Killer Simon Hall: More On Innocence Fraud Killers & Their Deceptive Enablers, Including Stephanie Bon, Michael Naughton, Andrew Green, Kevin McMahon, Billy Middleton, Sandra Lean, Barbara Stone & United Against Injustice – Part 17e©️  



Joan Albert’s Killer.
Photograph of Simon Hall taken whilst at large and wanted by Suffolk police for a sexually motivated murder

Andrew Green

A few days prior to Stephanie Bon’s correspondence with Michael Naughton, which was referred to in Part 17a (Tap on button below to read more), Stephanie Bon emailed Andrew Green at the INNOCENT organisation, CC’ing in Michael Naughton.

Andrew Green

United Against Injustice

Andrew Green who says he is a “criminologist” co-founded the Manchester based INNOCENT organisation in 1993 and went on to also co-found United Against Injustice (UAI) with Ann Craven, the mother of Adrian Craven who was convicted for rape.

Andrew Green claimed Adrian Craven was “fully exonerated” for his rape but Innocence Fraud Watch has found no evidence to support this claim.

Kevin McMahon

Kevin McMahon

Kevin McMahon who was convicted of perverting the course of justice for pressurising a witness in the trial of Basil Williams-Rigby who was convicted for “sexual offences”, was also said to be a co-founder of United Against Injustice.

Kevin McMahon was also the founder of Merseyside Against Injustice.

NOTE: Adrian Craven and Basil Williams-Rigbys convictions were deemed “unsafe” by the court of appeal.

Neither men proved their actual, factual innocence.

It states here that Kevin McMahon “is a film producer and former member of the Royal Military Police and Special Branch”.

And it states here that Kevin McMahon “has been an active campaigner for over 25 years, his advice has been sought in many individual and high profile miscarriages of justice cases”.

A video published to vimeo which is said to have been produced by Kevin McMahon, titled ‘In Search Of The Truth’, can be viewed here.

Screenshot of end credits to Kevin McMahon’s ‘film

Un-Convicted Baby Killer Billy Middleton

The vimeo video here includes brief footage of un-convicted baby killer Billy (William) Middleton who set up the now defunct Wrongly Accused Person (WAP) website.

The Wrongly Accused Person website went on to become the Wrongly Accused Person (WAP) organisation, after Billy Middleton and Sandra Lean registered it as a charity.

Sandra Lean

Sandra Lean became a partner alongside Billy Middleton for the WAP organisation.

Billy Middleton was another abusive enabler and gaslighter of actual, factual guilty killer Simon Hall’s fraudulent public relations spin campaign.

Screenshot of one of unconvicted child killer Billy Middleton’s social media posts

Prior to Sandra Lean’s partnership with Billy Middleton, Sandra had been the Scottish representative for the INNOCENT organisation.

Peter Hill

Peter Hill removed his original event post from the world wide web but some of the following could once be found using this link http://www.raybrook.co.uk/event.htm;

Parliament House is just off the High Street, beside St Giles Cathedral – it’s not down beside the new Parliament Building at Holyrood. I’m rubbish at directions, and I’m sure someone will come up with better than this, but the easiest way I know is, from the railway station, go up the North Bridge to the junction where High Street/Royal Mile meet North Bridge, turn right up High Street, and it’s on your left, five or 6 openings up. 

It would be great to see lots of contributors to the forum there, but please remember to contact one of the organisers and get your name on the guest list to avoid security problems. 

John Scott: johndscott@talk21.com

Iain McKie: iainmckie1@talktalk.net

Peter Hill: peter.hill@raybrook.co.uk

The preliminary work in organizing this initiative has been done by: 
John Scott
John is the leading civil rights solicitor in Scotland. He is the Chairman of the Scottish Human Rights Centre. 
Iain McKie 
Iain is a retired police officer. His interest in law reform springs largely from the problems that his daughter Shirley encountered when she was a police officer, which led to an official inquiry. More details of this can be found at www.shirleymckie.com 
Sandra Lean
Sandra is a writer on miscarriages of justice. She is the Scottish representative of INNOCENT. Her book No Smoke contains research on a dozen cases of miscarriage of justice in particular the controversial case of Luke Mitchell. 
Peter Hill 
Peter, now retired, was the producer of the BBC TVs programme Rough Justice. In Scotland he has worked on the case of George Beattie for 25 years, taking it to two appeals. 

Source

Sandra Lean was another abusive enabler and gaslighter of killer Simon Hall’s fraudulent public relations spin campaign.

Perverting The Course Of Justice

Kevin McMahon perverted the course of justice a few months after the launch of his campaigning group.

A June 2004 article by Cheshire live headed Ex-policeman ‘claimed to be private detective’ reported on Kevin McMahon’s behaviour and subsequent arrest in January 2002.

Excerpts read;

Mr Vardon has alleged that on December 11 2002, McMahon visited the witness unannounced and attempted to convince him to make a retraction statement.

The witness contacted the police and officers arranged for the man to be wearing a recording device for the next meeting with McMahon.

Mr Vardon has claimed McMahon returned to his house on December 12 and suggested he was working for Williams-Rigby’s solicitor, Christopher Saltrese.

The court heard that McMahon told the witness, who is a heroin addict and convicted thief, it was in his financial interest to drop the charges.

Mr Vardon said McMahon suggested to him that he should say he had wrongly identified his abuser.

The court heard that McMahon was arrested on January 28 last year.

Excerpts from a 17th of June 2002 article by Cheshire Live headed Ex-policeman ‘claimed to be private detective’

Merseyside Against Injustice was launched in October 2001 and a sister of sadistic serial killer and psychopath Michael Stone, also known as Michael John Goodban, spoke at the launch.

Barbara Stone

Barbara Stone promoted her brother’s innocence fraud public relations spin campaign.

Barbara Stone also set up the now defunct group Kent Against Injustice.

Neil Wilby stated in his June 2020 blog headed Dr Truthseeker loses her moral compass that Andrew Green “was driven out in 2016” from the United Against Injustice organisation.

Note: Neil Wilby also stated in his blog Dr Truthseeker loses her moral compass in relation to a secondary victim of killer Simon Hall’s, namely Stephanie (Hall), that she is “a regular miscarriage of justice commentator”. Stephanie (Hall) is a “regular commentator” on the innocence fraud phenomenon and the killers, rapists, fraudsters and con artists and their deceptive enablers, who choose to perpetuate it.

Link to Part 17f here

Killer Simon Hall: The Very Real Innocence Fraud Phenomenon, The Cult-Like “Wrongful Conviction” Movement, The CCRC, John Curtis, Michael J Naughton, Campbell Malone, Correna Platt, Keir Starmer, Simon Spence, BBC’s Rough Justice, Jon Robins, Emily Bolton & Clive Stafford Smith (Part 19g)©️

I think it’s clear that exonerations can be the result of fraud or misconduct on the part of post-conviction activists and litigators

John M Collins Jr

The majority of the people in the cult-like “wrongful conviction” movement will not acknowledge or address the innocence fraud phenomenon.

Not only do these people seem to not want to acknowledge and address this very real phenomenon, they do not to want to recognise and address their own failures and errors.

The majority of the people and organisations who were once associated with killer Simon Hall’s fraudulent public relations (PR) spin campaign and innocence fraud did not, and do not, appear to posses the humility to admit they were wrong or how, why and where exactly they went wrong.

Current Labour leader Keir Starmer

Keir Starmer Makes The Evidence Disappear

Before becoming the director of public prosecutions and head of the crown prosecution service (CPS) in 2008, the now leader of the labour party Keir Starmer appeared in the last ever BBC Rough Justice TV show.

The Rough Justice TV show was called The Innocents’ Brief and aired in April 2007 and featured the case of actual, factual guilty killer Simon Hall.

During the TV show Keir Starmer stated the following;

Simon Hall’s case is really peculiar because there is no particular reason to believe he is guilty of this offence.

The one crucial link is the fibre evidence.

Break this and the case disappears

Labour MP Keir Starmer via Rough Justice TV show – April 2007

On the 23rd of November 2006 Bristol university students had met with Keir Starmer at Doughty Street Chambers in London where “he raised an issue regarding the absence of statistical probabilities in the fibre evidence given by Judith Cunnison.

Why didn’t Keir Starmer point out to the students that killer Simon Hall and the Hall family’s concoctions were a “crucial” part of the case against Simon Hall?

Campbell Malone

Campbell Malone

Campbell Malone, who was Simon Hall’s solicitor also appeared in the BBC Rough Justice TV show.

The following year Linda Tsang wrote a media article which was headed Lawyer of the week: Campbell Malone and asked Campbell Malone the following question;

What was your worst day as a lawyer?

Linda Tsang

Campbell Malone’s response was;

There have been a few.

It’s losing those cases you believe should not have been lost. The outstanding convictions of Susan May and Eddie Gilfoyle have to rank among the worst unresolved miscarriages of justice there have been.

And to lose those cases in the Court of Appeal, when there were compelling arguments as to why the convictions should have been quashed, still deeply troubles me.

But I know those cases will eventually come back before the Court of Appeal.

Campbell Malone – from article by Linda Tsang for The Times headed Lawyer of the week: Campbell Malone dated the 20th May 2008

Hilda Marchbank (89) was murdered by her niece Susan May on the 11th of March 1992 and Paula Gilfoyle (32), who was 8 1/2 months pregnant at the time, was murdered on the 4th of June 1997 by her husband Eddie Gilfoyle.

The killers of Hilda Marchbank and Paula Gilfoyle have both been unsuccessful at the court of appeal and both killers fraudulent public relations campaigns and cases, bare all the hallmarks of the innocence fraud phenomenon.

Criminal Cases Review Commission

Three months before the criminal cases review commission’s (CCRC) announcement that they were referring killer Simon Hall’s murder conviction back to the court of appeal (CoA), Campbell Malone was quoted by the Guardian;

“What worries me is that to an unusually substantial degree this case turns on one area of evidence – fibre evidence” said Hall’s lawyer, Campbell Malone.

“There are, on the one hand, other potential explanations for the transfer of the fibres, and there are question marks about the reliability of the fibre evidence that we would expect to support it, which has troubled me.

Also, we are aware that there has been continuing research in the approach to be taken with fibre evidence, which has moved on from the way that evidence was gathered and presented in [Hall’s] case”

Campbell Malone via an article by Natalie Hanman for the Guardian dated the 21st of July 2009

Campbell Malone was described on Twitter as “our appeals supremo” by Stephensons solicitors, following the CCRC’s announcement that they had referred Simon Hall’s murder conviction back to the CoA in 2009;

A 2010 media article quoted Campbell Malone;

This is a worrying conviction based almost exclusively on fibre evidence.

“There is no doubt this was a violent murder, but we believe fresh evidence now emerging points away from Simon.

It follows that someone else was responsible and we would ask anyone with information to call us on 01942 777777”

By Tom Parkes* for the Colchester Gazette article headed
Convicted of murder…but ‘innocent’ man seeks freedom dated the 16th of March 2010

Note: *Tom Parkes article falsely stated that Simon Hall’s then wife Stephanie (Hall) “met him when they both worked at a company in East Hill, Colchester”. Simon Hall met Stephanie Bon at a company in East Hill, Colchester not Stephanie (Hall).

Correna Platt

Correna Platt who trained under Campbell Malone, began representing killer Simon Hall after Campbell’s semi retirement just before Simon Hall’s appeal was heard in December 2010.

Correna Platt

Corenna Platt made a statement following the court of appeals decision to uphold Simon Hall’s murder conviction;

His legal team are concerned by the approach taken by the Court in coming to this decision.

It was agreed by all that this conviction rested entirely on expert evidence relating to fibre evidence and there is much other evidence that pointed away from Simon’s guilt. 

Corenna Platt of Stephenson’s solicitors here

Simon Spence

Simon Spence

As questioned in previous Parts of the this blog series, it is still not known why Simon Spence seemingly did not point out to the CoA judges that the CCRC had cherry picked from the prosecutions closing speech from killer Simon Hall’s February 2003 trial.

The CCRC, and seemingly the CoA judges were seen to be able to magic away the Hall families “concocted” evidence, which again Graham Parkin the prosecution barrister had stated during the February 2003 was “woven into the general framework of the case”.

Jon Robins

Jon Robins

Four months before the innocence fraud scam related to actual, factual guilty killer Simon Hall began to unravel, Jon Robins published an article to his website under the header Wrongly accused: a need for ‘imagination and outrage, which also included statements made by Campbell Malone;

“We’re back where we were in the late 1980s”, argued Campbell Malone, the veteran defence lawyer and miscarriage of justice campaigner at a debate in Manchester last week. 

“We have a conservative and cautious Court of Appeal which has a deep-rooted scepticism of what they regard as the miscarriage of justice industry. That is supported by a lack of interest in the media”.

Campbell Malone, a consultant with Stephensons solicitors, was talking at the second debate about Wrongly accused: Who is responsible for investigating miscarriages of justice?

By Jon Robins for the Justice Gao article headed dated

Two Months Before The Innocence Fraud Scam Began To Unravel

Campbell Malone continued to act as a “criminal appeals consultant” for Stephensons solicitors and published a blog in September 2012, two months before killer Simon Hall and Jamie Barker’s Zenith Windows burglary became known about by his then wife Stephanie (Hall).

Stephensons solicitors indicated to Stephanie (Hall) that killer Simon Hall’s Zenith Windows burglary “omission” would not alter Simon’s “position” as an appellant.

Emily Bolton and husband Clive Stafford Smith

Campbell Malone’s blog was headed Where lies the truth in criminal defence cases? and included a reference to Clive Stafford Smith, husband of Emily Bolton who has promoted the innocence fraud of people like violent rapist and con man Andrew (Andy) Malkinson.

Tap on the button below for the index to the ongoing blog series on violent rapist Andrew Malkinson and his spin campaign;

Campbell Malone’s blog also made reference to a book headed “Where Lies the Truth” by Michael O’Connell, as well as the conviction of George Kelly, who murdered Leonard Thomas and John Catterall in 1949 and was executed on 28 March 1950.

The CCRC also referred George Kelly’s murder conviction was also referred to the CoA, who quashed his conviction posthumously, deeming his conviction ‘unsafe’.

An unsafe conviction however does not equate to factual innocence and it’s possible the CCRC used the same (or similar) deceptive tactics they used when they referred Simon Hall’s murder conviction in 2009.

Towards the end of 2012 Simon Hall decided to dispose of the services of his solicitor Corenna Platt and Michael Naughton from Bristol university became his representative instead.

It was during the time that Michael Naughton represented killer Simon Hall, that his factual guilt to his murder of Joan Albert began to unravel and was eventually exposed.

