Articles printed in The Eye are written by a workforce of contributors and edited by the multi-award profitable former BBC information and present affairs reporter, Phil Parry.
A significant demonstration is to be held calling for a judicial inquiry after the big variety of miscarriage of justice instances by the largest police drive in Wales.
The protesters are as a result of meet this summer season exterior Cardiff Crown Courtroom on the anniversary of the jailing of the Cardiff Newsagent Three – simply one of many instances concerned – following a flawed inquiry by South Wales Police (SWP).
A media convention (MC) was additionally held final 12 months (at which The Eye’s Editor, Phil Parry, spoke) demanding justice, and a full authorized inquiry was subsequently refused, however it is a signal that peace is unlikely to be restored quickly.
Following the MC some then marched to the Welsh Parliament/Senedd Cymru (WP/SC), and Welsh Authorities (WG) buildings to demand motion, with a number of senior politicians backing a Assertion of Opinion to help the requires an inquiry.
The organiser, Mike O’Brien (one of many so-called Cardiff Newsagent Three), spoke movingly about how his well being had been badly affected after he spent 11 years inside jail, for a criminal offense he didn’t commit. He informed The Eye earlier: “My well being has been ruined, and there was long-lasting harm. My miscarriage of justice case has precipitated an enormous household rift”. Mr O’Brien, who’s now in his fifties, was jailed wrongly in 1988 for the killing of Cardiff newsagent, Phillip Saunders.
One other who spoke emotionally of what had occurred to him, was John Actie, one of many Cardiff Three/5. He was accused of involvement within the homicide of 20-year-old Lynette White, who was viciously killed in James Road in what’s now generally known as Cardiff Bay.
Three BLACK males had been convicted of the homicide (though FIVE, together with Mr Actie, have been placed on trial), when one WHITE man (Jeffrey Gafoor) was lastly caught years later by DNA evaluation. He confessed to finishing up the horrible 1988 homicide, and even apologised, by his barrister, to the others who had been incorrectly jailed. The 5 harmless males, have been arrested in December 1988 after detectives had been on the case for 10 months, and have been pursuing a suspect seen close by (who regarded EXACTLY like Mr Gafoor), minutes following the homicide. However when SWP modified the investigating workforce, and strain mounted to make an arrest, consideration turned to locals. Regardless of no forensic proof connecting the 5 to Ms White’s homicide they have been taken in.
Tony Paris, Yusef Abdullahi, and Stephen Miller have been discovered responsible in 1990 of the homicide and spent greater than two years serving jail sentences having spent the identical time on remand, whereas cousins John and Ronnie Actie have been acquitted after being in custody since their arrest. False eyewitness statements, coerced confessions, and extra have been used within the police ‘investigation’. Nonetheless on attraction in 1992 the taped interviews with Mr Miller, who had a psychological age of 11, have been deemed an instance of inappropriate interrogation for reference in future instances, such was their intimidating and coercive nature.
The press launch publicising the occasion this 12 months, states: “On Thursday twentieth of July 2023 it will likely be 35 years to the day that The Cardiff Newsagent 3 have been wrongly convicted by a Jury in Cardiff Crown Courtroom. To mark this Anniversary and to proceed our requires a Judicial Inquiry into the Prison Justice System. We might be holding an illustration exterior Cardiff Crown Courtroom At 11.am.”
The miscarriages within the Eighties, ’90s, and 2000s embrace: The Cardiff Three (5), Cardiff Newsagent Three, The Darvell Brothers, Jonathan Jones (The Tooze Murders), in addition to Annette Hewins. Nonetheless this shameful checklist does NOT have on all of it these harmless folks, who have been convicted of much less essential crimes, but who now have a document which is able to have an effect on them for the remainder of their lives, and there’s a highly effective argument for eliminating SWP utterly.
