Beyond Innocence (30 page)

“When this, the Clarkson case, came to trial, the prosecution stressed they were not offering any DNA evidence against my client, relying instead on the perjured evidence before you.”

“Later, during the appeal hearing, the prosecution were allowed to introduce DNA evidence taken from the underwear of the dead women, and according to their expert this new evidence proved to match the sample from my client which had not been destroyed. I respectfully submit that this piece of gross deception was a breach of the rights of my client under article six of The Human Rights Act.”

“During this appeal, and as you will see from the transcripts before you, the counsel for the prosecution stated, and I quote, ‘With this new evidence which was not available at the murder trial, it was just as if Harry Thompson had gone to the police and confessed to the crime. I respectfully submit that this serves to underline that breach of my client’s human rights because, under Article Six of the said Act all people, not just my client but all people have a right to silence, and this right, was taken from my client.”

“In making this appeal, I must now refer your Lordships to the recent ruling in the European Courts, which ruled that all people had a fundamental right to silence, and the exercise of this basic right should not be held against them in any court of law.”

“In conclusion, may I say if you find in favour of my client on this basic issue, I trust you will bear in mind my earlier remarks regarding the perjured evidence, produced at the trial, which weighed so heavily against him.”

As Irene sat down, Sir Gordon Nuttall-Jones rose from his seat. He cast a long look around the court which took in their lordships who were waiting for him to begin. He cleared his throat quite loudly, as if he needed to summon all eyes upon him, then rather tentatively, he began, “Your Lordships, You have just heard from my learned friend that much of the evidence presented at the trial of her client was perjured, and false. With the benefit of hindsight, which none of us had at the time of the trial, and after reading the evidence produced in support of this, I have to say without any hesitation, I agree with her. I need hardly say more than, if this had been known at the time of the trial, then it is highly unlikely her client would have been found guilty of anything, let alone murder. In these circumstances, however, that would have constituted an even bigger travesty of justice because a murderer would have been found not guilty.

“It is only now, with the superior knowledge available to the forensic scientists, that human samples can be taken from clothing and analysed. In this case, samples of semen, collected from the undergarments of the deceased women, were found to match a sample from Harry Thompson which proves conclusively that he was at the murder scenes and it is impossible for him to deny it. Quite simply, those facts cannot lie.”

“Whilst I can support the Human Rights Act as being an important piece of legislation, albeit long overdue, I must plead with your Lordships that the interpretation which you are being asked to place upon it today borders upon the ridiculous. Here we have open and shut cases, proving that a person who may well have escaped punishment in the first instance due to the circumstances already stated, may well be acquitted simply because somebody did not ask him, or his defence team, whether or not his sample could be used in another test. Obviously, I need hardly point out, had this same test been available from the start, then this issue could not have arisen and my learned friend’s client would be stuck behind bars where he clearly belongs.”

“All I can say is, if you find for the defence on this issue, it will be a very sad day indeed for British justice.” As he sat down, he looked across at Irene and the look on his face said it all.

Irene sat there listening impassively. She made no move to object to anything which had been said by Sir Gordon, she knew she could have stepped in when Sir Gordon remarked about her client being at the scene, but this wasn’t the time, or the moment. First, and foremost, there was still work to be done regarding other people, and other suspects so, for the time being it was simply one step at a time.

With the legal arguments, and submissions, out of the way, it was up to their Lordships to consider their verdict. The chairman was the first to leave, closely followed by his fellow members, then the protagonists slowly drifted away from the chamber and the building. Without being over-confident, Irene was in an ebullient mood. She thought things had, more or less, gone her way and, because of the ruling in the European courts on the Hurst case there was an established legal precedent already on the books. Therefore, she was reasonably certain that their Lordships would rule in favour of her client. She also knew she could show that there was no material or credible evidence, which could be shown against Harry in relation to the first charge of murdering Diane Wilson and his conviction on this charge was decidedly unsafe. In this case, all anybody had to go on was the fact they had sex at some time during that day, and later that day she was subsequently and mysteriously killed.”

When their Lordships returned to deliver their verdict, although all persons present studied their faces intently, none of them gave any clue regarding their deliberations. The presiding judge sat down, and after ensuring his colleagues were also seated, he began, “These appeals have proved to be extremely trying in that my learned colleagues and myself believe that, even though the defence have shown, quite rightly I might add, that a right to silence exists we feel it is not beyond criticism when applied to appeals of this nature. However, we have to add that, in these cases, had the prosecution done their homework properly and had they followed their own promise to destroy all of the samples provided, then, we do not think we would be here today. Now, it is not incumbent upon us to criticise the defence for bringing this action, albeit due to a loophole, provided in chief by the prosecution, but in delivering our verdict, we do so in the hope we are not merely opening the floodgates for cases of a similar nature.”

“As there are two issues before us, it stands to reason that we shall deliver two judgments, and these are as follows.

“In the case of Angela Clarkson, we subscribe to the view that at the original trial, the evidence of the prosecution was so tainted by perjury, and falsehood, no jury in the land would have found Thompson guilty without that tainted evidence. In this case, we have to bear in mind, at the time of the trial there was no DNA evidence linking the defendant to the victim, so we must conclude Thompson should have been found not guilty of the murder of Angela Clarkson. This verdict is unanimous, and in addition, we have reached the conclusion that, at the appeal of this case, the accused’s right to silence, under article six of the Act, had been violated, and the new evidence should not have been admitted. However, we are sure, if the appeal judges had possessed the evidence of perjury and falsehood, there is no doubt in our minds that their Lordships would have reached the same conclusions as ourselves.”

“With hindsight, we now know the crown have turned up new evidence, which would tend to indicate the possible guilt of the accused but as we all know, a person cannot be tried twice for the same crime.”

