News
Killer's family lodge complaint against police
February 2009
A FORMAL complaint has been lodged against Suffolk police by the family of convicted murderer Kevin Nunn who claim the force is withholding vital information needed to clear his name.
In 2006 Nunn was jailed for 22 years for the murder of Dawn Walker, whose semi-naked body was found burned beside the River Lark, near Bury St Edmunds, the year before.
Since that time, Nunn's family have sought to clear his name and put up £50,000 for any information that led to his conviction being quashed.
Nunn's sister Brigitte Butcher,near Bury St Edmunds, had asked Suffolk police for material relating to the conviction but to date none of the documents have been released, and the 40-day deadline has passed.
The material requested by Nunn's family are items which were not brought before the court during the original trial but Mrs Butcher believes they could help throw fresh light on the case.
And despite her correspondence with the police, Mrs Butcher says not only has the force failed to supply the requested material on time but also that she has been given no idea when they might be sent out in the future.
“Some of the list is complex, some is quite the opposite,” Mrs Butcher said. “I have not received either or have been given a time indication of when I can expect any item from the list of requested.”
As a result, Mrs Butcher has lodged complaints with both the force's own data protection team and the independent Information Commissioner's Office.
“Are the police authorities immune from the law?” asked Mrs Butcher. “We as individuals would be fined and put before a court of law.
“We have adhered to all the protocols set out and streamlined our requests for material relating to Kevin's wrongful conviction.
“To date Suffolk police have made excuse after excuse as to why we cannot have the documentation requested - we only want the truth, what have they got to hide if they are satisfied with his conviction?
“The family is not deluded or in denial, we just want proper justice for all concerned. We await the outcome in due course.”
A spokeswoman for the police said: "Suffolk Police acknowledge that this request has taken longer than the statutory period due to the nature and complexity of the requested information, and we have written to the individual to advise of the delay.
“We are continuing to work on this request.”
Read full story and comments here.
15 face charges over murder probe
Tuesday, 3 March 2009 BBC News/Wales
It became one of Britain's most notorious miscarriages of justice and in 1992 the convictions of the three jailed men - who became known as the Cardiff Three - were quashed and they were freed.
Fifteen people are to be charged over the investigation into the 1988 murder of Cardiff prostitute Lynette White.
They include nine retired police officers, three serving officers and one member of police staff.
For full details from BBC News Website click here
Wife-killer bids to clear name
February 2009
A FORMER RAF squadron leader convicted of murdering his wife has been released from prison after serving 11 years of a life sentence
For full details from the East Anglian Daily Times click here.
Police finally accept the existence of witness papers
Dominic Kennedy, Investigations Editor
February 20, 2009
The police force that investigated Eddie Gilfoyle for murder has accepted for the first time that police did take notes of interviews with officers who attended the scene of his wife’s hanging.
The notes were never shown to the jury in his trial for murder in 1993 and could prove vital to his defence.
For full details from The Times click here
Mistakes that convicted innocent babysitter
December 2008
Babysitter Suzanne Holdsworth - free today after a retrial - spent three years in prison after she was convicted in 2005 of murdering Kyle because of this simple logic: Kyle was essentially healthy, then he was killed. The simple logic was wrong.
Read full story here.
Rachel Nickell killing: Met apology a long time coming, says innocent Stagg
December 2008
Man who was charged and cleared over killing says he has forgiven case detectives but not profiler who accused him. Colin Stagg today received the apology from the Metropolitan police that he has waited 16 years to hear. "It has been a long time coming," the 45-year-old said.
Read full story here.
Students at Bristol University Help with Kevin's Miscarriage of Justice Case.
November 2008
The University of Bristol Innocence Project (UoBIP) is the first dedicated student-led Innocence Project in the UK, a pro bono legal clinic which teaches law through exposure to 'live-clients'. Established in January 2005, it was officially launched to coincide with the 2005 National Pro Bono week. The Project, which is part of the Innocence Network UK, is a collaborative venture of undergraduate law students working under academic supervision and guidance from local criminal solicitors, Kelcey and Hall. It is important to note that the UoBIP does not give legal advice as such. Rather, the solicitors provide possible avenues for further exploration. The students then investigate individual cases in pursuit of grounds for possible appeal and/or an application to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC).
Read more here.
Killer's mum wants to find 'accomplice'
20 October 2008
East Anglian Daily Times Newspaper
By Laurence Cawley
THE mother of a convicted murderer last night backed calls for the police to reopen the investigation to find his accomplice.
Salesman Kevin Nunn, 48, was jailed for 22 years for the murder of 37-year-old Dawn Walker and setting her body alight next to the River Lark near Bury St Edmunds in February 2005.
Miss Walker, of Fornham St Martin, had recently ended her two-year relationship with Nunn prior to her murder.
Throughout the trial it was claimed Nunn, formerly of Woolpit, had an accomplice, though a man accused of helping dispose of Miss Walker's body was acquitted during the case.
Last week the EADT revealed how Miss Walker's mother, Jean, was urging the police to reopen the case to try and find the accomplice in the killing.
That call was last night backed by Nunn's mother, Margaret, who vigorously maintains her son's innocence.
She said: “I welcome Mrs Walker's persistence with the police to find the accomplice. We as a family have been waiting for the past three years for an investigation into this.
“They could still be out there in the Suffolk countryside. We have actually put up a £50,000 reward - even if it means selling our home to raise that money - so we can have that inquiry.
“We want to know who that accomplice could have been. As a mother and a grandmother I want an investigation.
“I want the police to stop going into court and telling the jury there was an accomplice so they can get a conviction.”
Last week Mrs Walker, who lives in Bury St Edmunds, said: “I would call for the investigation to be reopened to find the person who helped him. We do wonder who the second person was and we do speak to them (the police) about it. I think given time they will catch the person who helped him.”
Like Mrs Nunn, Mrs Walker said whoever was responsible for helping dispose of her daughter's body was still at large and needed to be brought to justice.
A spokeswoman for Suffolk police said: “Kevin Nunn was convicted of the murder of Dawn Walker at Ipswich Crown Court in November 2006. There are no current lines of inquiry in this case.”
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Sandra Lean's, No Smoke, The shocking truth about the British Justice System, will open your eyes and hopefully your hearts to not only our plight but to the thousands of innocent men and women who have suffered and continue to suffer at the hands of British Justice.