On the MC highlighting what occurred, Phil emphasised the disturbing indisputable fact that areas with a larger inhabitants, have FEWER police forces. He declared: “It’s ridiculous that in a inhabitants of three.1 million folks we in Wales have FOUR forces”, he informed The Eye. Scotland is way larger, however solely has ONE. London has nearly 9 million folks but has simply TWO. Consider the general public cash that’s wasted duplicating sources, to pay fats salaries to all these Assistant Chief Constables, and Chief Constables!”.
On the MC, Phil additionally mentioned to the viewers that he was recurrently approached by solicitors through the Nineties, who mentioned the police have been doing unhealthy issues, and that one thing needed to be achieved. On one event he was informed to place away his pocket book as a result of he was knowledgeable that no document ought to be fabricated from the dialog. He additionally described how different forces had been put in ‘particular measures’ (together with The Met), however that this was the least that ought to be achieved with SWP.
In addition to books, a number of radio and tv programmes have been broadcast trying on the occasions wherein the police performed such a serious half, and a quantity are in manufacturing now. Final 12 months, one other was transmitted analyzing Mr O’Brien’s story intimately. The promotional materials earlier than it, proclaimed: “Episode One Monday twenty third Could at 9pm Raphael Rowe delves into the brutal homicide of Cardiff newsagent Phillip Saunders in 1987. The episode examines the investigation that led to the conviction of three harmless males, which resulted of their wrongful imprisonment. The episode reveals stunning police threats and coercion that led to the arrest and incarceration of Michael O’Brien, Ellis Sherwood and Darren Corridor. After the lads had spent greater than a decade behind bars, a court docket attraction quashed the unique verdict, however the unsolved case continues to hang-out town. Plus, for the primary time ever, the sufferer’s sister and nephew break a 35-year silence and reveal unique insights into the case”.
Mr O’Brien can also be a staunch campaigner for David ‘Dai’ Morris who was convicted of the appalling Clydach murders. This isn’t (in concept) a miscarriage of justice case, though Morris died in jail nonetheless protesting his innocence.
One of many programmes trying on the case on the whole (Sky’s Homicide within the Valleys [MITV]) have been nominated for 2 awards on the BAFTA Cymru ceremony, together with one for greatest Factual Collection. Mr O’Brien seems on MITV saying that he believes the conviction of Mr Morris IS in reality a miscarriage of justice. He informed the MITV documentary-makers: “After I was launched from jail I bear in mind…saying ‘I’m going to be South Wales Police’s worst nightmare for what they did to me’, and I meant each phrase of it”.
In a proper interview for MITV (they wouldn’t do one with Phil), Assistant Chief Constable (ACC) of SWP, David Thorne, made a startling admission, concerning the errors that have been made by the police within the earlier miscarriages of justice. Throughout filming for the programme Mr Thorne appeared on, a forensic overview discovered traces of DNA on a sock which it’s believed was used to carry the homicide weapon, that have been “extra seemingly than not” to have come from Mr Morris, and SWP trumpeted the discovering. They successfully mentioned: ‘We all know we received it mistaken previously, however this time is totally different. Belief us’.
But a long-running marketing campaign has been launched to determine his innocence, and after the primary trial when Mr Morris was convicted, his sister Debra gave a tearful press convention together with her dad and mom when she confused her perception that he was NOT responsible. She mentioned: “He simply didn’t do these items…they’ve received the mistaken man”.
ACC Thorne, although, insisted on MITV, that Mr Morris was the RIGHT man, however acknowledged that errors had been made in earlier police inquiries. He proclaimed: “It’s protected to say we received it mistaken (previously). We completely received it mistaken. There have been HUGE errors in the best way investigations have been carried out (however) we HAVEN’T discovered that on this case. This isn’t a miscarriage of justice”.
Nonetheless Phil had made a BBC Panorama tv programme concerning the stunning Clydach Murders a number of years after that they had been dedicated, and he was the primary to query the police actions throughout THIS investigation too. As he mentioned within the opening of the programme: “One police drive in Britain has a disturbing document of locking up the mistaken folks in homicide instances”.