John Curtis

John Curtis ~ Case review manager at the criminal cases review commission

In 2015 John Curtis, who was the CCRC’s case review manager for killer Simon Hall, wrote an article which was shamefully headed Righting Wrongs.

John Curtis stated on the CCRC;

The Commission’s contribution to society is important.

Miscarriages of justice remain a reality, as are the challenges to the organisation charged with their investigation

Excerpt by John Curtis for Counsel magazine article headed Righting wrongs dated the 12th of January 2015

In 2016 Corenna Platt went on to take part in a two part BBC TV show called Conviction: Murder at the Station with Louise Shorter, which promoted the innocence fraud of Paula Poulton’s killer.

Link to Part 19h here

Killer Simon Hall: Bristol University’s Innocence Fraud Phenomenon Groomer Michael Naughton, Empowering Guilty Murderers, Lynne Hall, Shaun Hall, Bernie & David, Transference, Car Insurance Evidence, Phone Log Records, Phoebe Grant & Even More Questions For Murderers Enabler Stephanie Bon – Part 19f©️

Following the exposure of Simon Hall’s actual, factual guilt to his murder of Joan Albert and less than a month before his suicide, he stated;

I always took girls home for Lynne’s approval and it was always the same.

I don’t know why I did that.

I remember she used to call one girl, who I got on really well with “Horseface”.

Yeah, imagine that.

“Oh you can do better than that flat-chested horse face girl”.

I liked her but Lynne’s disapproval or anyone’s disapproval in some cases got in the way of what I wanted.

I’ve always done that.

That links to my cowardice and lack of back-bone, but I’ll come back to that.

Simon Hall – 28th January 2014

In another letter Simon Hall stated;

It’s hard to swallow that my family, who were fighting for credits when I was “innocent” are nowhere now that the truth is out.

A fairweather family?

I know Shaun f**ked me up.

I know he knows it too but I bet he plays that down to whoever he has told.

Remember Lynne said it was 6 of one, half a dozen of other?

I think Shaun’s abuse delayed my physical maturity, as well as my emotional growth.

This book I’ve got is really laying it all out for me.

Bernie and David.

The Hall’s.

There’s quotes from conversations with convicted prisoners that strikes as similar.

One guy hates his mother so much but could never hit her because of the hold she had, so he transferred it to others.

That is me.

It explains something else doesn’t it?

Simon Hall – 9th February 2014
Lynne Hall

Stephane Bon told the police that she first met Simon Hall “around August or September 2001”.

However Simon did not start working at State Chemicals in Colchester until the 24th of September 2001.

Stephanie Bon also told the police that when she first met Simon she was “seeing a colleague from” her office but that she and Simon would “flirt with each other too”.

Also according to Stephanie Bon’s evidence, Simon often told Stephanie how he was allegedly having “problems with his relationship which at the time was to a girl called Zoe”.

Stephanie Bon also claimed that Simon and Zoe “often had arguments over the phone, if Simon was late or had not called her”.

It is not clear from Stephanie Bon’s evidence on what dates and times exactly she was referring to.

Although Stephanie Bon’s evidence suggests the reason Simon Hall “often had arguments over the phone and was late or had not called Zoe” was because Simon was with Stephanie Bon at the time.

Did Stephanie Bon Loan Simon Hall Money

On the 9th of October 2001 Simon Hall contacted his car insurance company to change cover from his Volkswagen Golf insurance to a Ford Fiesta 1.1 popular plus car.

According to the evidence, this change would have reduced Simon’s policy cost and “the difference being approximately sixty pounds (£60) in his favour but the refund would take up to six weeks to process and that in the interim he would still be required to continue his direct debit payments”.

The evidence of the car insurance agent was that Simon Hall had asked for the £60 refund to be paid to him “immediately”, suggesting Simon was either low on money or had no money by the 9th of October 2001.

The evidence was that Simon Hall contacted the insurance company “the following day and instructed that the policy revert back to the Volkswagon Golf”.

Again Stephanie Bon’s evidence to the police was;

Around October 2001, Simon and I became an item.

He used to stay at my house in Colchester, regularly, as it was so much more convenient for work.

Over time he left various items at my house, so he (sic) changes of clothes and wash things.

I would describe our relationship as generally good, we did argue occasionally, but nothing significant

Excerpts from Stephanie Bon’s police witness statement dated 4th September 2002

Stephanie Bon made no mention to the police of a Ford Fiesta 1.1 popular plus car but she did mention Simon “buying a black Audi”.

Stephanie Bon stated;

Both working for the company we were insured to drive the company cars.

I had not passed my test and was having difficulties with my instructor, so Simon offered to give me some driving lessons.

I remember he originally had a Volkswagen Golf, which he sold.

He then got a company white Saxo car, which we both drove.

Simon used to encourage me to drive and we would go out at lunch times, or after work when I would drive him back to my house.

I also remember Simon buying a black Audi, although I think he had problems with thar car too, and didn’t drive it much

Excerpts from Stephanie Bon’s police witness statement dated 4th September 2002

Stephanie Bon however omitted to tell the police that she had been with Simon Hall on the Wednesday the 12th of December and that the pair of them had driven to Haverhill in Suffolk to view and pay for Simon’s new black Audi motor vehicle.

The police asked Simon during his interview following his arrest how much he had paid for the car and Simon had stated £450.

After Simon Hall was charged by Suffolk police for his murder of Joan Albert, he did go on to clarify via his proof of evidence statement, that the man he had sold his Volkswagen Golf car to “had already given Simon a cash payment” which “in turn” he had used to pay for the Audi on the Wednesday.

It is not known if Stephanie Bon had also loaned Simon Hall some money around this time to go towards buying the car on the Wednesday (12th December) because Simon told the police he was not due to receive his wages until the 15th.

Why Didn’t Simon Hall Telephone Stephanie Bon Until Monday?

Again Stephanie Bon’s evidence was;

On Saturday the 15th of December 2001 I remember being at home in Colchester with my brother and old flat mate, Lionel *****, who lived at the house for a year.

We remained in all night and I clearly remember this time, as I was meant to be going to a family meal the following day.

On the Sunday Simon was off for a meal with relatives and asked me to go along as well.

I instantly agreed, looking forward to meeting the rest of the family but, unfortunately Simon did not get around to asking his mum until it was too late.

By the time Simon asked Lynne, there was not enough room at the table and I was unable to go along

This had annoyed me and I remember questioning whether the relationship was worth continuing with.

I believe Simon said he was going out with some friends on the Saturday night, although I am not sure

Excerpts from Stephanie Bon’s police witness statement dated 4th September 2002

It is still not known if the reason Simon Hall went back to Lynne and Phil’s home for an hour on the Saturday to shower and change his clothes, was because Simon and Stephanie Bon had argued on the Friday and Stephanie had possibly booted Simon, as well as his belongings, out of her Colchester home.

Below are extracts from one of killer Simon Hall’s police interviews, where the police were asking him who he had contacted on Saturday the 15th of December (Read more in Part 9a here);

  • Dc 1023 Alright, yeah. Alright. Was there anybody else you contacted that evening at all? You talked about previously er text facilities and things like that
  • Simon Yeah. I may have contacted Scott at the Woolpack, that may have led me to want to go there
  • Dc 1023 Right
  • Simon Would have been a karaoke because they are good. Phew! Top of my head I can’t think about. No, I’d spoken to Stephanie as well
  • Dc 1023 Hmm mm
  • Simon Or Oli, Olivier (inaudible)
  • Dc 1023 Yeah
  • Dc 1023 Was that Stephanie Bon?
  • Simon Erm
  • Simon Yeah
  • Dc 1023 And that will, and that. And you would have used your mobile phone again on that night?
  • Simon Yeah
  • Dc 1023 It’s obvious we’re talking about the same night. I apologise for that. So you would have rung them on their mobile or landline?
  • Simon Their mobile
  • Dc 1023 Their mobile
  • Simon I don’t know whether I did or I didn’t so

Notice how Simon Hall initially told the police he had “spoken to” Stephanie Bon, then stated “or Oli, Olivier” (Stephanie Bon’s brother) but then added “I don’t know whether I did or I didn’t so”.

Phone call logs show Simon Hall did not telephone Stephanie Bon at all on the Saturday or Sunday (Read more in Part 9a here) which further points to the pair of them possibly having had an argument on Friday the 14th of December.

The fact killer Simon Hall had indicated to the police he was “a single man” by the Saturday adds yet further weight to this.

When Exactly In December Were Simon Hall’s Clothes Predominantly At Snowcroft & Why?

Following Simon Hall’s murder of Joan Albert, his girlfriend Stephanie Bon stated to the police that she and Simon “began to visit his parents quite regularly, taking over flowers and chocolates and checking up on his mum”.

Stephanie Bon stated;

Simon was very close to his mum, and I think he was quite worried about how she would cope, as I believe she was on anti depressants prior to the murder.

He talked about the incident, but mainly about concern for his mum

We began to visit his parents quite regularly, taking over flowers and chocolates and checking up on his mum.

Simon was quite emotional person (sic) and seemed upset by the incident, which I would expect him to be

I didn’t notice any dramatic change in Simon after the murder.

He was obviously upset, shocked and concerned for his mother but this did not seem out of the ordinary.

Excerpts from Stephanie Bon’s police witness statement dated 4th September 2002

Stephanie Bon’s evidence was that “following their redundancies” (Simon Hall was made redundant on the 22nd January 2002) is when their relationship began to “fizzle out”.

It was claimed in judge Anne Rafferty’s summing up to the jury, that Simon “split his time between” his adoptive parents Lynne and Phil’s home in Capel St Mary “and the home of a friend, Stephanie Bonn (sic) but by December 2001 his clothes would be predominantly at Snowcroft rather than at her home”.

Stephanie Bon also stated that Simon Hall “gradually collected all his belongings” but she then went on to state “following” the break up of their relationship was when Simon collected “all his belongings”.

It is not known on what date exactly Simon Hall and Stephanie Bon broke up.

According to Simon Hall he was in a new relationship with a woman called Phoebe Grant by January 2002.

Therefore the break up Stephanie Bon gave evidence to Suffolk police about, could well have occurred the day before Simon Hall referred to himself as “a single man” – on Friday the 14th of December 2001.

Link to Part 19g here

Killer Simon Hall: Bristol University’s Innocence Fraud Groomer Michael Naughton, Kar Khange, Christmas Fairy Lights, Night Of Friday 14th December, Argument Over Family Meal At Stoke Rochford & More Questions For Stephanie Bon & Lynne & Phil Hall – Part 19d©️

Stephanie Bon

Following the break up of our relationship Simon did collect all his belongings.

Excerpt from Stephanie Bon’s police witness statement dated 4th September 2002

Again, it is still not known on what date exactly Simon Hall collected “all his belongings” from Stephanie Bon’s home in Colchester, Essex.

Lynne Hall
Phil Hall

Where Did Simon Hall Sleep On Friday 14th December 2001?

Is is also still not known where Simon Hall slept on the night of Friday the 14th and where exactly Matt (Matthew) W picked Simon up from to go and collect his new Audi motor vehicle, which Simon had been to view with his girlfriend Stephanie Bon “the previous Wednesday the 12th December at a garage known as Haverhill Kar Khange”.

Killer Simon Hall stated;

Having seen the car on that day I had agreed to purchase it and collect it the following Saturday the 15th.

I could not have collected it on the Wednesday as Stephanie does not drive and whoever took me over to pick up the car needed to be able to drive themselves back

Excerpts from pages 1 and 2 of Simon Hall’s Proof of evidence statement

Matt W confirmed he had picked Simon Hall up on the morning of Saturday the 15th December, in order for them to collect Simon’s new Audi motor vehicle.

Simon Hall had already paid for the car on the Wednesday, when he viewed it with Stephanie Bon.

However Matt W did not mention in his statement where exactly he picked Simon up from ie; Simon’s adoptive parents Lynne and Phil Hall’s home in Capel St Mary or his girlfriend Stephanie Bon’s home in Colchester – or somewhere else.

Christmas Fairy Lights

Lynne Hall told Suffolk police that Joan Albert had bought Lynne some Christmas fairy lights, although it’s not clear based on Lynne’s statement on what date exactly Lynne collected the Christmas lights.

It is also not clear from Lynne Hall’s police statement on what date her adoptive son Simon had allegedly “put them up in the bush outside” Lynne’s kitchen window, or if he ever really did.

Lynne Hall stated;

I remember that Joan bought me some Christmas fairy lights from the Co-op in Capel, she actually paid for them and told me that I had to collect them.

I collected them and Simon put them up in the bush outside my kitchen window

Excerpt from Lynne Hall’s police witness statement dated the 25th of July 2002
Example of outdoor Christmas fairy lights

Two days after her adoptive sons murder of Joan Albert, referring to the Friday evening (14th of December) Lynne Hall stated to Suffolk police;

The last time I actually saw Joan was on Friday evening, the fourteenth of December.

I waved to her at about 8.10am as I went to work to catch the bus.

I always used to check that she was up and Rusty was in the window.

I came home after work. I got the 5.40, number 93 bus, from the Buttermarket in Ipswich.

That usually gets me into the village at between 6.15 and 6.20pm.

I was already carrying shopping. My own and some that I had done for her. I also had Phil’s Christmas present.

It was a device that turned a bath into a spa bath.

I got off the bus and went into the Co-op and got a few items. I then went straight to Joan’s.

I was feeling ill just starting to come down with a bug.

I popped in intending to be quick, it was not usual for me to go in if I did not take Rusty out because he would get so excited.

We talked about the Christmas lights that she had bought me from the Co-op because some of them were not working.

Joan actually phoned me not long after I got home, it takes me maybe 5 minutes to get back.

All she actually wanted to know was if I Simon (sic), our son, had checked the lights.

Excerpt’s from Lynne Hall’s police witness statement dated Tuesday the 18th December 2001 (Read more excerpts in Part 4 here)

Although Lynne Hall mentioned the Christmas lights to the police, along with Simon’s name, Lynne did not actually state she had seen Simon on the Friday night or whether or not there were any plans for Lynne to see Simon that night.

Plus Lynne Hall only mentioned seeing her husband Phil Hall who had allegedly had a work colleague of his with him when Lynne got back home from visiting Joan Albert.

Lynne Hall stated;

Phil was at home with a colleague and he left just after 6.50pm and I had not even taken my coat off

Excerpt from Lynne Hall’s police witness statement dated Tuesday the 18th December 2001

Argument Over Christmas Meal At Stoke Rochford

It is therefore not clear whether or not Simon and his then girlfriend Stephanie Bon (and Lynne and Phil Hall) had argued on the Friday about there allegedly not being “enough room at the table”, at the pre arranged Christmas family meal up in Lincolnshire.

