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Conference tallis::celt

Title:	Celt Notefile

Moderator:	TALLIS::DARCY

Created:	Wed Feb 19 1986
Last Modified:	Tue Jun 03 1997
Last Successful Update:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:	1632
Total number of notes:	20523

1054.0. "Judith Ward, UDR Four" by MACNAS::TJOYCE () Mon May 11 1992 10:49

    
    Good news today - it looks as if Judith Ward may be freed soon
    - perhaps even today.
    
    The Ward case is another is the last of that sorry collection of 
    cases that include the Birmingham Six and the Guildford Four. She
    was convicted of bombing a coach on the M1 Motorway that killed
    a number of British soldiers plus a woman and child. The conviction
    was based on her confessions plus the forensic evidence of (who else?) 
    Dr Frank Skuse, who also was involved in the other famous cases of 
    that era.
    
    In the appeal (currently in progress) the defence have used psychiatric
    evidence to show that Ms Ward was suffered from an hysterical
    personality disorder at the time of her arrest, was intensely
    suggestible and would basically have signed anything. The Crown agreed
    this morning that the conviction is "unsafe and unsatisfactory". This
    means Judith Ward may be freed today by the appeal judges.
    
    Paradoxically, the defence want to continue and tear the forensic
    evidence to shreds also, but if the conviction is unsafe, Ms Ward 
    should be freed immediately and the judges may take that view. This
    will also spare the crown further embarrassment. The third count
    for demanding release was the concealment of vital evidence from 
    the defence (e.g. a statement from a RUC man who interviewed Ward
    that he believed she was living in a fantasy world, and was innocent
    of the bombing.) The current Lord Chancellor, Taylor, (the equivalent
    of the Chief Justice in the USA or Ireland) was on the prosecution
    team for the Ward case!
    
    Heard this on the lunchtime news, reported from the Old Bailey by
    none other than one, Mr Nicky Kelly.
    
    Toby

T.R	Title	User	Date	Lines
1054.1	UDR 4	MACNAS::TJOYCE	`Mon May 11 1992 10:58`	25
	Another "cause celebre" that is little known outside Ireland is on at the moment - the UDR 4. These four men were convicted in 1986 of the 1983 murder of Sinn Feiner Adrian Carroll in Armagh. The men were all menbers of the UDR, names of Neal, Latimer, Hagen and Allen. Conviction was based on confessions given to the RUC, plus a visual sighting of Latimer in civilian clothing in the area of the murder. A fifth man who was charged was freed by the trial judge on the grounds that undue pressure had been put on him to confess. Like the Guildford Four and Birmingham Six cases, Electrostatic Data Analysis has shown that the polics notes and confessions were written at different times, thus casting doubt on them. Other evidence will cast doubt on the prosecution's only witness at the trial. The case has been highlighted by an active group of Unionists, including Ian Paisley's son, and all the Unionist MPs have supported it. The case was referred back to the Appeal Court by Mr. Peter Brooke last year, and it opens in Belfast today. Toby
1054.2	Judy Ward free	MACNAS::TJOYCE	`Tue May 12 1992 06:46`	35
	Judith Ward is indeed free - on bail, until her conviction is formally quashed later this week. Ludovic Kennedy, veteran advocate against miscarriages of justice, said this morning, that the Home Office is reviewing hundreds of convictions at the moment. Apparently, over 40 convictions have been quashed on appeal over the last two years. At least the British may be cleaning up their own mess at last. Another woman interviewed this morning spoke of how she and her brother were badly injured in the M62 coach bombing. They were only children at the time. This case has brought all her pain and bitterness to the surface again. Twenty-one people died in the Birmingham bombs, four more at Guildford. The real murderers are still at large. Never forget it. One of the disgusting things about these cases was the way the IRA were happy to let those convicted rot in gaol because they knew it took the heat off them. The IRA made no public statements about these cases until very late in the day. The police were happy because they could bask in public praise of having caught the guilty ones. The police tacitly conspiring with the IRA! If there ever was an "apalling vista", this was it. Of course, Sinn Fein would later jump on the bandwagon when it bacame fashionable to support the prisoners, and try to use them to stave off extradition. And to those who trumpet about "English racism against the Irish" in these notes, remember it was courageous English peoples like Chris Mullen MP, Robert Kee, Gareth Pierce, and Mike Mansfield QC who led the way in freeing the innocent. And in the beginning, they got little support on this side of the water! Toby