Friday 4 July 2014

Conrad Jones - Conviction Quashed


Appeal Court quashes conviction of man accused of trying to derail Coventry murder trial


Conrad Jones had always denied terrifying a female witness in Clinton Bailey trial


A Coventry man who served years in jail after he was convicted of trying to derail a murder trial has had his conviction quashed after a ‘lamentable failure’ by prosecutors to disclose vital evidence.

Conrad Steven Jones, 48, formerly of Sewall Highway, Wyken, was accused of terrifying a female witness as he did all he could to prevent her giving evidence.

Jailed at Birmingham Crown Court for doing an act intending to pervert the course of justice in 2007, he served the custodial portion of a 12-year sentence.

But he has always denied any wrongdoing and, after taking his case to the Court of Appeal last month, has now had his name cleared by three top judges.

His legal team, headed by senior QC, Joel Bennathan, said evidence only revealed recently cast serious doubts on the credibility of the chief prosecution witness.

The prosecution alleged Jones had tried to help five men beat a murder charge after the shooting of Clinton Bailey at the Three Horseshoes pub, in Coventry, in April 2005.

The chief witness became the target of a “professional and organised” attempt to prevent her giving evidence at the trial, it was alleged.

She was offered money and threatened with serious violence.

Mr Bennathan said the crucial evidence, which the prosecution had all along, showed that it was highly improbable that Mr Jones was in Nottingham when the witness claimed to have met him there.

Had the jury been shown the evidence, they might have concluded that the meeting had been invented by the witness, he told the court.

Giving judgment, Lord Justice Pitchford spoke of a ‘lamentable failure’ by the prosecution to disclose the evidence in 2007.

He continued: “The only occasion when she claimed to have been threatened face-to-face by the appellant was at a meeting on 1 or 2 June 2006.

“We do not consider that this was a peripheral issue in the context of the case against this appellant.

“On the contrary, it was central both to the witness’ credibility on the issue of intimidation by the appellant and to the particulars of activity by the appellant on which the prosecution relied against him.

“If the jury had concluded that no such meeting had taken place, the impact upon her account of several other alleged events for which she claimed the appellant was responsible must, we conclude, have been significant.

“It is possible, if not probable, that the other evidence would have been sufficient to convict the appellant, but we cannot conclude that would have been the conclusion of the jury.

“We cannot conclude that the issue we have identified could be segregated from an assessment of her credibility in general.

“In our judgment, the verdict is unsafe and the conviction must be quashed.”

The judge, who heard the appeal with Mr Justice Turner and Mrs Justice Carr, did not order a retrial.

Mr Jones was not present in court.

Read the original article here

Conrad was represented by Joel Bennathan QC of Doughty Street Chambers and Maslen Merchant of Hadgkiss Hughes and Beale.

To contact the criminal department at Hadgkiss Hughes and Beale email enquiries@hhb-mo.co.uk or telephone 0121 449 5050.

 

Case Of Danny Major on Channel 4 News

'Public face of police brutality' fights to clear name

 
Channel 4
 
 
North of England Correspondent
 
PC Danny Major was convicted of assaulting a teenager in a police cell, imprisoned and sacked. He lost his appeal and criminal case review, but now the case has been reopened.
 
Bernadette Major looks me straight in the eye and says: "Everybody knows he didn't do it." Tears stream down her face, and her husband, Eric, leans in to console her.

"We're at the point of breaking," says Eric, "as you can see."

In front of us on the kitchen table stands a model depicting the inside of a police station in Leeds, painstakingly recreated by Bernadette. Everything is in black and white, except for a room marked "Cell #9", which has been shaded in blood red.

"This is where they said Danny attacked him," says Bernadette.

Bloodied and beaten

Cell number nine at Leeds Bridewell police station is where an 18-year-old man was found bloodied and beaten in custody, one night in September 2003.

PC Danny Major was the arresting officer. He was later convicted of violent assault, sent to prison and sacked. His parents believe he was framed.

Nobody doubts that a young man was assaulted in custody that night. But for 10 years, Bernadette and Eric have argued their son was not responsible. In all that time, this is their first television interview.
 
"The simple truth would have brought West Yorkshire Police and the people wearing the uniform of that police force under very close scrutiny," says Eric, a former officer himself.

An hour later, I'm standing alongside Danny Major outside the police station in Leeds where he worked his last shift on the frontline. He's dressed smartly in suit and tie. Although he now works in a call centre on minimum wage, his words still have the ring of a police officer.

'Spearing him to the ground'

"I was accused of taking the person I arrested out of the police van and spearing him to the ground, while he was handcuffed to the rear," says Danny, pointing to the area behind us where police vans park up. "As though I picked him up and threw him into the ground head first from the back of the van."

"As well as the spearing, it was alleged I kneed him in the face, punched him several times, then took him in to the Bridewell, took him to a police cell and, while searching him, continued to punch him in the face another five or six times."

For a while Danny was the public face of police brutality. At his trial, the judge was scathing in his criticism - not just of Danny but a custody suite he branded "a shambles".

Danny appealed, and lost. A criminal case review also found against him. And yet he and his family have persevered with their campaign, examining every piece of available evidence.
 
"Evidence that was requested that would have cleared my name has either disappeared or not been collected, or has been destroyed," says Danny. "With my case, that list of evidence is as long as my arm. Potential video footage, digital evidence that would have cleared my name has disappeared."

Channel 4 News put these allegations to West Yorkshire Police. A statement from the Deputy Chief Constable, Dean Collins, said it would be "inappropriate to comment at this time" as an investigation is ongoing.

The Major family say they're frustrated with West Yorkshire Police's silence. But they cannot hide their delight that 11 years on, the case has been reopened.

The original investigation, conducted by Danny's own force, is now itself the subject of a probe by Greater Manchester Police, at the request of West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner Mark Burns-Williamson.

'No need to hide anything'

"This is a force with no need to hide anything. It's not been involved at any stage. It's a neutral referee as it were," says Eric.

Greater Manchester Police also refused to comment while their investigation is ongoing. But for once, Danny Major is hopeful.

"I'm sure the first thing that will come out of it will be to clear my name," he says.

If it doesn't, I point out, the record will still show that Danny Major is a violent criminal.

"If people trust the criminal justice system to be one hundred per cent right, then they're very naïve," he says. "The system is designed and run with people involved so there are always going to be mistakes."

The outcome of the latest investigation won't be known for several months. Either it will make difficult reading for Danny Major and his family, or it will invite considerable scrutiny of West Yorkshire Police.

Ciaran Jenkins, UK