Stoke Rochford Hall, Grantham, Lincolnshire

It is also not known on what date exactly Stephanie Bon questioned “whether the relationship was worth continuing with”, as Stephanie had stated to the police.

Also not known is if the real reason for Stephanie Bon to question whether or not her relationship with Simon Hall was “worth continuing with” was due to Stephanie not being able to attend the family Christmas meal at Stoke Rochford, or if it was because of something else.

Shaun Hall older brother of Simon Hall

Unless Stephanie Bon had learned after all that there was “enough room at the table” because Shaun Hall and his girlfriend Leigh had pulled out at the last minute following “an argument”, due to their son having only recently been released from hospital.

Shaun Hall told police;

During the weekend of the 15th, 16th December 2001 I recall working overtime at my place of employment from about 8am – 1pm on Saturday 15th December 2001

I further recall having an argument with my girlfriend Leigh when I got home, in relation to a planned family visit to Lincolnshire the next day. Leigh and X were due to travel with my parents, Simon and I for a family reunion with my mothers side of the family

However X was ill and Leigh was refusing to let him travel as a result of this

I was upset about this, as my mothers parents had not seen X before

Excerpts from Shaun Hall’s police witness statement dated 25th July 2002

And Leigh, Shaun Hall’s then girlfriend, told the police;

Further to my previous statement I wish to add that on Saturday the 15th of December 2001, I believe I remained at my parents address of (redacted) with my young son X who had been quite ill and only released from hospital on the previous Thursday.

On 16th December 2001, we were all meant to be attending a large family meal but, due to X being ill, Shaun and I remained at home

Excerpt’s from Leigh Marshall’s police witness statement dated 27th August 2002

Although this still would not explain why Stephanie Bon would have questioned “whether the relationship was worth continuing with” because according to Stephanie Bon’s police statement, it was Lynne Hall who lied about there not being “enough room at the table”, not Simon.

Although it is possible Simon Hall had never asked Lynne about bringing his girlfriend along.

Again Stephanie Bon’s evidence was;

On Saturday the 15th of December 2001 I remember being at home in Colchester with my brother and old flat mate, Lionel *****, who lived at the house for a year.

We remained in all night and I clearly remember this time, as I was meant to be going to a family meal the following day.

On the Sunday Simon was off for a meal with relatives and asked me to go along as well. I instantly agreed, looking forward to meeting the rest of the family but, unfortunately Simon did not get around to asking his mum until it was too late.

By the time Simon asked Lynne, there was not enough room at the table and I was unable to go along

This had annoyed me and I remember questioning whether the relationship was worth continuing with.

I believe Simon said he was going out with some friends on the Saturday night, although I am not sure

Excerpts from Stephanie Bon’s police witness statement dated 4th September 2002

Link to Part 19e here

Killer Simon Hall: Bristol University’s Michael Naughton Aka “Empowering The Innocent”, Heather Mills, Private Eye Magazine, Higham Burglary, TIE Suspect, Lynne & Phil Hall, Suspicious & Conflicting Accounts, Vanishing Clothing & Shoes & More Bare Faced Lies, Concoctions, & Malicious, Manipulative & Distractive Innocence Fraud Phenomenon Tactics – Part 19b©️

As stated in Part 19a of this blog series Michael Naughton, and in turn Heather Mills from Private Eye magazine, lied in 2009 about the “fingerprints found above Mrs Albert’s body” and “DNA on her body”.

Photo of Heather Mills and Ian Hislop from Private Eye in 2011 here

The November 2009 Private Eye article (Referred to in Part 19 here) also stated;

Eye readers will recall that Hall was only put in the frame because his mother used to care for Mrs Albert and had a key to her house.

He had a firm alibi for all but about half an hour on the night Mrs Albert was killed.

He was pubbing and clubbing with friends in Ipswich, dropping one off at his house between 05:30 and 6am, before arriving home to his mother, Lynne, at round 6.15am.

As it was, it was unlikely he could have broken in to Mrs Albert’s home, killed her and arrived back home.

But there was absolutely no way he could have burgled one old person’s home and then moved on to Mrs Albert’s.

Excerpts from page 29 of Heather Mills article for Private Eye magazine published on the 13th of November 2009 (Edition number 1249)

Heather Mills following statement;

But there was absolutely no way he could have burgled one old person’s home and then moved on to Mrs Albert’s.

was pointless and was yet another innocence fraud distraction tactic.

As already mentioned in Part 19a here the Higham burglary “was formally linked to a series of antique thefts” and the “two crimes were not formally linked”, ie: killer Simon Hall’s murder of Joan Albert in Capel St Mary was not related to the antiques theft of “the old person’s” home in Higham.

Crime scene photo of broken kitchen window

The fact killer Simon Hall’s adoptive mother Lynne Hall had a key to Joan Albert’s home was irrelevant because Simon Hall broke Joan Albert’s kitchen window (Pictured above) to gain access to her and her home.

If Simon Hall had of had a “firm alibi” as suggested by Heather Mills for Private Eye magazine (courtesy of Michael Naughton), it’s unlikely Simon would have been “put in the frame” in the first place.

TIE (Trace/Interview/Eliminate) Suspect

There were numerous reasons why killer Simon Hall was “put in the frame” for his murder, some of which have already been highlighted throughout this blog series, which begins here.

For example, as referred to in Part 2 here due to the fact Simon Hall had previous criminal convictions for violence, and because he had in the past lived nearby and knew the area well, Simon Hall’s name was quickly flagged by the HOLMES information technology system used by police for investigations.

Simon Hall was automatically categorised as a TIE suspect (trace, interview, eliminate) in relation to Joan Albert’s murder.

Therefore Suffolk police may have known when they first began interviewing Lynne Hall on the 18th of December 2001, that her youngest adoptive sons name had already been flagged up by HOLMES.

Lynne Hall’s behaviour and statements in particular gave numerous suspicious and conflicting accounts from the very beginning of her contact with the police.

Lynne Hall – 2011
Photo courtesy of BBC

This was clearly done by Lynne Hall in an attempt to deflect away attention and cover up for her adoptive guilty killer son Simon Hall.

More on Lynne Hall and her evidence can be read by tapping on the button below;

By Tuesday the 18th of December 2001, just two days after Joan Albert was discovered to have been murdered, Lynne Hall was offering up two possible suspects.

Lynne Hall told Suffolk police she had seen two youths/men in the village of Capel St Mary “on the Monday or Tuesday of the previous week the 10th and 11th December”.

Lynne Hall also stated on the same day;

I thought about ringing the barman Trevor ***** who is a builder in the village, in fact I didn’t do that.

That roof is quite high with a flat roof.

I believe from that roof Joan’s house could be seen

It is not known what Lynne Hall thought “ringing the barman Trevor ***** who is a builder in the village” would have achieved exactly, but many other houses would have been “seen from that roof”.

If Lynne Hall had had genuine concerns about the two youths/men, including the one who she said had “a pleasant face” but who gave her “the impression they seemed guilty”, why didn’t Lynne tell someone at the time or contact the police?

It appears Lynne Hall’s choice of words were a Freudian slip or her psychological projections perhaps, or a combination of the two?

Were Lynne Hall’s unconscious emotions about the men she had allegedly seen the week before, really all about her adoptive killer son Simon Hall and what Lynne had witnessed just two days earlier?

Questions For Lynne & Phil Hall

Was it really killer Simon Hall with his “pleasant face” who gave Lynne Hall the “impression he seemed guilty” when he arrived at her and Phil Hall’s home at 6.30am, after having committed his murder of Joan Albert?

Lynne Hall went on to state in November 2013 (Read more in Part 10 here) that she had seen the “microwave size” locker her adoptive son Simon Hall, and Jamie Barker, had stolen from the Zenith Windows burglary, allegedly in her garden on the morning of her sons murder of Joan Albert.

Why did Lynne Hall really choose to omit to tell Suffolk police about this fact at the time, and what else did Lynne Hall lie by omission to Suffolk police about?

Lynne Hall said she had apparently asked her adoptive son Simon what the stolen “microwave size” locker was and had then apparently told him to “get rid” of said stolen locker as she “did not want it in her garden”.

Photo of an example of industrial waste bins

Killer Simon Hall claimed he got “rid of” the stolen “microwave size” locker in an industrial waste bin (Along with the clothing, shoes and leather jacket he wore when he committed his murder of Joan Albert) early on the morning of Monday the 17th of December 2001.

Rather than telephone his line manager to ask for a few days off work in order to “look after” his adoptive mother Lynne (Which was the reason he gave for asking for a few days off work) Simon Hall used the excuse to drive to State Chemicals in Colchester to dispose of all incriminating evidence.

Suspicious Behaviour & Vanishing Clothing & Shoes

What exactly did Lynne Hall make of her adoptive son driving all the way to Colchester to ask for a couple of days off, when a quick telephone call could have been made instead?

Did Simon Hall behaviour strike Lynne Hall (or any of the Hall family members) as suspicious or unusual or was Lynne Hall actually aware of the fact Simon needed to “get ridof incriminating evidence?

It is not known if Lynne and/or Phil Hall saw Simon Hall put the “microwave size” locker in his car, or if either of them saw Simon carrying the clothing, shoes and bulky leather jacket he had been wearing when he carried out his murder of Joan Albert, down the stairs from bedroom 3 and out of their home on that Monday morning.

It is also not known if a conversation was ever had between Simon and Lynne, and/or Phil Hall, about why Simon’s clothing, shoes and leather jacket had suddenly vanished.

Lynne & Phil Hall’s Lies & Concoctions

Simon Hall had purchased a brand new pair of mole skin type jeans/trousers from Tesco’s the day before.

He then drove straight to his adoptive parents home in Capel St Mary with his new jeans/trousers and had spent a maximum of an hour at their house, before heading out for the night.

Lynne Hall claimed to the police on the day her adoptive son was arrested;

On Saturday the 15th of December 2001 I was ill in bed all day.

I seem to think that Simon was around during the day and he put his head in to make sure I was okay.

I may have popped down to make a drink.

The Sunday we were off to Stoke Rochford in Lincolnshire which is a stately home, it was a family get together.

Simon told me at some stage that Saturday that he was going out and would probably not be back that night.

I told him to be back because we were leaving early.

I wanted him home at five or six am as I wanted to make sure he was okay and dressed properly

Excerpt’s from Lynne Hall’s 25th July 2002 police witness statement
Phil Hall

Also on the day his adoptive son was arrested, Phil Hall stated;

On the 15th December 2001 my wife was upstairs unwell in bed, I don’t know when Simon left the house or even if I saw him at all that day.

I do not know what he was wearing that day at all.

I recall that Lynne had asked Simon to make sure he was back in time to leave for Stoke Rochford in Lincolnshire where we had a family do

Excerpt from Phil Hall’s police witness statement dated 25th July 2002

Did Lynne and Phil Hall really not recall seeing Simon Hall wearing his ‘larey black shirt with red splashes over it’?

Nicola, who referred to her diary entries recalled seeing Simon wearing this particular shirt a week earlier.

Tap on the button below to read more about Nicola’s evidence;

Nicola had stated in her evidence that she recalled “laughing at” the shirt because “it was a bit larey’ or loud

I do recall laughing at Simons shirt which was black with red splashes over it

It was a ’bit larey’ or loud

Excerpts from Laura T’s friend Nicola’s police witness statement dated 27th August 2002

Link to Part 19c here

Killer Simon Hall: When Will Bristol University’s Michael Naughton Address His Innocence Fraud, Heather Mills, Private Eye Magazine, The Higham Burglary Which Was Formally Linked To Series Of Antique Thefts, John M Collins Jr, Mark Godsey, Ohio Innocence Project, David Protess, Northwestern University & Psycho Killer & Gang Member Anthony Porter – Part 19a©️

Femicide or feminicide is described as a hate crime broadly defined as “the intentional killing of women or girls because they are female”.

Killer Simon Hall’s sadistic ‘lust’ type murder of Joan Albert appears to have been associated to his covert and misogynistic hatred towards females.

The November 2009 Private Eye article (Referred to in Part 19 of this blog series here) did not address femicide or why someone would choose to murder Joan Albert and instead included the following statements;

In fact there is another crucial piece of evidence which points to Hall’s innocence.

It had been buried in a mass of unused material, handed over to Hall’s defence team just days before his trial, and it has recently been unearthed by law students working on Bristol University “Innocence Project”.

The students found a statement from a care worker who looked after an elderly man living 10 minutes away from Mrs Albert in Capel St Mary and who was also the victim of a burglary on the night Mrs Albert was stabbed.

The care worker reported that immediately after the burglary she noticed that two kitchen knives she regularly used to prepare meals had gone missing.

Later, when shown a picture of the murder weapon, she identified it as “similar to the one stolen.

It appears to have the same colour handle and length of blade.

It also has the same rivets on the handle”.

The students also found a “schedule of unused material” which showed that DNA was recovered from the knife from ‘more than one person’ but “the results are believed to be of no practical use”.

Could this be because, just like the fingerprints found above Mrs Albert’s body, footprints found in the garden and DNA on her body, it didn’t match Hall’s?

If if is established that the murder weapon was, as the care worker believed, stolen during the other house raid, it proves Hall could not possibly have been the killer.

Excerpts from page 29 of Heather Mills article for Private Eye magazine published on the 13th of November 2009 (Edition number 1249)
Photo of Heather Mills from Private Eye magazine from 2011 here

‘Shady’ & Malicious Manipulation, Distraction Tactics & Lies

Prior to Private Eye magazines publication of their insensitively headed article A Stab in the dark, Michael Naughton received a copy of the criminal cases review commissions October 2009 statement of reasons (SoR), which again can be read by tapping on the button below;

Below are excerpts from the bottom of page 34 and top of page 35 of the criminal cases review commissions SoR;

Copies from bottom of page 34 and top of page 35 of the criminal cases review commission statements of reasons here

The Higham burglary, as referred to by the criminal cases review commission, and as noted in the above excerpts from the Private Eye magazine article, “was formally linked to a series of antique thefts” and the “two crimes were not formally linked”.

Furthermore, and as referred to in previous Parts of this ongoing blog series, killer Simon Hall was with his work colleague Jamie Barker until approximately 05:30hrs in Ipswich.

It was then around a 20 minutes to drive from Jamie Barker’s mothers house in Ipswich to Snowcroft, Capel St Mary, where Simon Hall then proceeded to park his car and make his way to Joan Albert’s home located in Boydlands – on foot.

Nothing was “buried in a mass of unused material” as claimed by Michael Naughton and re-stated in the 2009 Private Eye magazine article.

