Commission refers the kidnapping and blackmail convictions of John and Gerard Lane to the Court of Appeal

Criminal Cases Review Commission, 9th December 2010

The Criminal Cases Review Commission has referred the kidnapping and blackmail convictions of John and Gerard Lane to the Court of Appeal.

Brothers John and Gerard Lane were accused of kidnapping Mr Brett Hinsley from his home in Sutton Coldfield on 26th May 1997 and demanding money from him.

They pleaded not guilty but were convicted at Birmingham Crown Court on 28th September 1998 and each sentenced to a total of seven year’s imprisonment.

Messrs Lane and Lane appealed against the conviction but their appeal was dismissed in August 1999. They applied to the Commission for a review of their convictions in October 2007 and November 2007 respectively.

Following a detailed investigation of the case, the Commission has decided to refer the convictions to the Court of Appeal because it considers that material non-disclosure raises the real possibility that the Court would quash the convictions as unsafe.

Messrs Lane and Lane are represented by Mr Maslen Merchant, of Hadgkiss, Huges and Beale Solicitors.

UB40 back campaign to free Brummie punk rocker Gary Critchley

Sunday Mercury, 5th December 2010

BIRMINGHAM supergroup UB40 have given their backing to the Gary Critchley freedom campaign.

The Brummie punk rocker, 47, has spent the past 30 years behind bars for a murder he claims he did not commit.

UB40 founding member Brian Travers said: “You only have to study the case for five minutes to know that Gary’s conviction is wrong.

“We have no problem getting on board the campaign and would ask the authorities to just step back and look at the guy as a human being.

“His conviction is completely unsafe, they should do what is right and finally send him home. They can do the right thing by releasing him after all these years.”

Gary, from Northfield, was just 17 when he was jailed for a recommended nine years in 1981 for the killing of Edward McNeill in a London squat.

But despite the court sentencing tariff, he has gone on to spend almost 30 years behind bars.