Court rejects Coventry murder appeal bid

[dutchman]

Two Coventry men jailed for their part in the murder of a man in a city car park have failed in a bid to appeal against their convictions.

Clinton Bailey was shot four times

The Court of Appeal rejected claims by Charles Turner, 29, and Craig Dooley, 30.

They were amongst five jailed for the murder of Clinton Bailey, shot four times in a car park at the Three Horseshoes, Foleshill, in April 2005.

Mr Bailey, from Foleshill, died in hospital 12 days later.

[dutchman]

Two men jailed for Coventry gangland murder cleared

Two men jailed for a gangland murder have been cleared on appeal after spending more than a decade in jail.

Gary Higgins, 47, and James Dunn, 34, were convicted in 2006 of shooting Clinton Bailey in the car park of a Coventry pub in April 2005.

The Court of Appeal said there had been a "serious" and "regrettable" failure to disclose information which could have helped their defence at trial.

Three other men were also jailed in connection with the killing.

Lord Justice Davis, who chaired the appeal panel, said fresh evidence had cast doubt on the credibility of a "crucial" prosecution witness.

The two men were found guilty on the basis of joint enterprise after Mr Bailey was lured to the Three Horseshoes in the Foleshill area of Coventry before being led outside and gunned down.

While neither of the men was accused of firing a shot, Mr Higgins was said to have enticed the victim to the pub, Mr Dunn was alleged to have helped organise the trap.

Mr Bailey, who was believed to have been attempting to mediate a drugs-related dispute between a friend and a gang, died 12 days after being shot.

Senior judges at the Court of Appeal said the convictions should be quashed "since we cannot be satisfied that either conviction was safe".

Lord Justice Davis said the safety of the convictions was undermined by the prosecution's star witness who claimed to have overheard the murder plans.

But evidence casting doubt on her reliability and "tendency to manipulation" was kept from defence lawyers before the trial, he added.

The Crown Prosecution Service said it would not be applying for a retrial.

"The murder convictions of the other three men are not affected by the ruling and they remain in prison," it added.

[dutchman]

Coventry man to receive "significant damages" after being wrongly jailed for six years



A Coventry man who was spent six years in jail for a crime he did not commit is to receive “significant damages” from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

Conrad Jones was acquitted at the Court of Appeal in 2014 of conspiring to pervert the course of justice during a murder trial into the 2005 death of Clinton Bailey in Coventry.

He had served six years of a 12-year sentence for attempting to bribe, threaten and intimidate a witness from giving evidence that would implicate his friends in the murder of Mr Bailey.

But during his appeal it emerged that the CPS had failed to disclose critical evidence which undermined the case against him.

Speaking after the CPS agreed to pay him damages, Mr Jones, of Wyken, said: “This has been a truly horrendous ordeal for me and for my family.

“As a result of being locked-up for six years’ for something I did not do, I suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder which has had a real impact on my day-to-day life.

“I’m grateful to my family and friends who have supported me through this ordeal and continue to support me, in particular my wife and two sons.

“I’d also like to say a huge thank you to all those people who have worked so hard to ensure that the truth came out about the way the CPS has behaved.

“They should never have purposefully withheld evidence and been able take away six years of my life.

“I am damaged by what has happened but I want to put it all behind me now and get on with the rest of my life in peace.”

Mr Jones’ legal team said the damages were “undisclosed” but “significant”. It has been reported elsewhere the payout is £100,000.

A CPS spokesperson said: “The CPS has agreed to settle Mr Jones’ civil claim without admission of liability.

“The terms of the settlement are confidential.”

[rebbonk]

Although relatively minor, it is cases like this that leave me against the death penalty.

We can compensate for someone's years behind bars, but we can't compensate after taking their life.

Our judicial system is adversarial rather than truth seeking.