In reality Michael Naughton and his students had either;

  • not read all of the disclosed unused material
  • they had previously missed the statement from a care worker
  • or the content of said statement did not stand out as significant because the Higham burglary had already been “linked to a series of antiques thefts

Following the exposure of killer Simon Hall’s guilt and the innocence fraud in 2013, Michael Naughton contacted Stephanie (Hall) by telephone.

Michael Naughton was told of many of the numerous disclosures made by killer Simon Hall leading up to and following his eventual admittance to his murderous crime.

Michael Naughton appeared to accept the fact he had been duped and stated at the end of the telephone conversation he “did not want to hear the name Simon Hall again”.

Why The About-Turn?

Years later, in what appeared to be a malicious attempt to continue his own self interested fraudulent public relations campaign, Michael Naughton spoke to a reporter.

The reporter published the following, in respect of the knife killer Simon Hall had used to commit his murder of Joan Albert;

Also, the team of students made a startling discovery before Hall’s confession.

A DNA profile from the murder weapon had not been disclosed at trial.

“I knew this was dynamite”

Michael recounts excitedly.

“I was buzzing and couldn’t sleep for three days.

We knew that we were absolutely onto this”

Excerpts from an article by Alon Aviram for the Bristol Cable headed The working class academic fighting to overturn wrongful convictions dated the 2nd of March 2021

Killer Simon Hall claimed he wore his socks over his hands during his murder of Joan Albert, although it is possible he used a pair of gloves he already had with him.

It is also possible Simon Hall chose to lie about putting his socks over his hands, as referred to in Part 6 (which can be read by tapping on the button below) as if to somehow minimise his premeditated murder and to continue to exert power and control over others.

Circumstantial DNA cannot be dated, although killer Simon Hall was adamant his skin (Hands) did not come into contact with Joan Albert’s kitchen knife and he claimed he did not cut himself during his murder.

It is not known what “fingerprints found above Mrs Albert’s body” Michael Naughton and subsequently Private Eye magazine were referring to or the “DNA on her body”.

As already stated in Part 6 Joan Albert’s body and clothing were tested for “any evidence of direct sexual activity”. None were reported to be found.

So after breaking his own protocols, Michael Naughton and in turn Heather Mills from Private Eye magazine lied in 2009 about the “fingerprints found above Mrs Albert’s body” and “DNA on her body”.

Again, killer Simon Hall claimed he did not touch any doors and the “footprints found in the garden” belonged to Simon Hall, but he had disposed of his black office shoes on the Monday morning of the 17th of December 2001.

When Will Michael Naughton Address His Innocence Fraud?

Excerpts from a December 2010 article for the Barrister Magazine headed Why the conviction of Simon Hall cannot stand which included statements by Michael Naughton and demonstrated yet further evidence of him going against INUK protocols (Which were referred to in Part 19 here) read;

Mr Hall, now aged 33, was convicted solely on the basis of black nylon flock fibres and polyester fibres found in his addresses and vehicles that were claimed by the prosecution expert at trial, Judith Cunnison, to be highly rare and ‘indistinguishable’ from fibres found at the scene of crime and the deceased’s body.

Fibre evidence is regularly used by police forces in the UK and globally to assist in crime scene investigations.

However, as fibres, unlike DNA or fingerprints, cannot provide a positive identification of a suspect, they are rarely used to obtain convictions in the absence of other evidence.

Questioning the way in which fibre evidence was used in Mr Hall’s case, Dr Michael Naughton stated:

“The future use of fibre evidence in criminal trials rests on the judgment of Simon Hall’s appeal. It is of vital importance to the avoidance of convicting the innocent that the conviction is quashed and it is firmly established that it is inappropriate to use fibre evidence alone in light of its inherent shortcomings”

Excerpts from a 13th December 2010 article headed Why the conviction of Simon Hall cannot stand

Killer Simon Hall was not convicted “solely on the basis of black nylon flock fibres and polyester fibres found in his addresses and vehicles” nor was the “fibre evidence” used on its own to convict him!

As already pointed out in previous Parts of this ongoing blog series, Simon Hall was convicted on a wealth of circumstantial evidence which included the lies and concoctions of Simon Hall and the Hall family members (Lynne, Phil and Shaun).

Another Example Of The Innocence Fraud Phenomenon

John M Collins Jr worked as a forensic scientist for around 20 years.

In an article he wrote and published in December 2014 entitled Innocence Fraud’ Demands Prosecutor Vigilance, John Collins referred to having studied overturned convictions for “about 10 years” and stated;

The ends cannot justify the means when the means are fraudulent

John M Collins

John Collins’ warning (above) was posted on a “wrongful conviction” internet website in May 2015, just under a couple of years after Joan Albert’s killer Simon Hall’s innocence fraud and actual, factual guilt to his murder was exposed.

The Wrongful Conviction Blog was set up by Mark Godsey who was once a federal prosecutor in Manhattan, New York City.

Mark Godsey went on to become a co-founder and director of the Ohio Innocence Project in his hometown of Cincinnati and refers to himself here as ‘a leading scholar, attorney and activist in the Innocence Movement’.

John Collins also stated;

I think it’s clear that exonerations can be the result of fraud or misconduct on the part of post-conviction activists and litigators.

How frequently it happens can only be speculated, but recent events in Illinois and North Carolina should serve as a warning that some self-proclaimed righters of wrong will resort to shady tactics to secure the freedom of previously convicted felons

John M Collins Jr (Source here)

One of the events John Collins was referring to was in relation to the killer of teenagers Marilyn Green (19) and Jerry Hillard (18), both of whom were murdered on the 15th August 1982 by a violent, psychopathic gang member called Anthony Porter.

David Protess with his arms and legs wrapped around the actual, factual, guilty psychopathic killer, and violent gang member, of Marilyn Green (19) and Jerry Hillard (18)

John Collins went into many of the details of the innocence fraud phenomenon fiasco, which saw actual, factual, guilty killer Anthony Porter released from prison and “exonerated” and Alstory Simon wrongly convicted and framed for Anthony Porters murderous crimes, in his book Crime Lab Report: An Anthology on Forensic Science in the Era of Criminal Justice Reform.

Film director and producer Shawn Rech also went on to co produce a documentary on this example of innocence fraud and in a June 2015 article called A Murder in the Park’: The Innocence Project That Wasn’t Shawn Rech stated;

..a little bit of digging would have shown any objective observer that the police conducted a clinical, textbook investigation

Shawn Rech

Following actual, factual, guilty killer and innocence fraudster Anthony Porter’s stay of execution Shawn Rech also stated;

This gave a team of Northwestern University journalism undergrads and their crusading professor David Protess, who taught investigative reporting at Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism and founded the Medill Innocence Project, enough time to re-investigate the case.

What the Northwestern team quickly achieved was nothing short of a miracle.

They found new witnesses, secured an affidavit from an original witness changing his story, and confronted the “real killer,” Alstory Simon, even securing his videotaped confession.

Chicago watched it unfold on the local news.

Every few days there was a new development as Team Northwestern exposed the ineptitude—or worse—of the Chicago Police Department and local prosecutors

By Shawn Rech from an article headed ‘A Murder in the Park’: The Innocence Project That Wasn’t dated June 2015

Link to Part 19b here

Killer Simon Hall: The Innocence Fraud Of Sadistic Killer Kevin Nunn, The Illusory Truth Effect, Coercive Persuasion, Gaslighting, Stephanie Bon, Ann Craven, Andrew Green, Michael Naughton, Claire McGourlay, The Forensic Institute, Allan Jamieson, Tiernan Coyle & CCTV Stills – Part 17f©️ 

Stephanie Bon, Andrew Green & Michael Naughton

Stephanie Bon wrote the following in September 2006 to Andrew Green, CCing Michael Naughton;

Stephanie Bon

Hello Andrew

I was talking to Michael today about an idea that has been at the back of my mind for a while now..

I have been contacted a quite few times by people in our situation whom I always redirect to you, also people who are interested in volunteering and again, I have referred them to you

I had an email last week from a girl from Suffolk (near me); her brother has been arrested by the same detective as Simon and Michael Heath is also the pathologist for the prosecution… there seems to be a pattern emerging…

As the case is awaiting trial she wasn’t able to give me too much information on it but in her words, everything is circumstantial… Anyway, as I said, I offered my support as always and advised her to contact you and Innocent

I was just wondering if it could be good to perhaps try and organise some kind of family support days, perhaps once a month (or more or less dunno yet), initially, just to support people morally maybe? Who knows we could get a guest once in a while, someone with knowledge, even if just to reassure people that they are not alone. We could pass on Innocent details, promote the Innocence Project and generally show people that there is help out there if you know where to look.

I know that when I started, it took me ages to find you and Ann and it’s thanks to you two, I am here today.

I would hate to know of anyone struggling on their own, been there, done that.. it’s tough.

I know that in our case Simon’s parents are completely lost, have no faith and don’t think that anyone is here to help, I know better and this is why I run the campaign.

If anything was to happen, I would want it to be part of Innocent, not as in you do the work (well I would need some advice of course) but as in, this isn’t something I would do off my own back, it would just be great to see Innocent grown and develop down here, the closest we have is London or Kent which isn’t that near and who knows it may be more accessible.

Like I said above, this is just an idea and I would not go ahead without your blessing or proper advice, it’s just something I thought of and I would very much like your feedback on it.

I have copied Michael in as we discussed this today and he knows that my motivation is not for personal gratification, I just want to help people like I get help everyday, even if I just help facilitate it, I’m not sure how many people would be interested but it’s worth a thought

Excerpts from email correspondence from Stephanie Bon to Andrew Green September 2006

The Innocence Fraud Of Sadistic Killer Kevin Nunn

The girl referred to in Stephanie Bon’s correspondence to Andrew Green was/is a woman, and appears to have been the sister of Dawn Walker’s killer, Brigitte Butcher.

Sadistic killer Kevin Nunn

Sadistic killer and innocence fraudster Kevin Nunn lost his last appeal the year after Simon Hall’s guilt to his murder of Joan Albert was exposed.

The June 2014 supreme court judgement can be read here.

On the first page of the judgement it can be seen that the UK innocence network chose to intervene in Kevin Nunn’s appeal.

An excerpt from a Bristol university school of law article headed Innocence Network UK at the Supreme Court 13 March 2014 reads;

INUK was granted leave to intervene in the matter because of the experience of its member innocence projects in assisting alleged victims of wrongful convictions to make applications to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC).

The CCRC is the body that reviews alleged miscarriages of justice and refers cases back to the appeal courts if it is felt that there is a real possibility that the conviction or sentence will not be upheld. 

Andrew Green claimed via his twitter bio to be an “expert on criminal cases post trial”.

and his Linkedin bio stated he is a case supervisor at the miscarriage of justice review centre based at Manchester university.

Claire McGourlay & Defunct Innocence Network UK

It was reported here that Claire McGourlay set up the Manchester miscarriage of justice review centre in November 2017.

And a university of Sheffield school of law newsletter regarding Claire McGourlay read;

In October 2007 Claire McGourlay set up the first Innocence Project in South Yorkshire.

She secured funding from the White Rose Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning in Enterprise.

Her objective was to give students a unique insight into this area of criminal justice.

This project utilises a mentored teaching environment to maximise learning opportunities for students, each Innocence Project (IP) is student-led and centres upon research into alleged wrongful criminal convictions.

Students are involved in reviewing real criminal cases giving them a unique insight, and valuable first-hand experience of the criminal justice process.

Some cases where evidence can be accumulated to support a wrongful conviction are referred back to the Courts of Appeal via the Criminal Cases Review Commission.

The students and the School also became part of a wider national body called the Innocence Network UK (INUK) where the students attend training courses about protocols and professional work.

In fact 14 students attended one such training event in Cardiff 24-26 October 2008.

Innocence produces Sheffield Law Graduates more equipped for professional practice and research beyond their studies and makes them more attractive potential employers.

The teams are already working on their first cases comprising two murders, a rape and a serious assault.

On the 15th April 2008 Claire addressed the INUK national meeting ”Working with campaign groups and victim support groups” at which the Attorney General was present and she has also been invited to sit on the first INUK Committee.

On 30 April 2008 the IP students led a session on the benefits of the project to staff at the School Spotlight on learning and Teaching day.

University of Sheffield School of Law December 2008 newsletter

The Forensic Institute, Allan Jamieson, Tiernan Coyle & Fibre Evidence

During the 11th Annual Forensic Research and Teaching (FORREST) Conference, Glasgow, which was held in 2015, Andrew Green gave a presentation called When is Fresh Evidence Fresh and True? the treatment of scientific expert evidence and experts in the Court of Appeal Criminal Division (CACD) of England and Wales.

Screenshot taken from The Forensic Institute website

Bad Science, bad law was also included in a list published by The Forensic Institute for the 2015 conference

Screenshot taken from The Forensic Institute website

and next to a photograph of Michael Naughton it stated;

I will speak about science and justice as you suggest with examples from the literature and cases that I have worked on that have proven guilt as well as undermine the evidence of guilt.

Screenshot taken from The Forensic Institute website

It is not known if Michael Naughton did speak about science and justice as was claimed in the above however Andrew Green, who says he was invited by Allan Jamieson did speak at the event and published his talk – see here for full context;

The same Andrew Green who refers to himself as a “criminologist” and claims to be an “expert on criminal cases post trial” chose to use the case of actual, factual, guilty killer Simon Hall )whose innocence fraud was exposed in 2013) as part of his talk.

Below is an excerpt from hornswoggler Andrew Green’s talk;

Andrew Green

To the CACD (Court of appeal criminal division), some forensic scientists must appear to subvert the nature of the evidence on which prosecutors rely.

In the case of Simon Hall ([2011] EWCA Crim 4), the prosecution relied on matching fibres from the crime scene to that found in Hall’s home.

There was no garment to which the fibres might be matched and fibres were of common types, so the proportions of fibres at each scene were compared, and these proportions were found to have matched.

In particular, the prosecution expert instructed for the trial found a small number of uncommon green fibres were found at the scene and at Hall’s home, and it was this that probably convinced the jury to convict Hall.

But at the appeal, a fibre expert, Tiernan Coyle was instructed on behalf of Hall, and he established the fibres said to be green were in fact black and indistinguishable from a large proportion of other fibres from both sites.

The argument (which is long and complicated) centred round the likelihood that the proportions of varying fibres from each site matched.

Coyle’s argument was (if I understand it correctly) that no one knows what proportions of any fibres exist in the environment in general and whether the proportions at the sites differ significantly from fibres which have gathered elsewhere.

Excerpt from Andrew Green’s talk When is Fresh Evidence Fresh and True?
Photograph allegedly from the 2015 conference (Source)
Photograph allegedly from the 2015 FORREST conference (Source)

Andrew Green did not attend killer Simon Hall’s trial for his murder of Joan Albert and therefore had no comprehension of all of the evidence presented to the jury.

