Framed man appeals for clemency

A British businessman who has spent more than 20 years in a US prison for a double murder he claims he did not commit has begun his final effort to be granted clemency. Krishna Maharaj has always protested his innocence over the shooting of Derrick Moo Young, a Jamaican drug trafficker, and his son, Duane, prompted by an alleged debt in 1986.

Originally sentenced to death, the former millionaire now faces a 53-year prison sentence after exhausting his appeals. His lawyer said a meeting with Florida Clemency Board in Indiantown had been "positive".

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Some background:

Krishna Maharaj, from London, has spent two decades in a Florida jail for a double-murder - despite a wealth of evidence to suggest that he is innocent and did not receive a fair trial. So compelling is the case for his innocence that Krishna is supported by nearly 300 British politicians, and some of the leading lawyers in the UK.

Seven Key facts that point to Krishna's innocence:

Alibi witnesses never called: Krishna has six alibi witnesses that can testify that at the time of the killings in a Miami hotel room he was 30 miles away in Fort Lauderdale having a business meeting with associates followed by lunch. Amazingly, none of these witnesses was called to give evidence at Krishna's trial. Why? It seems an astounding oversight by Krishna's young defence lawyer who was out of his depth handling a capital case. An investigator working for the defence claims that Krishna's lawyer was threatened just before the trial - at which he called none of the witnesses. All six alibi witnesses were willing to testify.

The victims' true dealings in drugs: The Moo Youngs, who were found shot dead in the hotel room, were portrayed in court as an honest, retired businessman and his son. Derrick Moo Young, the father, was shown as having a $20,000 dollar annual income. What the jury never heard about was that he and his son had just taken out $1million life insurance policies - and documents in their briefcase mentioned loans of up to $5 million. It seems that the Moo Youngs were not as innocent as presented in court. A manager from the leading accountancy firm Ernst & Young, who examined their documents, concluded the Moo Youngs were either selling drugs or planning to launder money. They were really killed, in all probability, for trying to cheat Columbian drugs cartels from money.

Judge arrested for bribery: Three days into Krishna's trial the judge, Howard Gross, was arrested on bribery charges (in relation to another case) and subsequently debarred. Quite incomprehensibly, Krishna's lawyer did not demand a new trial. Krishna claims that the same judge tried to solicit a $50,000 bribe from him before his trial got underway - via an Assistant State Attorney sent to see him in jail (whose visit to Krishna is noted in the records). Miami Dade County was awash with corruption in the late 1980s: Operation Court Broom caught four other judges taking bribes.

Prosecution witness failed lie detector & changed story: Neville Butler, the prosecution's only eyewitness who claimed to have seen Krishna commit murder, failed part of his lie detector test - and then went on to change his version of the events about who booked the hotel room. By contrast, Krishna passed his polygraph with flying colours and has never deviated from his original account. (The lie detector results were not admissible in court). Neville Butler was also seen right after the murders in the back of a car in Miami. He had blood on his own shirt - and looking like he has been in a scuffle himself. What's more, he told those with him in the car that: "They went crazy and started shooting." This implies there was more than one killer - in direct contradiction to his evidence in court that Krishna acted alone. In the hours after the murder he never even mentioned Krishna's name to those he was with, and was also told by another man present to "get his story straight" before calling the police.

Key witness kept from jail by prosecutors: The other most damning witness against Krishna was Tino Geddes, a Jamaican journalist, who was originally an alibi for Krishna - but on the eve on the trial turned into a prosecution witness saying that he'd been planning the murders. What explains this sudden damning volte face? The BBC has learned that Tino Geddes was facing serious charges for bringing ammunition from Jamaica into the US. The prosecutors in the Krishna case flew to Jamaica and testified for Tino Geddes - and helped him beat the rap. They also helped him with a drink-driving charge and, astonishingly, went to a lap-dancing bar with their star witness. Naturally, the jury in Krishna's case knew nothing of the prosecutors keeping the witness from jail, or fraternizing with him. As late as 1997, one of Krishna's six alibis testified that he had seen Tino Geddes with Krishna in Fort Lauderdale at the time of the murders: the very account Tino Geddes had given before his sudden change of story.

Questions about a man who could be the real murderer: There is one man who has never been questioned by police despite an extraordinary set of allegations against him: he is Trinidadian businessman Adam Hosein. Hosein looks like Krishna - to the point where he used to pass himself off as Krishna to get into horse races in England. At the time of the murders in Adam Hosein used to run a garage in Miami. One of his former employees at the time has come forward with some explosive allegations. He told the BBC that on the day of the murders Adam Hosein was seen heading to the Du Pont Plaza hotel - where the murders happened - and that a gun and silencer were missing from his draw (but returned the next day). What's more, that evening Adam Hosein told his colleague that he had "eliminated two people he owed a lot of money too" and come into some money and drugs. The man claims that Hosein had owed the Moo Youngs - the victims - a significant amount of money for drugs. These are astonishing claims - made recently on BBC TV, but never heard in a court. It is also significant that there is a note in the police file from the time of the murders showing that Adam Hosein had called the Moo Youngs room on the day of the murders: key evidence which was kept from the defence team. Adam Hosein's brothers were jailed in 1970 for one of England's most gruesome murders - the kidnap of killing of the wife of the News International chairman, whose body was reportedly fed to the pigs.

Krishna's motive to kill doesn't add up: The true reason for the Moo Young's murders no doubt lies in their drugs or money laundering activities - especially, as it appeared to the Ernst & Young accountant, they were planning to skim-off some of the money for themselves. Krishna's motive, as put by the prosecution, fails to make sense. Why would he murder someone who owed him money - and at a time when he was on the verge of winning a lawsuit against them to recoup the money? The prosecution case also assumes Krishna took a stranger, Neville Butler (who failed the lie detector test), to be an eyewitness to a premeditated murder. But Krishna would be an ideal person to frame: he'd had a public falling out with the Moo Youngs, could be lured to the Du Pont Plaza to leave his fingerprints there, and looked very similar to the man who may have been the real murderer.

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