A Travesty of Justice

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A Travesty of Justice

Written by Satish Sekar

An Appalling Vista
“The truth is that more mischief hath come to good men, by these kind of approvements by false accusations of desperate villains, than benefit to the public by the discovery and conficting of real offenders,” wrote the eminent seventeenth century jurist, Sir Matthew Hale, who became Chief Justice of England. Sadly, Hale's insight remains as valid today as it was in 1650.

Dr Lin Russell, 45, and her daughter, Megan, 6, lost their lives as a result of having been brutally attacked by a hammer-wielding thug on July 9th 1996 down a country lane in Chillenden, Kent. Josie Russell was 9 when she was also viciously attacked. In time she made a marvellous recovery. Their dog, Lucy, was also killed by the thug. These crimes were truly appalling, so Kent Police came under great pressure to solve the crimes and quickly, but they failed to do so, as they had to wait until Josie could help their enquiries.

The National Crime and Operations Faculty (NCOF) was consulted to review the scientific evidence and establish if any investigative opportunities could be utilised. The results of its enquiries have never been disclosed. Weeks turned into months with no arrest as they waited to talk to Josie. DNA testing was established by then, but it wasn't yet the scientific weapon it would become and other techniques were not as finely tuned as now.

Discrepancies
The investigation had dragged on for the best part of a year as Josie slowly recovered. On May 1st 1997 she gave a recorded interview to police. Her recollections resulted in an E-fit that the head of the investigation, Dave Stevens, took very seriously, believing that he had a description of the killer. It bore no resemblance to Michael Stone, who was nearly ten years older, nearly half a foot shorter, did not have chubby cheeks and his hair-style didn't match either, yet two months later he was arrested and charged with the murders of Lin and Megan and attempted murder of Josie.

She did not identify Stone either. The crimes shocked the nation. Stone's story is now inextricably linked to what is now one of the most notorious crimes in recent British history, but the quality of the evidence against him remains woeful, regardless of the opinion of some appeal judges. While Josie's description of the killer did not match Stone, it resembled a man who would later be convicted of similar offences, Levi Bellfield.

Paucity of Credible Evidence
There was extensive publicity, which was crucial as the facts contained in Stone's 'confession' to self-confessed liar, habitual criminal, heroin addict and perjurer, Damien Daley, were in the public domain. Two other prisoners, Barry Thompson and Mark Jennings claimed that Stone had made admissions to them as well. Thompson later told journalists that he had lied in return for payment from a tabloid newspaper and Jennings received a pay-out too. Sheree Batt, claimed that she had seen Stone wearing a blood-stained tee-shirt around the time of the murder. She was later disowned by her mother for lying about this, but the case against Stone ultimately depended on Daley and his credibility.

Stone was convicted by majority verdict on October 23rd 1998 trial before Sir Ian Kennedy, but his convictions were quashed on February 8th 2001. By then Nigel Sweeney QC had taken over from previous prosecutor, Anne Rafferty QC, who had become Mrs Justice (Dame Anne) Rafferty. Thompson and Jennings were no longer remotely credible by then, so the case stood or fell on Daley. The judges soon decided that the conviction had to be quashed, but Sweeney won a retrial, arguing that the publicity had occurred around 1998 and 1999 and that some of it had been favourable to Stone anyway.

The Court of Appeal, headed by the Vice-President of the Queen's Bench, Lord Justice (Sir Paul) Kennedy, sitting with Mr Justice (Sir Maurice) Kay and Mrs Justice (Dame Heather) Hallett decided that Stone could still get a fair trial despite the publicity, so over five years after the horrendous crimes, Stone faced trial again, this time in the historic city of Nottingham.

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