Therefore his speculative comment on what “probably convinced the jury to convict Hall” is the same type of fraudulent nonsense already demonstrated throughout this blog series, and in other cases of the innocence fraud phenomenon.

The Hall Family’s Concoctions & Stills From CCTV

As have already been highlighted in previous Parts of this blog series, the prosecution relied on a whole lot more than the “matching fibres from the crime scene to that found in Hall’s home” as referred to by Andrew Green during his 2015 presentation.

It is still not known how the criminal cases review commission (CCRC) were able to magic away all the other evidence which was heard throughout Simon Hall’s February 2003 trial.

It is also still not known how the CCRC were able to magic away another main plank of the prosecution’s case, namely the Hall family’s concoctions.

Stills were extracted from CCTV footage of Simon Hall from the time he withdrew cash from the cash point machine located at Tesco’s on Saturday the 15th December 2001, where he purchased the black mole skin type trousers.

These stills were made available to the jury during the February 2003 trial, as was referred to at the foot of page 41 and top of page 42 of the judges summing up here.

Therefore it’s possible the jury were convinced killer Simon Hall was lying with regards the clothes and shoes he said he had been wearing that night and the following morning, as opposed anything to do with the fibre evidence.

For an alleged “expert on criminal cases post trial” it is interesting how criminologist Andrew Green doesn’t question how or why actual, factual guilty killer Simon Hall was wrongly convicted and sentenced for a ‘burglary gone wrong’ as opposed to his murder of Joan Albert having been sexually motivated.

Link to Part 17f here

Killer Simon Hall: The Innocence Fraud Of Serial Murderer Michael Stone Aka Michael John Goodban, His Deluded Sister Barbara Stone, William Clegg, The Zito Trust & The Murder Of Francis Caesar Jegou – Part 17d©️  

Serial Killer Michael Stone Aka Michael John Goodban

Anne Raffarty who presided over actual, factual guilty killer Simon Hall’s February 2003 trial, also prosecuted sadistic, psychopathic serial killer Michael Stone in 1998.

Excerpts from a media article headed I KILLED LIN AND MEGAN read;

Lin, 45, Megan, six, and Josie, nine, were attacked as they walked home from Goodnestone village primary school in Kent to their home in nearby Chillenden. 

Lin and Megan died but Josie was found clinging to life and has made an amazing recovery. 

Stone, 38, was arrested a year later in July 1997 and confessed to two prisoners while remanded in custody, said prosecutor Ann Rafferty QC. 

“He spoke of smashing an egg, of tying them up with wet towels although he hadn’t needed to as they were out of the game”

Stone – said to have demanded money from the family – dismissed them as “paupers”, the jury was told. 

Miss Rafferty added:

“He constantly called them slags and whores”

He told one prisoner, identified only as Daly, that “one of them had tried to get away but didn’t get far. 

“He wanted one of them to watch but she closed her eyes so he hit her again and she squirmed. 

“One of the girls was disobedient and they hadn’t got what he wanted”

Daly had intervened when other lags hurled abuse at Stone in Canterbury prison, said Miss Rafferty.

She added: “Daly was upset and said he would tell the screws what Stone told him. 

“But Stone was confident that he would not be believed and he would soon be freed because they had nothing on him.” 

Stone made another confession to a prisoner called Barry Thompson, Miss Rafferty told Maidstone Crown Court in Kent. 

“There was a discussion between the two of them about these murders and about the identification parade that was coming up shortly afterwards”

Miss Rafferty said there was “bitterness and acrimony” between the two and Stone allegedly said: “I made a mistake with her. I won’t make the same mistake with you” 

She told the jury:

“You will want to consider whether that is a reference to Josie” 

It is not known why killer Michael Stone does not appear to have been prosecuted for his killing of Lucy, the Russell families dog.

Some Background Crimes & The Fake Mask Of Insanity

Psychopathic killer Michael Stone tortured animals when he was a child and “forced a schoolgirl to strip at knifepoint in a playground”.

Michael Stone was first sent to borstal at the age of 14 in October 1974, following “several convictions” for theft and burglary.

On the 3rd of January 1975 Michael left borstal and lived in a care home until February 1975, when he was again convicted of yet more burglaries and thefts.

Excerpts from an “Independent inquiry” report on psychopathic killer Michael Stone’s care and treatment reads;

On 1st April 1975, he was remanded in custody for taking and driving away motor cars.

An application was made for him to go to the Secure Unit at Redhill but this was declined by the Department of Health on the grounds that there was no immediate vacancy and because they were concerned about the impact Michael would have in an already explosive situation there.

On 28th April 1975, he was sent to a Detention Centre for the second time for a three-month period.

When Michael was discharged back to North Downs on 24th June 1975, he was described by the social worker as looking most unwell.

He was near to tears the whole journey home and gave the impression that everything was worthless.

Convictions for theft, burglary and stealing cars continued throughout Mr Stone’s youth, culminating in a period of borstal training being imposed in August 1975 (at age 15).

His care order was subsequently discharged.

Michael was initially allocated to Dover Borstal but then transferred to Feltham for psychiatric oversight as it was thought that he suffered with depression.

No records are available in respect of this episode.

Following discharge from Feltham in August 1976, he rapidly re-offended and was returned to borstal from March to July 1977.

A borstal training report dated 10th November 1977 suggested that further offending be dealt with by imprisonment.

According to Mr Stone’s later accounts he first used heroin at age 17.

Excerpts beginning from page 33 of the November 2000 Independent inquiry into the care and treatment of Michael Stone report

Fantasies Of Killing Children & Hammer Attacks

Further excerpts read:

On 8th October 1992 Mr Stone re-attended Dr M – GP and told him that he felt under pressure and had been taking more stelazine than prescribed (25mg rather than 15mg).

He told Dr M – GP that when he came out of prison he was walking in the woods and felt like killing children.

He had increased his stelazine of his own accord as he realised “these ideas were not good”.

Dr M – GP was sufficiently concerned to make an urgent telephone referral to the local community mental health team (CMHT)

Mr Stone returned on 9th October 1992 in the company of his mother.

He was more calm at this second appointment, and Dr BB – Psych was able to take a lengthy and detailed history from both him and his mother.

Dr BB – Psych recorded details of Mr Stone’s forensic history, noting his violence and his account of previously attacking people with hammers.

Excerpts from page 57 of the November 2000 Independent inquiry into the care and treatment of Michael Stone report

Upbringing & Pychopathy

Further excerpts read;

The Michael Stone known to the caring agencies between 1992 and 1996 was a man with multiple and severe problems.

The extent of these and the interaction of one with the other made him a particularly difficult person to obtain information about, to assess, treat, manage or even control.

While those treating or caring for Mr Stone had considerable contact with him, the majority of his life was unknown to them.

Influences from this hidden part of his life, his illicit drug use, any criminal behaviour and difficult relationships with other family and friends, all undoubtedly coloured, if not sometimes caused, the clinical picture he presented.

On the one hand, in seeking what he perceived to be his best interest, Michael Stone variously inaccurately or selectively revealed, denied or even fabricated elements of his history or of events which might have been germane to his mental state at any particular time: he might behave in a particular way to create an impression or achieve a desired result.

On the other hand, his behaviour could at times be driven by the combined features of his personality disorder, his substance misuse, and, possibly, by symptoms of mental illness.

The significance of any one of these factors would vary.

At other times a different picture of Mr Stone is painted: a man whose life in large parts was based on a routine of watching TV and visiting his mother each day for lunch; a man who complied with advice from professionals and attended appointments made for him.

The professionals interviewed said that, as far as they were aware, Mr Stone did not have a “street” reputation of being a “hard” or violent person and, except on isolated occasions, they personally did not consider that he posed a physical threat to them in their professional dealings with him.

It is not within the Panel’s remit to investigate what local intelligence was held by the Kent police about Mr Stone.

It is clear that no concerns about him were raised with health, social service or probation professionals by the police.

None of this is surprising in the light of his history.

He had a most damaging upbringing.

From an early age he was seen as a disturbed and disturbing child and adolescent.

His relationships with important figures, family or carers, have always veered between being open and guarded, wanting and declining help, being amenable and uncooperative, pleasant and threatening, dependent and independent, insightful or driven by fantasy, appearing to be a damaged but intelligent and competent individual and then an unintelligent and disorganised person, being incapable of sustaining lasting relationships and being able to sustain some form of them, appearing to some as a violent and potentially very dangerous man, and, even on the same day, to others as a very disabled and compliant individual in genuine need of support from health and social agencies.

Besides his personality disorder and virtually persistent substance misuse, there were occasions when Michael Stone was thought to be psychotic.

The assessment of the nature of a psychosis depends upon an evaluation the manner in which the abnormal ideas and behaviour are presented, and what abnormal ideas are voiced.

In serious psychotic illness, particularly schizophrenia, abnormal ideas are frequently presented in characteristic ways giving confidence that, no matter what is expressed or what action results, a firm diagnosis of a functional psychosis can be made.

Even when there is doubt about the diagnosis early on, further experience of the patient and the emerging pattern of his disorder can help to clarify the picture.

As most schizophrenic illnesses tend to be chronic, progressive and disabling disorders, influenced in part by medication and the presence or absence of distressing life events, a confident diagnosis can be made over time.

This was not the picture presented over a sustained period in Mr Stone’s case.

It is highly unlikely that Michael Stone suffered from a typical schizophrenic or psychotic illness.

Excerpts beginning from page 33 of the November 2000 Independent inquiry into the care and treatment of Michael Stone report

Media Misinformation & Inaccuracies & Breaches Of Journalists Codes Of Conduct

Similarly to the fraudulent public relations spin campaign of killer Simon Hall, all media articles from around the time psychopathic killer Michael Stone chose to commit his murders of Lin (45), Megan (6) and Lucy Russell, the families dog, and his attempted murder of Josie Russell (9), on the 9th of July 1996, are not accurate.

Many of the media articles are not reflective of the actual facts of the subsequent police investigation, psychopathic serial killer Michael Stone’s personality, his behaviours and background, his families dynamics, his family members personalities and their behaviour’s and background.

Many of the media article and news stories on Michael Stone’s 1998 murder trial, his subsequent appeal, his October 2001 retrial, along with the Stone families concoctions and behaviours following Michael Stone’s murderous crimes often appear to be forgotten about – or simply not known. As highlighted in the 2000 report, which stated the media had printed “significantly inaccurate versions of Mr Stone’s history and events”.

Excerpts from the Independent inquiry into psychopathic serial killer Michael Stone, which came under the header Media interest and involvement read;

Quite justifiably, the media have taken a considerable interest in this case.

Unfortunately, this has had a negative impact in several ways.

First, various reports contained significantly inaccurate versions of Mr Stone’s history and events.

Second, the attempts of some elements of the media to obtain information amounted to breaches of journalists’ codes of conduct and unwarranted intrusion and interference in the lives of professionals and patients.

Third, it is apparent that some confidential clinical information which was published came into the hands of the media by unauthorised means, but it has not been possible to identify the source of this information.

The press statement on behalf of the commissioning agencies at the conclusion of the trial was made in good faith and on the advice of professional advisers and the Department of Health.

It was also made in the context of unprecedented media pressure.

However, it contained a number of assertions which in the opinion of the Panel were not an accurate reflection of the history of the case and included judgments which it was not the place of the agency to make.

The responsibility for this was not that of any individual but the result of the collective activity of many.

Few agencies have occasion to respond to such media pressure and lessons can be learned at both a national and local level.

The Kent experience suggests the need for a comprehensive review of media handling in cases of this nature.

Excerpts from page 8 of the November 2000 Independent inquiry into the care and treatment of Michael Stone report

Michael Stone Threatened To Kill His Sister

Excerpts which came under the header Background to the inquiry read;

Predictably, there was wide coverage in the media of these sensational events.

Detailed histories of Mr Stone’s life, mental state, and treatment appeared.

Many of these contradicted each other; some contained detail that could have been derived only from a source with access to medical records.

Various concerns were raised, including suggestions that Mr Stone had begged for help, but had been refused it

Immediately after his conviction, Mr Stone lodged an appeal.

At the date of writing this report his appeal has not been heard

Excerpts from page 10 of the November 2000 Independent inquiry into the care and treatment of Michael Stone report

Also similarly to psychopathic killer Simon Hall, psychopathic killer Michael Stone remained at large for a year before he was finally arrested and charged for his murderous crimes.

At some point just before his arrest, Michael Stone threatened to kill his sister Barbara Stone and one of her children.

It was also reported he “smashed up” his sister Barbara Stone’s car.

Deceptive & Gaslighting EnablerBarbara Stone ~ “Better The Devil You Know” & Her Brothers Involvement In The Murder Of Francis Caesar Jegou

Barbara Stone

Barbara Stone, Michael Stone’s sister, has made countless telling public statements over the years.

Barbara Stone has also demonstrated on countless occasions a lack of reasoning, insight and self awareness, similarly to Shaun Hall, who is referred to in Part 11 and Part 11a of this blog series, each of which can be read by tapping on the buttons below;

Alarmingly Barbara Stone is said to be a registered mental health nurse.

Although Barbara has also stated she “can’t work in prisons or have anything to do with forensics”.

Below are a few public statements made by Barbara Stone;

We were alike, apart from the criminal element.

We had the same thought processes and sense of humour

Barbara Stone

It soon became clear the police were clutching at straws.

There was not a scrap of evidence

Barbara Stone

I am proud of him to be honest

Barbara Stone

Murder Of Special Police Constable Francis Caesar Jegou

Before her brothers 1998 trial, Barbara Stone was reported here to have stated she believed her brother could have been responsible for his murders of Lin, Megan and Lucy Russell and his attempted murder of Josie Russell, but at some point Barbara Stone changed her mind.

According to Barbara Stone when she was 14 years old she allegedly buried the knife her then 16 year old brother Michael had used to carry out his murder of Francis Caesar Jegou.

Francis Caesar Jegou was a special police constable who was 65 years of age at the time he was stabbed to death in a park in Maidstone, Kent on the 12th of September 1976.

Barbara Stone stated;

When I was about 14 Mick came up to me with a knife in a sheath.

He said I was to hide it for him and I buried it.

At the time I was just a kid and did what my big brother told me.

Years later he said he knew something about the murder.

I knew he was up to no good.

The killing was his style – it was done by two or more people and Mick never acted alone.

It would have been done to get money and, again, that’s something he’d have done

Barbara Stone  (Turner, Lucy; Shaw, Adrian (24 October 1998). “Brother has killed before at just 16Daily Mirror. p. 2.)

