did not have a fair trial, judged by current standards.

Mr Blackburn was released on life licence in March 2003. The court was told that his detention had been “clearly prolonged” by his persistent assertions that he was wrongly convicted.

After his trial at Chester Crown Court, Mr Blackburn was sentenced to life detention and served 25 years in 18 prisons. He continued to protest his innocence. His case was referred back to the Court of Appeal for a fresh review by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), the independent body which investigates possible miscarriages of justice. There was applause in court as a clearly emotional Mr Blackburn was congratulated by well-wishers after the ruling. He said: “I’m just pleased about what’s happened. I’d rather there had been other evidence that had helped me out but the CCRC deals with technicalities and I’ve had to be satisfied with that.”

He said of being in prison: “Life is made as tough as possible, as prolonged as possible, as painful as possible.” He said that a project was being set up to establish a retreat in Scotland where people who had been released after miscarriages of justice could start to rebuild their lives. He added that he had not been helped with rehabilitation and had “no comment” about the police officers involved in the case. “I don’t know if I can put this behind me. Everyone who has been involved in cases like this before has been so damaged. It takes a long, long time.”

Giving judgment, Lord Justice Keene said that the Crown had conceded that there was linguistic evidence now available which suggested significant police involvement in the wording of Mr Blackburn’s written admissions in July 1978. That called into question the credibility of both of the senior police officers who carried out the crucial interview and testified on oath that they sat quietly by while Mr Blackburn wrote his statement. Mr Blackburn should have been told of his right to consult a solicitor, the interview should have taken place at a police station and not at the approved school where Mr Blackburn was in care, and a parent or Mr Blackburn’s social worker should have been present.

Report from The Times


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