Nonetheless one other tv programme late final 12 months, on 5Star (which pretended to be trying into ‘chilly instances’), was VERY totally different and incurred the wrath of many near what had occurred. 5Star is a free-to-air tv channel owned by Paramount Networks UK & Australia and a sister to Channel 5, which specialises in documentaries. It initially launched because the female-orientated 5 Life in October 2006, and was relaunched as Fiver in 2008 with a revised model of the identical idea. The channel later re-branded as 5Star in 2011.
One of many daughters of Mr Morris, Janiene Marie O’Sullivan, publicly declared to her devoted web site group: “I’m discovering it troublesome to place into phrases the way it made me really feel….Mainly it was a complete hour of Martin Lloyd-Evans (who led the investigation into the Clydach Murders) speaking garbage!…South Wales police have achieved themselves no favours once more with this one”.
Mr Morris’s sister Debra Thomas additionally proclaimed on the positioning: “Are you able to imagine the utter verbal diarrhoea Martin Lloyd was spouting in that low-cost channel 5 program…I additionally know the journalist is on this group so I hope and pray she will get to learn this.” And: “What disgraceful journalism!! They need to dangle their heads in disgrace”
The web site Mrs Thomas helped arrange, alongside together with her niece, questions her brother’s guilt and has over 30,000 members. On it she printed a reply from Channel 5 to her criticism concerning the programme, however above the letter she wrote: “What analysis did they do????”.
Throughout MITV, the Senior Investigating Officer (SIO) at the time, Detective Superintendent (DS) (Retd.) of South Wales Police (SWP) Martyn Lloyd Evans, is questioned concerning the obvious mistake of not releasing to the general public a witnesses E-Match constructed quickly after the murders, which, it mentioned, had a 90 per cent likeness. He replies that as a result of the person seen was carrying a bag, and it was believed the killer didn’t have one, it was not put out.
Mr Evans mentioned: “I didn’t suppose it was related”, however the E-Match matched nearly precisely the face of the primary senior police officer on the scene, Inspector (on the time) Stuart Lewis, who (in opposition to all process) had solely stayed there a matter of minutes, or that of his an identical twin brother (one other police officer, Sergeant [also at the time] Stephen Lewis, whose spouse was having a homosexual affair with one of many victims). Inspector Stuart Lewis, had modified his shift to be on that evening, nevertheless at essential hours through the murders his whereabouts have been unknown. He was driving a pink Peugeot diesel, and a automobile much like this was noticed close to the homicide scene. So to say the E-Match was ‘not related’, appeared weird within the excessive, to critics of the police.
Within the MITV movies Mr Evans’ boss because the then head of SWP CID, Wynne Phillips, additionally mentioned one thing unbelievable: “We will’t manufacture proof”. However occasions earlier than the murders, confirmed that SWP have achieved EXACTLY that.
To take simply a kind of instances (wherein Phil was intimately concerned, as a result of he had made ANOTHER programme questioning THAT conviction [The Cardiff Newsagent Three]), the police MANUFACTURED (as Mr Phillips mentioned they DIDN’T do) an overheard ‘confession’ between the younger males that they had arrested, when an admission was successfully made to the homicide of the newsagent, and so they offered earlier than the court docket ‘EVIDENCE’ that the group had run from the scene, however one of many three had unhealthy legs and couldn’t run in any respect.
It’s clear, although, that the problem of the variety of miscarriages with SWP at their coronary heart, IS going to run – and is barely prone to finish when a full judicial inquiry is granted.
Particulars of most of the miscarriage of justice instances, have been reported throughout 23 years with The BBC, and 39 years in journalism, by our Editor Phil Parry as he was gripped by the uncommon neurological situation Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia (HSP).
Some are included within the e book ‘A GOOD STORY’. Order it now! Regrettably publication of one other e book, nevertheless, was refused, as a result of it was to have included names.