The November 2000 independent report did not consider psychopathic mass murderer Michael Stone’s potential involvement in the murder of Francis Jegou.

Instead it focused on his actual convictions;

Mr Stone’s first convictions for violence appear in February 1981 (at age 21) when he was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment for robbery and grievous bodily harm.

(In October 1992 Mr Stone told Dr BB – CPsych that this conviction was for “attacking people with hammers”.)

On release, he remained in voluntary after-care with the Kent Probation Services, again supervised by Mr DD – PO.

A pattern of rapid re-offending after release followed with further charges (at age 23) of wounding with intent, burglary and assault in 1983.

In October 1992 Mr Stone informed to Dr BB – CPsych that this conviction was for “stabbing someone.”

For apparently the first time the court requested a psychiatric report before sentencing Mr Stone.

Excerpt from page 52 of the November 2000 Independent inquiry into the care and treatment of Michael Stone report

A further reference from the same report reads;

The most serious offences in Mr Stone’s history before 1992 were two robberies of a theatre box office and an armed robbery (with an air pistol) of a building society.

These offences were committed in October and November 1986 within two months of leaving prison.

In April 1987 (at age 27) Mr Stone pleaded guilty to these offences and was jailed for 10 years.

Excerpt from page 54 of the November 2000 Independent inquiry into the care and treatment of Michael Stone report

It was then repeated here for example that Michael “Stone committed his first serious crime in 1981”.

Mother Jean & Step Father Denis

The author of the 1998 Scottish Daily Record article did not appear to have recognised their contradiction when they stated;

Monster Michael Stone was a walking timebomb, leading a meaningless, drug- addled life blighted by acts of insane violence. 

Thirteen years before the deranged junkie murdered Lin and Megan Russell, he tried to gouge out a police superintendent’s eyes with his bare hands. 

The officer’s crime? To attempt to calm him after he went berserk in a court holding cell. 

Superintendent Lee Plummer, now retired, said yesterday:

“I can still remember this mad, crazed figure scouring my eyes. 

“He was trying to get a finger behind my eyeball to prise it out of its socket. I was very close to being blinded.” 

Stone attacked Mr Plummer just before he was jailed for four and a half years for an unprovoked knife attack. 

As he passed sentence, Judge Felix Waley warned society the man in the dock was a potential killer. 

He told Stone:

“I have to protect the public from you long enough to give you a chance to mature, so you are safe when you are out and don’t end up killing somebody”

Not long after he was freed, in 1986, Stone was jailed again – this time for armed robbery. 

Judge Anthony Balston gave him 10 years, telling him:

“You are an extremely dangerous man with an appalling record for dishonesty and violence.” 

Born in Gillingham, Kent 38 years ago, Stone was introduced to violence and cruelty at an early age. 

When he was six, he saw his stepfather Denis – his parents had already divorced – take a meat cleaver to another man he claimed had punched him. 

By the time Stone was eight, mother Jean had decided she could not cope with him.

He was packed off to the first in a succession of children’s homes. 

Stone absconded often and hitch-hiked back to Gillingham.

He would sleep rough and steal to live, only to drift back to whatever institution he had fled from. 

Those hiking expeditions gave Stone his intimate knowledge of the fields and woodland paths around Chillenden, where he was later to kill Lin and Megan and leave young Josie Russell for dead. 

A friend from Stone’s children’s home days, Gary Day, recalled: “Mick was like everyone else – got into a bit of trouble, didn’t really want to be there, running away. 

“He was always friends with people a bit older than him. He looked up to them and liked to think he was tougher than he really was.” 

Stone left both care and school at 16 with few qualifications and little or no ambition. 

He returned to Gillingham, an unemployment blackspot with nothing to offer a particularly unpromising teenager.

He quickly became a drug addict and career housebreaker and thief. 

An officer on the Russell inquiry team said:

“Stone would thieve from garden sheds because they were easy. He took lawn mowers, tools and anything else he could sell”

Stone committed his first serious crime in 1981.

In a chilling hint of what was to come, he used a hammer to attack and rob a gay man.

He was jailed for two years for robbery and grievious bodily harm. 

By his mid-20s, Stone was a heroin addict.

Constantly craving his next fix, he would mug people at cashpoints for drug money. 

Bisexual Stone two-timed men with women and vice versa.

His squalid flat in the town’s Skinner Street served as a flophouse for Gillingham’s drug-users and crooks. 

One woman who spent time there said: “It was always a mess. There would be people everywhere taking drugs”

Soon after serving his time for the hammer attack, Stone was back in serious trouble. 

This time he had accused a man of kicking his flat door, and reacted by plunging a knife into his chest. 

As he waited his turn in the holding cells at Maidstone’s court building – scene of his trial for murdering the Russells – Stone went berserk. 

He attacked the custody officer, hitting him viciously in the head and kicking him in the groin.
Superintendent Plummer, in court on another matter, was asked to intervene. 

The former policeman, now 52, winces as he relives his encounter with Stone. 

“I remember it as if it was yesterday,” he said. 

“I was sitting in the courtroom when a hell of a row broke out. The magistrates were looking around for a policeman and I was the only one in court.” 

“I went back to the holding cells and saw the custody officer in some distress on the ground. He had been attacked. 

“A prisoner was kicking at the reinforced door, screaming abuse. It was only a matter of time before the thing gave way. 

“I got off two words as I opened the door before he flung himself at me. 

“He looked berserk, just crazy. His hands were at my throat, then he started on my eyes. 

“He was shouting, `This will cost you an eye.'” 

Mr Plummer said the pain grew unbearable as Stone pushed his finger further into his left eye socket. 

He added: “The prisoner appeared to be in a frenzy and I was getting desperate. I was barely holding him off. 

“Then the custody officer managed to get to his feet. He launched himself at my attacker, who released his grip on me, and we both bundled him into another cell. 

“It was then I realised fluid was pouring from my eye and I had long streaks of blood down my shirt front. The judge who jailed the guy later was right when he said he was capable of killing.” 

The next few years followed Stone’s old familiar pattern – into jail, out of jail early, back to crime. 

In April 1987, aged 26, he was back in the dock to be convicted of robberies at a theatre in Maidstone and a building society in Brighton, Sussex. 

He was given 10 years, reduced to eight on appeal, then released early once again to return to his old ways. 

Finally, on July 9, 1996, Stone came across Lin, Megan and Josie walking in a sunlit country lane, and Judge Waley’s grim prophecy of 1983 came true. 

The fateful day had begun like thousands of others for Stone.

He gave himself a heroin fix before going to a shop to sell some building tools, no doubt stolen. 

Police believe Stone spent the next few hours thieving.

Hours after the murders, a lawn mower was reported stolen from a house near the scene. 

Stone cut a pathetic figure in the dock during his trial.

Grey and balding, he either stared into space or glared angrily at the succession of one-time friends who helped build the damning case against him. 

His mother and sister sat in the front row of the public gallery every day of the trial, refusing even to entertain the idea he could be guilty. 

After a long and exhaustive inquiry -it took well over two years to put Stone behind bars – the police have no such doubts

Police have questioned him over the killing of a pensioner in Maidstone 21 years ago

The body of Francis Jegou, 65, was found with head injuries and multiple stab wounds to the stomach, probably inflicted with a thin-bladed stiletto dagger or a pair of scissors. 

At the time, police believed the motive may have been robbery.

Mr Jegou was in the habit of carrying large amounts of cash, but he only had pounds 3 when his body was discovered.

Excerpts from a Daily Record article headed HORROR IN COURT: POLICEMAN RELIVES ATTACK THAT SUMS UP STONE’S WORTHLESS LIFE OF VIOLENCE, DRUGS AND THIEVING; He tried to rip my eyes out dated 1998

Admission Of Guilt To Having Murdered Francis Caesar Jegou

Psychopathic serial killer Michael Stone told a psychiatrist that he was responsible for his murder of Francis Jegou in 1976 and apparently remains Kent police’s prime suspect.

It is not known if Michael Stone also told his sister Barbara or his mother Jean that he murdered Lin, Megan and Lucy Russell and had attempted to murder Josie Russell.

However Michael Stone had made many admissions about his fantasies to commit murder before he eventually chose to make his fantasies reality and commit his murders of the Russell family members and their dog Lucy in 1998.

The Zito Trust – Lionising The Dangerous & Psychopathic Serial Killer

Barbara Stone seemingly changed her mind about her brother guilt at some point leading up to her contact with Jayne Zito, a former mental health worker.

Jayne Zito’s first husband Jonathan Zito, was murdered in December 1992 by Christopher Clunis, who had been diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic in 1986.

It is not known if it was a calculated move on Barbara Stone’s behalf to target Jayne Zito but Janye appeared to have been vulnerable for years following her husband Jonathan Zito’s murder, as can be heard during an interview with Jayne Zito here.

Excerpts from the Healthtalk.org website read;

Jayne had a “complete breakdown” after Jon’s death.

She was in “complete shock” and wanted to be by herself but could not look after herself.

For years Jayne felt inconsolable.

She felt a kind of terror and at times felt physically sick, out of control, ashamed and ugly.

She had to give up her job and her course and her flat in London.

She could not drive a car and felt that she could not function.

Jayne had support from her family and she had a counsellor from CRUSE, who was invaluable.

The counsellor was helpful partly because she was interested in Jonathan’s life and his marriage to Jayne, as well as his death.

After Jayne moved she found help via a woman who worked for Victim Support.

The woman referred Jayne to London voluntary bereavement services.

It took years for Jayne to recognise that she was a victim, a survivor, and that something had happened to her too.

Untreatable Psychopathic Killer

Jayne Zito apparently wrote an article for the Independent headed The Michael Stones of the future can be treated – but we must start now, or at least her name appears on the article giving the impression it was written by her.

Jayne Zito’s article(?) was published on Saturday the 24th of October 1998, the day after psychopathic serial killer Michael Stone was found guilty for his murder of Lin and Megan Russell and his attempted murder of Josie Russell.

Excerpts from Jayne Zito’s article(?) read;

At The Zito Trust we became involved in this case early for two reasons, The first is our role as the campaigning mental health charity concerned specifically with failures of community care for severely mentally ill people who commit homicide and violent attacks; the second is because the sister of Michael Stone, Barbara, contacted our support and advice service in November 1997, and we have had nearly a year to study the problems and issues raised by her brother’s long history of violence, institutionalisation, and mental health problems, including serious drug abuse.

It became obvious before the trial that Michael Stone suffers from a very serious personality disorder, exacerbated by serious drug abuse.

There was concern that he had been diagnosed as having schizophrenia, but West Kent Health Authority say not.

We have to wait for the independent inquiry to report before we know the full and correct version of the facts.

October 1998 – The Start Of The Fraudulent Public Relations Spin Campaign

The Independent newspaper ran another story on Wednesday the 28th of October 1998, five days after Michael Stone was found guilty and Louise Jury’s article headed Why I believe my brother didn’t kill, by Michael Stone’s sister indicated Michael Stone’s fraudulent public relations spin campaign had begun.

Excerpts read;

Barbara Stone, 36, disclosed yesterday that as someone who respected the law, she had accepted the possibility of his guilt when police arrested her brother last year.

But her doubts mounted as the initial “evidence” against him fell away.

I don’t want to rub it into the Russells that it’s a miscarriage of justice.

That’s not fair – it’s too soon.

But unless they prove to me different, I believe he’s innocent” she said.

Ms Stone said yesterday that a great deal of information had been forthcoming and it was hoped to launch an appeal within two weeks.

At the trial at Maidstone Crown Court, testimony from three convicted criminals was the key to the case against Stone.

But his sister said nobody should be convicted on the uncorroborated evidence of criminals.

“I don’t feel they should convict and send him away for the rest of his life on the word of another criminal”

Ms Stone chose to speak to The Independent yesterday at a meeting arranged by the Zito Trust, the mental health pressure group which is working with her to highlight the issues raised by the case.

As an aside, she noted that although the authorities claimed he had never been a paranoid schizophrenic, a condition considered treatable under the Mental Health Act, “schizophrenia” was the reason given for his receipt of disability living allowance.

Excerpts by Louise Jury from an article for The Independent headed Why I believe my brother didn’t kill, by Michael Stone’s sister dated the 28th of October 1998

Sadistic serial killer Michael Stone was, and is, an untreatable and dangerous psychopath and a reference from the November 2000 independent inquiry report into Michael’s “care and treatment” appears to suggest Michael’s psychopathic personality disorder was recognised at least as early as 1983;

In April 1983 Dr ZE – Psych(F), a Forensic Psychiatrist assessed Mr Stone in Canterbury Prison.

In a very short report, she stated that she found him to be a “volatile and emotional man who found it difficult to co-operate with a psychiatric interview”.

Dr ZE – Psych(F)’s report concluded that “It is apparent that he is very unstable, but there is no evidence that he has a mental illness for which treatment in a psychiatric hospital would be advisable… his very deprived and unsatisfactory childhood has led to a severe personality disorder”

Dr ZE – Psych(F) recommended that, should Mr Stone receive a sentence of more than one year, he be considered for treatment within the prison system.

However, the report gives no indication of the suggested nature or purpose of any such treatment.

Excerpt from page 53 of the November 2000 Independent inquiry into the care and treatment of Michael Stone report

Without Conscience

A 2019 article for The Augustus Chronicle reported some insights from Hervey Cleckley, who wrote The Mask of Sanity (Which can be read here), The Three Faces of Eve and The Caracture of Love: A Discussion of Social, Psychiatric, and Literay Manifestations of Pathologic Sexuality, and Robert Hare , who wrote Snakes in Suits, Without Conscience and Psychopathy: Theory and Research.

Screenshot of the cover of the revised edition of the book Snakes In Suits

Some excerpts by Perry Smith, a retired U.S. Air Force major general, for The Augusta Chronicle article headed Psychopaths among us: Insights from Hervey Cleckley and Robert Hare read;

For the past three years, I have been conducting research on the contributions that Augusta native Hervey Cleckley and his protégé, Robert Hare, have made to the fields of psychiatry and psychology.

Here are some insights. I hope they are helpful to you.

Research suggests that psychopaths may be over-represented among the following occupations:

CEO; lawyer;media (TV/Radio); salesperson; surgeon; journalist; police officer; clergy; chef; civil servant.

Psychopaths may be under-represented in these professions:

Care aide; nurse; therapist; craftsperson; beautician/stylist; charity worker; teacher. creative artist accountant

On reflection, I personally have dealt with 12 individuals who probably were psychopaths: two general officers, two high-level politicians, an assistant secretary of the Navy, two senior officials in national media organizations (at CNN and at CBS), the CEO of a university, a pastor (not in my church) and three officials in nonprofit organizations.