The excitement within the defence team was reaching unbearable levels as the implications of the judge’s verdict began to sink in, and they waited with baited breath for the next judgement as the judge continued,

“In the case of the murder of Diane Wilson we are drawn to a different conclusion. By a majority decision we were unable to agree that there are sufficient grounds to declare that verdict unsafe. I need hardly remind anybody here, in this case, after discounting the false confession, all anybody has to go on is the fact that Harry Thompson was probably the last person to see this young girl alive apart from her killer. It is fair to say here, the police were totally unable to link her disappearance and subsequent death with any other living person. In this case, the accused admitted quite freely that, after sex, they quarrelled, and it is on this basis alone, we think the police were quite correct to establish a prima facie case against Thompson. In this trial the DNA evidence was not called into question, presumably on the basis that, if Thompson admitted to having sex with the girl, and his sample matched that taken from her, then, it was indeed his. Now, we are faced with the vexed question of the discovery of samples taken from her clothing. Evidence which was not available at the trial, and we have to ask ourselves how did it get there? Was it during intercourse, immediately afterwards or some other time? Does this discovery violate Thompson’s right to silence? The answer to that is, by a majority decision we think that it does, and we also rule his right to silence had already been breached at his original trial. In fairness, we have to say this is where we feel this Act falls down and it is a cause of great concern to us here. With the benefit of hindsight, we can all sit in judgment, but who would have thought that, at the outset of the original trial, the use of Thompson’s DNA in the Wilson case would be ruled invalid at a later date simply because his sample had been specifically donated for testing in the Clarkson case. We hasten to add, had another sample been obtained, and tested this defence, and our ruling here today, would not have been possible.”

In court, the atmosphere was pure electric. Nobody in their wildest dreams could have predicted any such outcome. Despite repeated calls for order, it took quite some time before order was restored, and the judge was able to continue,

“If there are any more outbursts of this nature, I shall clear the court without a moment’s hesitation. These are very serious issues which are being decided here, and, they go right to the heart of British Justice.”

“Before I conclude this verdict, both my learned colleagues and I are of the opinion that the papers on this case should be sent to the presiding judge hearing the case against the prisoner Chambers, as he may feel, as a result of that person’s contribution in coming forward voluntarily before the appeal court to admit he had been forced to perjure himself, then some reduction in his sentence might be called for.”

The presiding judge then turned to Harry and, addressed him as follows, “Young man, it goes without saying that you will be released from custody with immediate effect, but I hasten to add, you will have to live with your conscience for a long time to come. I am sure you will realise your release, from years of incarceration, is due solely to the diligence and expertise of your defence counsel. You are indeed a very fortunate young man to have found such a very able person to defend you.”

Once the judges had left the chamber it was sheer pandemonium. All the reporters, and photographers, jostled each other for pictures, and statements, and it was with great difficulty they reached the sanctuary of one of the inner interview rooms. Everybody was in a tremendous state of euphoria, for a few moments nobody could speak. Then, as the mood gradually subsided, it seemed as though everybody wanted to speak at once. Eventually, they all gave way to Irene, who was, without doubt the heroine of the hour.

Irene’s address was short and sweet, “To everybody here who has worked so hard on behalf of Harry and myself, all I can say is we are all totally indebted to you. When we finally leave here, let me warn you we saw nothing here compared to the reception which awaits us once we venture outside. All I ask is, we try to keep the press away from Harry as much as possible, and we get into the cars with utmost speed to try to put some distance between us, and them. I know it’s difficult for the press, but they will have ample time later to get their stories, besides which, they will all be very busy right now sending off the results of the appeal.”

“I know this is a time for celebration, and everybody wants to have a word or two from Harry, but first of all can you leave Harry in the capable hands of myself, and Michael Mulrooney. We both have something to say to him which can’t wait, which we hope will have a significant bearing on the events which have just taken place.”

Harry wondered what on earth was going on as everybody vacated the room leaving him in the company of his principal defence team. As the door closed behind them, Michael leaned against it as Irene spoke to Harry.

“Harry, as of now you are a free man but Michael and I have to tell you this is not quite the end. Although you’ve gained your freedom on what will, without doubt, be called a technicality, legally there is nothing anybody can do about it, but we have to tell you it’s a rod you might not have to bear for the rest of your life. We can’t guarantee anything at this stage although we are more than hopeful that we will clear your name. First of all, we have to tell you that until a few months ago you had a twin brother.”

Harry looked at Irene, and Michael. It was quite apparent this news was coming as a complete shock, and it was very visible in his facial expression, and body language. He put his hand on the table in order to steady himself and prepare for whatever came next, as Irene continued, “I know this is coming as a complete shock, but, we’ve got to get all this out of the way before we leave here. Your mother, when she became pregnant, continued to ovulate, and she also became pregnant with your twin brother Anthony. In medical terms, this is a very rare occurrence. It’s known as a staggered birth. For a moment now, I want you to think about the state your mother must have been in at the time. Being pregnant outside of marriage was one thing, and to give birth to twins was even worse, but to conceive twice like this, with all the attendant and unwanted publicity, it was too much for your poor mother to bear. This is why you were given up for adoption then, following a pact with the doctor who attended your birth, she went home to tell her husband to be that she was expecting his child. Four weeks after giving birth to you, she came back to hospital to give birth to your brother, Anthony, after which, she and her fiancée, got married.”

I have to tell you it wasn’t the happiest of marriages, due mainly in part to your father resenting the fact, to some extent, he had been forced into the marriage, so there were frequent flare ups involving your mother and your brother. She could see Harry was becoming decidedly nervous, and it was quite apparent, he was more than anxious to find out who his actual parents were. She deliberately paused for a moment, urging him to sit down, saying as she did so, “I’m afraid it doesn’t get much better, Harry, so please be patient with me.”