Articles revealed in The Eye are written by a staff of contributors and edited by the multi-award profitable former BBC information and present affairs reporter, Phil Parry.
An image revealed on social media of two middle-aged males who spent greater than 11 years in jail for a homicide they didn’t commit, highlights once more the necessity for a authorized investigation into the behaviour of the largest police pressure in Wales, which was chargeable for a string of miscarriage of justice instances.
The {photograph} on Fb (FB) exhibits Ellis Sherwood and Mike O’Brien who at the moment are of their fifties, however the pair have been younger males, once they have been wrongly convicted of the killing.
Each now endorse a Media Convention (MC) to be held within the Autumn calling for a full judicial inquiry into the actions of South Wales Police (SWP) from the late Nineteen Eighties to the 2010s, due to the variety of miscarriages.
The MC about what has taken place in South Wales is on October 12 in Cardiff’s Norwegian Church Arts Centre at 11 am, and has been organised by Mr O’Brien (one of many so-called Cardiff Newsagent Three) to coincide with the homicide 35 years in the past of a newsagent within the metropolis, known as Phillip Saunders, for which he was wrongly incarcerated, earlier than his innocence was established.
Aside from this case, the checklist of different homicide miscarriage instances consists of, The Cardiff Three, The Darvell Brothers, Jonathan Jones, in addition to Annette Hewins, however this does NOT have on all of it those that have been convicted wrongly for much less necessary crimes, but who now have a report which can have an effect on them for the remainder of their lives.
There’s now a rising argument to scrap SWP altogether.
In the course of the Nineteen Nineties our Editor, Phil Parry, was often approached by solicitors saying that dangerous issues have been taking place in South Wales, and that one thing needed to be finished.
A few of those that have been falsely locked up will likely be talking on the MC, in addition to lecturers and authors who’ve examined what occurred.
Mr Parry will likely be speaking too, and a number of tv programmes have been made wanting on the latest occasions.
Earlier this 12 months, one other was broadcast inspecting Mr O’Brien’s story intimately.
The promotional materials earlier than the programme, declared: “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 surprising police threats and coercion that led to the arrest and incarceration of Michael O’Brien, Ellis Sherwood and Darren Corridor. After the boys had spent greater than a decade behind bars, a court docket enchantment quashed the unique verdict, however the unsolved case continues to hang-out the 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”.
Sky documentaries have been additionally broadcast earlier this 12 months, known as Homicide within the Valleys (MITV), wanting into the appalling Clydach murders in 1999, which isn’t (in principle) a miscarriage of justice case, though the person convicted of them (David ‘Dai’ Morris) died final 12 months nonetheless protesting his innocence.
Mr O’Brien, has been severely affected by being imprisoned for 11 years for one thing he didn’t do, and seems on MITV saying that he believes the conviction of Mr Morris is a FURTHER miscarriage of justice. He instructed the MITV documentary-makers: “Once I was launched from jail I keep 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 Mr Parry), Assistant Chief Constable 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 evaluation discovered traces of DNA on a sock which it’s believed was used to carry the homicide weapon, that have been “probably” to have come from Mr Morris, and SWP trumpeted the discovering. They successfully mentioned: ‘We all know we bought it flawed prior to now, however this time is completely different. Belief us’.
ACC Thorne acknowledged: “It’s secure to say we bought it flawed (prior to now). We completely bought it flawed.
“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”.
But Mr Parry had made a BBC Panorama tv programme concerning the Clydach Murders three years after that they had occurred, and he was the primary to query the police actions through the investigation.
As he mentioned within the opening of the programme: “One police pressure in Britain has a disturbing report of locking up the flawed individuals in homicide instances”.
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 virtually 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, nonetheless at essential hours through the murders his whereabouts have been unknown.
He was driving a crimson Peugeot diesel, and a automotive just like this was noticed close to the homicide scene.
So to say the E-Match was ‘not related’, appeared weird 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 are able to’t manufacture proof”.
However occasions earlier than the murders, confirmed that SWP have finished EXACTLY that.
To take simply a type of instances (during which Mr Parry 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, they usually introduced earlier than the court docket ‘EVIDENCE’ that the group had run from the scene, however one of many three had dangerous legs and couldn’t run in any respect.
Now extra proof is coming to gentle, within the form of a image on FB of two males who spent years in jail wrongly convicted of homicide, placing centre stage because it does the necessity for a judicial inquiry into the behaviour of SWP, which was chargeable for the miscarriage of justice instances…
The reminiscences of Phil’s a long time lengthy award-winning profession in journalism (together with among the miscarriages of justice he has uncovered) as he was gripped by the uncommon neurological situation, Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia (HSP), have been launched in a significant e book ‘A GOOD STORY’. Order it now!
Publication of one other e book, nonetheless, was refused, as a result of it was to have included names.