These individuals had much in common: smart; charming; little empathy (bullied others orally); lacked loyalty (often cleverly undermining their boss); highly ambitious; risk-takers; cleverly told lies; and unwilling to accept criticism or undergo therapy.

Of the 12, 11 were men.

Perry Smith

It is not known how many of the people who choose to also commit innocence fraud, like killers Simon Hall and Michael Stone, and those people who choose to knowingly promote the fraudulent public relations spin campaigns have undiagnosed psychopathic personality disorders.

Screenshot of the cover of the of the book Without Conscience

However Perry Smith included Robert Hare’s “Psychopathy Checklist – Revised” here and he urged people ‘to read Robert Hare’s Without Conscience: The Disturbing World of Psychopaths Among Us’.

Some Parallel’s

Like psychopathic killer Simon Hall, serial killer Michael Stone had sexual relationships with both men and women and both alleged they were sexually abused, as referred to in Part 13 of this blog series, which can be read by tapping on the button below;

Killer Michael Stone made “explicit threats about decapitating children and other acts of unprovoked violence”.

Killer Simon Hall also spoke of “fantasies about having sex with a child, killing the child and burying the body” as referred to in Part 14, which can be read by tapping on the button below;

There was also an October 1993 reference in the November 2000 independent inquiry report to Michael Stone having said “he had slashed his arms and wrists in the police station; he had lost control and felt he could kill someone”.

Killer Simon Hall also slashed his wrists whilst serving time in a young offenders institute, after having been convicted for “violence, an assault in McDonalds in 1997 and another for wounding” as referred to in Part 14 of this blog series.

Simon Hall also deliberately cut his arms in 2003 after having been found guilty of his murder of Joan Albert, as referred to in Part 17a, which can be read by tapping on the button below;

It has been suggested that Michael Stone “attempted to commit suicide on at least two occasions”.

Killer Simon Hall also attempted to commit suicide several times during his incarceration and his final attempt proved fatal.

Both killers Simon Hall and Michael Stone spoke about their murderous crimes to other people at some point during their imprisonment.

Michael Stone asked to be put in Broadmoor hospital, whilst Simon Hall asked to be put in Broadmoor or Rampton Hospital.

Another reference from the Independent inquiry report into Michael Stone’s care and treatment reads;

Despite Mr Stone repeatedly reporting his history of having been in social services care as a child, his social services records were neither requested by or made available to any of those working in the health service who were involved in his care and treatment from 1992 to 1997.

Excerpts beginning from page 55 of the November 2002 Independent inquiry into the care and treatment of Michael Stone report

Similarly to killer Michael Stone, killer Simon Hall’s social services records were not requested by any of “those working in the health service who were involved in his care and treatment”, throughout either Simon Hall time in a young offenders institute or following his arrest and subsequent conviction for his murder of Joan Albert.

Some of killer Simon Hall’s social service records are referred to in Part 3, which can be read by tapping on the button below;

“Diabolicals”

In early February 2022, yet more of psychopathic serial killer Michael Stone and his enablers innocence fraud did the rounds via the media and his sister Barbara Stone was seemingly contacted for an interview.

In one of her Facebook comments on the United Against Injustice innocence fraud Facebook group, Barbara Stone replied to Kevin McMahon when she was apparently getting ready for a media interview;

Barbara Stone stated in part, ‘…I have to go and play’

Barbara Stone did not comment when she was asked why she chose to use the word ‘play’, however the definition for the word play in the Oxford dictionary is;

engage in activity for enjoyment and recreation rather than a serious or practical purpose

Sandra Lean

In one of Sandra Lean’s public statements on one of her Facebook accounts, and which appears to be part of yet another of her orchestrated and malicious smear/hate campaigns (this time aimed at a crime writer in Scotland) Sandra Lean stated in part;

Diabolicals appear to be incapable of separating fact from opinion and often offer personal opinions as fact

Barbara Stone also chose to comment on Sandra Lean’s 18th of July 2022 Facebook post.

In response to Barbara Stone’s comment, Sandra Lean made the following comment in response;

Mick’ being dangerous psychopathic serial killer Michael Stone, with Sandra Lean attempting to suggest psychopathic serial killer Levi Bellfield was responsible for Michael Stone’s murderous crimes.

Hornswoggler William Clegg, who represented serial killer Michael Stone, referred to the fraudulent public relations spin campaign as “a 26-year saga”.

In a February 2022 article for the Telegraph headed I don’t believe Levi Bellfield’s ‘confession’ – but Michael Stone’s conviction still troubles me William Clegg stated;

My mind returned to that gruesome case over the weekend, when I read about the latest twist in what has now become a 26-year saga.

It was revealed on Sunday that serial killer Levi Bellfield has confessed to the Chillenden murders in a four-page letter, according to Stone’s solicitor.

Bellfield is already serving a life sentence in prison for the murders of three other women and girls (and the attempted murder of one more), including 13-year-old Milly Dowler, who was abducted and killed near Walton-on-Thames in March 2002.

Bellfield claims he was wearing yellow Marigold washing-up gloves at the time of the Chillenden attack, with a hammer in his right hand.

“There was blood everywhere and all up my legs, arms and shorts,” Bellfield is said to have written.

Bellfield’s claim is newsworthy.

If true, it would mean that my client Michael Stone is currently serving three life sentences for crimes he did not commit.

But we should treat Bellfield’s claim with extreme caution.

If I was ever to speak to him, I would not believe a word he said.

He could easily be a fantasist, an attention-seeker. 

Excerpts by William Clegg for the Telegraph article headed I don’t believe Levi Bellfield’s ‘confession’ – but Michael Stone’s conviction still troubles me dated the 7th of February 2022

William Clegg also represented Jill Dando’s killer, renowned serial stalker and predatory and prolific sex offender and rapist Barry George.

Nick Ross a friend of Jill Dando’s and co host of the BBC’s Crimewatch TV programme, gave an interview here with Piers Morgan in 2022.

Piers Morgan made numerous false and bizarre claims, including claiming that killer Barry George was released from custody “an innocent man” following his re-trial, which is NOT what happened

Although Barry George was found ‘not guilty’ at the end of his 2nd murder trial, he was NOT found to be “innocent” he was found not guilty.

Killer Barry George was placed under MAPPA restrictions immediately following his second trial for his murder of Jill Dando and is still being monitored under MAPPA (Multi-agency public protection arrangements) type restrictions due to his psychopathy and dangerousness – in particular towards women.

Link to Part 17e here

Killer Simon Hall: Murderers Enabler Stephanie Bon & Her Start Campaigning Booklet, Inside Doubt, West Midlands Against Injustice, United Against Injustice & Andrew Green – Part 17c©️  



Joan Albert’s Killer.
Photograph of Simon Hall taken whilst at large and wanted by Suffolk police for a sexually motivated murder

Stephanie Bon who was Simon Hall’s girlfriend at the time of his murder of Joan Albert, set up a couple of campaigning websites, including one called Inside Doubt. (http://insidedoubt.co.uk/features/justice_4_simon/).

The Inside Doubt website has been defunct for several years, but it was set up after Stephanie Bon, killer Simon Hall and his family (Lynne, Phil and Shaun) “fell out”.

When her Inside Doubt website was up and running, Stephanie Bon wrote and published a Start campaigning booklet which was available to download from her website.

West Midlands Against Injustice (WMAI) reproduced Stephanie Bon’s Start campaigning booklet, which has also been reproduced in full below for background purposes only!

West Midlands Against Injustice was set up and run by the mother of the killer of 19 year old Amy Leigh Barnes.

The WMAI website claimed to be;

A mutual support group for relatives and supporters of people convicted for a crime of which they are innocent, and whose case happened in the West Midlands area.

It is open to all relatives, friends and supporters of those who have been wrongly convicted

Excerpts from a July 2009 media article headed Violent boyfriend guilty of killing model read;

Football coach Ricardo Morrison was jailed for life today for killing his girlfriend – and his violent history of attacking his partners and other young women can be revealed for the first time.

He faces a minimum of 24 years in prison before he is elgible for parole.

In chilling similarities to his fatal assault on model and actress Amy Leigh Barnes, Morrison, 22, repeatedly attacked an ex-girlfriend who was too scared to give evidence against him in his murder trial.

He twice bit her on the face and after one assault sent her a text saying:

“I hope you die of cancer, just like your dad”

And less than a month before he stabbed Miss Barnes, 19, to death with a six-inch kitchen knife, he attacked five women, headbutting and punching victims in the face in a London nightclub.

Described in court as a “phoney and a bully”, Morrison has four previous convictions for assault and one for harassment on his ex-girlfriend, aged 23, from Birmingham.

He was never sentenced to custody and broke a restraining order.

The jury at Manchester Crown Court which convicted him today of the murder of Miss Barnes was not told of his violent past – or that he faced five charges of grievous bodily harm for the nightclub attack.

Mr Justice MacDuff ruled the details would prejudice a fair trial and Morrison faced overwhelming evidence of his guilt anyway.

Morrison’s mother, policewoman Melda Wilks, 50, was cleared of assisting an offender.

It was reported by the Birmingham Mail on the 20th of November 2010 here under the header Policewoman mum of killer Ricardo Morrison is back at work that Melda Wilks, a serving police officer for West Midlands police, was arrested and charged with “assisting an offender” on the day her 22 year old son appeared in court in relation to his murder of Amy Leigh Barnes.

The BBC reported in June 2011 here that Melda Wilks the mother of the killer and founder of West Midlands Against Injustice, had organised a “march and protest”.

The WMAI group was affiliated with the United Against Injustice group set up by Andrew Green and Ann Craven and with INNOCENT, the campaigning group also founded by Andrew Green;

According to a December 2011 blog headed “Someone else killed this girl, NOT my son”, which can be read here, Melda Wilks put together a two page printed leaflet reading “PLEASE READ THIS WITH AN OPEN MIND…WE NEED JUSTICE AND FREEDOM FOR RICARDO MORRISON”

Further excerpts from the Someone else killed this girl, NOT my son blog read;

..the two page leaflet that was handed out he is described as:

“An educated, respectable hard-working young man”, saying the GMP “maliciously lied about his background”.

And the case that Ricardo is innocent is extremely convincing, with the leaflet stating almost 20 “facts” and evidence that were supposedly overlooked by police, the public and the judge.

Apparently, there is no forensic evidence to link Ricardo to the scene of the crime, forensic found blood belonging to an ANOTHER unknown person AND the witness picked out another male from the viper identification.

This “witness” was dressed similar to the person he alleged he saw, and later went on to change his evidence in court as it did not match is statement. This a tiny fraction of the convincing facts listed on the leaflet.

http://westmidlandsagainstinjustice.webs.com/ricardomorrison.htm :the West Midlands Againt Injustice site, where more information is listed.

The link at the foot of the above excerpts no longer works however this link does, and under the header Justice and Freedom for Ricardo Morrison are a list of innocence fraud killer Ricardo Morrison’s “facts” related to his murder of Amy Leigh Barnes.

A group called the Revolutionary Communist Group also promoted West Midlands Against Injustice in November 2011 here which made the following claim;

For prisoners who are wrongly convicted it means a life of torture for them and their families and friends.

Our aim is to bring public attention to the fact that Miscarriages of Justice are still very prevalent in our society and the group West Midlands Against Injustice (WMAI) continues to highlight unfairness of cases on a regular basis.

It is our intention to be instrumental in bringing about changes in the law in the near future! Below are brief details of some of the campaigns we are fighting for

The West Midlands Against Injustice website also promoted the also now defunct National Joint Enterprise Casework Service (NJEC) here, which stated under ’Who we are’ the following;

Screenshot taken from the now defunct National Joint Enterprise Casework Service (NJEC) promoted by WMAI

More on the people mentioned in the above screenshot will follow in future Parts of the this blog series.

InsideDoubt Start Campaigning Booklet By Stephanie Bon

Screenshot of Stephanie Bon’s website Inside Doubt

As I didn’t have any previous experience with Campaigning and with Miscarriages of Justice, I didn’t have a particular order in which I completed tasks so I have tried to break my progress down in orderly sections, I hope this helps.

Please keep in mind that I can only speak of the work I have done and what I have learned; this may not be the way for you, however it may give you a structure and ideas of how to get started. 

There are many innocent people in prison but there aren’t enough “qualified hands” to help so be prepared to do as much as you can to get the case exposed.” 

© www.insidedoubt.co.uk – 12/2007 info@insidedoubt.co.uk 

Index 

1.  You and Your Team           2. The Prisoner                            3.Legal Team                        

4. Case Study                         5, Your Website                           6. Organisations 

7. The Media                         8. MP Campaign                           9. Flyers I Stationery              

10. Events                            11. Prisoners who are Alone         12. Warning 

The following is a detailed account of my personal experience. 

1 – You and your Team 


If possible, get a team together; trusted friends and family to help you work, understand the case, spread the word and support you. 

Losing someone through a miscarriage of justice is extremely overwhelming and it can drain you emotionally and physically, particularly if it is someone close to you. 

In my experience some people will try to distance themselves from you because they want to believe that the system is foolproof and always right. Don’t take things personally. Though it can be very difficult not to let the rest of the world influence you, stick to your guns. 

Your team doesn’t need to be big, just make sure that you surround yourself with people you can trust and depend on and make sure they understand the case. Their true belief in the case will obviously strengthen their loyalty towards the prisoner and the campaign. 

Your campaign is going to take time and you will need people who are prepared to go the distance. Be honest and realistic about the road ahead. 

Don’t ever be ashamed or scared to ask as you encounter new issues. Keep in mind the person who is inside. If you are going to be their voice on the outside you will need to keep strong and objective especially if you are going to gain credibility. 

From now on you are a rock! Never doubt yourself. 

You may need to obtain power of attorney from the prisoner to speak on their behalf. Try keep this limited to one person if you can; decide on a dedicated team member if you have one. 

This will prevent miscommunication and will make it easier for people to work with you. 

This is not to say that you won’t share the work, just assign someone to act as your point of contact. 

Confer with your team and exchange ideas, question each other. Try and meet regularly. 

Note: Remember; 2 heads (or more) are better than one and so is a fresh pair of eyes, try not to isolate yourself. 

Note: Take a rest in between working; overturning a wrongful conviction is a big piece of work and takes a long time. 

2 – The Prisoner 

Being convicted of a crime you haven’t committed is an enormous burden to carry, some people lose everything in the space of a day. Bear in mind how the prisoner might be feeling. 

Try be confident for the prisoner. Be strong and solid, use your friends and team to discuss your fears. Remind the prisoner that you believe them and that you will do all you can to change the circumstances. 

Tell them that this is not uncommon and that people can and have been successful.

Be aware that the nature of the crime they were convicted of will have an impact on the prisoner’s day to day life in prison; support the prisoner in maintaining their innocence. 

Prisoners have much to gain by admitting to their offence; help them to not be influenced by the system. 

Prisoners will be offered to take part in rehabilitation courses to address their alleged wrong behaviour. 

These are not compulsory although their taking part will have an impact on their progress through the system. 

Remind them that they are not guilty and that they need to consistently stick to the truth. 

Note: Talk to solicitors and the organisations for more legal advice on rehabilitation courses issues. 

Always involve the prisoner as much as you can, show them that they still have some control over their lives and future. They have! 

Send them copies of everything you do and everything happening with their campaign; show them that they matter and that they are not forgotten. 

Contact their friends and ask them to write and visit, keep in touch, remember birthdays and Christmas, none of these happens inside … 

Note: Some people may be frightened at the thought of visiting someone in prison, please bear that in mind and do not try to force people as it may make them run away, there are other ways for people to keep in touch. 

Some prisoners will want to know what is happening with life on the outside, others won’t, always consider their feelings and do not try to impose your way because you think it’s best. 

Remember that they are the people who have to cope with the isolation so always respect their wishes. 

Note: Some prisoners will be on the ball and ready to fight with you; others may feel too beaten. This does not mean that you give up; it just means that you need more support for yourself on the outside. 

Note: Remember that prisons have televisions and newspapers therefore anything which gets published and that is in the view of other prisoners and prison staff will have an impact on the prisoner and they will have to deal with the consequences. Always ask the prisoners for permission before you do anything. 

Note: Although I was always unsuccessful, try and meet with the prison governor to explain the situation, you never know and it’s always worth trying. 

Remember that they are the people who have to cope with the isolation so always respect their wishes. 

3 – Legal Team 
Discuss and decide with the prisoner whether s/he is going to stay with the same legal team they had at trial and if so, discuss their experience in Miscarriages of Justice. 

If you are going to find a new legal team, in my experience, the more concise the information you have to present a defence lawyer; the easier it will be for them to get an idea of the case and decide whether to represent the prisoner or not.

There are Law firms out there who specialise in MOJ and who are prepared to take cases on, write in for more information. 

Note: Don’t be deflated by rejection and keep knocking on people’s doors! 

Note: It can be very difficult to communicate with prisoners as prisons usually have a “volatile & unreliable” post system … this is why obtaining power of attorney is a good idea; it will avoid a lot of duplication and save time. 
Also, please visit The Innocence Network UK 

The Innocence Network UK (INUK) is the co-ordinating organisation for affiliated Innocence Projects based in UK universities. 

Their aim is Educate to overturn and prevent the wrongful conviction of innocent people. (Under “Links”, visit their website for more information) 
 
4 – Case study 
Talk to the prisoner about their case, if anyone knows they do; they are probably the only person who sat throughout the whole trial. 

Gather as much as the case papers as you can and read through them as many times as you need. 
Read and understand the judge’s summing up; this is the most important document you have as it should contain everything about the trial. 

Research the case; look for things that don’t “add up”, try not to be bias, of course you believe they are innocent but if it helps, try and prove them guilty, it may bring out more of the evidence which shows that the conviction is unsafe. 
Write everything down and ask your legal team as many questions as you can think of, if you don’t have one yet, there are people out there who can help, just ask. 

Never feel stupid for asking! 

Read up other cases (there are hundreds available online), compare issues, look for similarities, there are common patterns to miscarriages of justice, look for them. 

Build up data, start putting together documents (see J4S), this will help you make sense of it all and see where “it went wrong”. 

Please see United Against Injustice for information on how to “present your case”. 

5 – Your Website 
Once you are familiar with the case and the discrepancies and that you have built the documents required to put your case back in the public eye, building a webpage I website is going to be the best way for you to gather support. 

Look at other sites, ask other campaigners for tips, what works, what doesn’t. 

What information can I put on my website: 

Present the case briefly and in detail, the evidence against the Prisoner, the alibi, why you believe the prisoner is innocent, the Judge’s summing up, start a petition, have a guestbook for people to keep in touch and make sure the prisoner has a space too so that they can write in and communicate with their supporters. 

Have a news page to keep people informed of any developments. 

Note: Please make sure you consult with your legal team or the organisations to check your site BEFORE you launch it in case there is something on there which would be best kept out in case it could damage the future appeal of the prisoner. 

This does not mean that you have something to hide, just be safe with the Law and never act without appropriate advice. 

Once you are ready to launch your site, inform everyone you know so that they visit the site and start writing in, there is nothing like an empty site to make people turn away. 

Note: Don’t forget to put everything you do on your website, this can sometimes help put pressure on the people you are asking for help. 

Make sure you have a contact page where people can write to you and don’t be offended by people’s questions, remember that most people have no idea that this goes on and most of the time they are trying to understand. 

Note: Don’t waste time on people who are only being vindictive for the sake of it, they’ll soon get bored and move on to the next thing 🙂 and you have better things to do. Don’t take things personally. 

Once you start to have a list of supporters don’t be frightened to ask for support, people want to help, imagine if everyone on your list brings 10 new people to the cause, your mailing list will soon start to grow. 

Any ideas you have can work, sit down and make plans on how you are going to go about things. 

Remember to always be objective and as “un-emotional” as you can about this, people need facts and the truth. 

When someone writes to you, reply as soon as you can, stay aware that people soon move on to the next thing, grab their attention and publish as much information as you can as often as you can. 

Anything to do with Miscarriages of Justice and the Justice System will interest and educate your readers; it will also help keep other cases in the news. Work together with other campaigners. 

Always Be Honest and remember that you have nothing to hide. 

Keep in mind that everyone has a past and just because someone has made mistakes, it does not mean they are guilty of this particular crime, in fact, it could be the reason why the Prisoner was picked on in the first place. 

The system and the police have a tendency to use people’s vulnerabilities against them and character assassination is a powerful tool with Jurors. 

Use your website to tell people what happens to the prisoner in prison, don’t be scared to speak up for them. 

Once you are satisfied with your site, start to copy it onto other public medium such as MySpace, Facebook, Bebo, NowPublic, etc. 

Please see under “Links”, the more you can put your case out there the more chances you have of being noticed and you will be surprised of how many other people are doing the same. 

Note: As much as you can, always ask the prisoner to contribute, this is the tool which is going to help you raise their profile and awareness of their case. 

Make them feel involved in what happens with their campaign. 

6 – Organisations 
There are some excellent organisations out there (see Links) so please contact them and use them, no one minds and in my experience, as long as people see you help yourself, they will always have time for you. 

(Remember that no one is going to run your campaign for you … ) 

Make sure to read through what the agencies offer and what they have available on their websites so that you don’t waste people’s time, always be patient. 

A lot of people have written articles on MOJ and these can be very helpful in your research, try spend time reading these before you ask questions. 

Ask the organisations and other campaigners to link you on their website and in return, link them on your website. 
Note: Remember to always read people’s websites before you link them and if in doubt don’t link them. Also make it clear to your readers that you are not responsible for the content of other webpages / websites. Always ask people for their permission before you do anything. 

Note: Try not judge other people’s work or question their beliefs, whether you choose to associate with them or not is down to your personal opinion, stick to your case, everyone who fights for MOJ believes in their cause. It is down to you who is on your website. 

Always let the organisations know what you are doing so that they can publish it in their news, this will help bring more publicity to your case. 

Contact MOJUK (see Links) and ask them to add the prisoner and you to their mailing list; this means the Prisoner will receive a regular newsletter and you emails of any news related to miscarriages of justice, including the updates you post on their case. 

Information and Communication is key. 

Note: Look into other cases where people have been freed and cleared, this will help you understand the system and the damage wrong convictions cause. 

There are amazing people out there who have been victims of MOJ and in my experience, they are the best people to ask. 

7 – The Media 
Contact the local press and inform them of your new website I campaign. 

The chances are that if they followed the case, they will be interested in this new development. 

The prisoner’s character would have been very damaged by the press during the investigation, it’s time to turn this round and show the public the other side of the coin. 

Try to build a rapport with your local journalists, meet with them if you can and discuss the case and what they can do to help. 

Journalists are aware of Miscarriages of Justice so try and make them see the consequences their words can have on someone. They are the people’s voices. 

“Bad hair day” pictures of the Prisoners may have been published during the trial, the worst they look; the better the impact, try and show other photos on your website and contribute new ones to the press. 

Always make sure that journalists are going to write an unbiased article, give you a chance to make a fresh start with the case, don’t be afraid to negotiate and only offer input if they are prepared to work with you, not make the situation worse. 

Note: Whatever journalists say they can help, so if they are not willing to do so, move on, don’t settle for just anything just to get the case back in the news. Remember that it can be very damaging for the prisoner and for you. 

Spend time on the internet when you can and look for anyone you think might help you, there are many investigative journalists specialising on miscarriages of justice out there waiting to write about your case! Private Eye is always a good one. 

Remember you are not alone and these people have a lot of experience. 

Some journalists may want to visit the prisoner (possibly undercover), this is fine and it will help them make a better assessment of the situation, particularly the investigative ones. 

Unfortunately or not, the press is very much about sensationalism, most cases are and therefore are of interest; don’t let your prisoner’s wrong conviction be the last thing people hear about them. 

Contact your local radio station; they may want to talk to you about the case. 

Not many television programs are dedicated to MOJ anymore if any; be aware of people’s motives if they approach you about making a documentary on your case. 

Don’t just trust anyone and make sure that you will be involved every step of the way, some journalists have their own agendas and unless they are prepared to make a program to “highlight” the inadequacies of the case and you are 100% sure of the format and have a say on the outcome, don’t agree to anything. 

Don’t sell yourself and the Prisoner short for the sake of having something on TV, there will always be another offer, especially as your campaign gathers momentum … it may be about sensationalism, but the bottom line is that this is about someone life. 

There may be smaller companies out there interested in MOJ, look for them. 

Explore possibilities such as Media students, contact Universities and remember; if you don’t ask you don’t get. 
Keep in mind that the Prisoner doesn’t need anymore bad press; I personally do not believe that “it’s all good as long as it’s out there”. 

Work with people who have integrity and don’t be defeatist; a lot of people enjoy their work and are passionate about what they do, take your time and look for the best. 

Always keep in mind the victim (of the crime) and their family, however try not to let emotions get in the way of your campaigning, remember that an innocent person is in prison and that just because the police has done a good job of convincing the victim’s family and most of the public, it’s not to say that they are right. 

This isn’t a personal fight, you are campaigning against a wrong conviction, don’t engage in vendettas and damage yours or anyone’s reputation. 

Someone is responsible for every crime but we have to make sure that the right person is in prison. 

8 – MP Campaign 
This is an idea of how to run a National Campaign to MPs and ask for support with your campaign. 

Please feel free to use the templates on this site, amend as needed or write your own, these are just examples of how I did it. 

Note that there are 2 different templates: 

Letter 1 for YOUR MP –    Letter 2 for MPs outside your constituency- 

Also write a separate “brief account” of the case;    Please see Justice 4 Simon, “In Brief” to see what I wrote. 

This will be attached to your letter and it will help your MP get a quick, clear idea of the case. 

Add that they can also visit your website for more details on the case and contact you with any questions; always leave your personal details on your correspondence. 

Start with the prisoner’s MP and yours if you live in a different constituency. 

Outside constituency: Bear in mind that most MP’s will not reply and if they do, they will often tell you that they are not able to act on behalf of someone who doesn’t live in their constituency. Don’t be disheartened, keep at it! 

Note: Once your MP or the Prisoner’s MP agrees to support you, there is no law stopping other MP’s joining them so don’t be scared to ask again. 

Document this on your website, let your supporters and the press know what you are doing and ask your supporters to use the templates to write to their own MPs. 

Always have a structure and inform your supporters of when you will announce the results of your campaign, have a date in mind so that you don’t wait forever. (Be reasonable and check the MPs time tables, a lot happens in Parliament) 

Note: Consistency is the key to running a campaign, don’t start something that you will not finish, as small as you think it may be; your supporters will always follow your example. 

Always follow up. 

Do not take no news as being good news; follow up with your MP (and the Prisoner’s). 

You can also write another letter reminding them that you are still waiting for a reply and that you are due to publish your results soon. 

A phone call doesn’t hurt either and you can ask for a meeting. 

Concentrate on your MP (and the Prisoner’s) as they are the only ones who can help you initially, it will be easier to gather others once these are on board. 

Always ask for their permission to publish any correspondence you receive from them. 

Inform the press of your results, MPs who agree to support you will often agree to interviews with the press; more publicity for your case. 

Send the letters to your MP by post, I emailed the others (it’s cheaper and just as effective) 

Visit The Parliament Website for email addresses, there are plenty of other websites where you can find emails for MP, just look for them. 

Note: MPs change their em ails addresses so you will need to go through the list above and copy them to create your own list. 

Create an email for other MPs entitled Miscarriage of Justice, attach your Letter and “In Brief” with a short note to ask them to take a look at your documents. 

Remember to thanks MPs who offer their support and add them to your mailing list so that they can see the progress of your case, always keep in touch and don’t hesitate to ask them for advice. Make sure they sign your petition. 
Remember to always publish everything you do and tell the organisations. 

We were very lucky to be assigned an MP’s Aid who consistently worked with us and supported us, invite them to join you at Miscarriages of Justice day and other events I conferences you attend. 

9 – Flyers I Stationery 

Once your website is online, start using stationery that matches your site, use your means, have a logo and print it on the paper you use to your write letters on. This just makes you look more professional. 

Make yourself a word template with your logo, details, prisoner’s details and website address. 

Design a flyer that you can put on your website and that people can print and distribute if they want to. 

Note: Remember that fancy designs and coloured flyers are expensive to print so a simple black and white A4 or AS document is enough to start with. 

State the case briefly and put your web address on. 

Ask your friends to distribute it; stick it on your window, at the back of your car, anywhere you think someone might see it. 

Once you can and if you have funds you can always look at doing something better but think of all the leaflets you see out on the streets and in bins … use them wisely … 

10 – Events 
Get into a habit and keep cheeking on the organisations websites for events to do with Miscarriages of Justice. 
Every year, United Against Injustice organises a Miscarriage of Justice day. 

Try to attend if you can; they offer workshops and are full of people who can help you, it will also give you the opportunity to meet with other people in your situation, and build more support for yourself. 

Make sure you take your flyers and anything else you have so that you can distribute them and spread the word. 

Every year brings new speakers and you may be surprised of who you get to meet, solicitors, experts, journalists, etc. 
Everyone there has a common cause, they are involved with Miscarriages of Justice and you can learn from each other. 

11 – Warning … 

Be prepared to be patient, this is not to say that you wait for things to happen, there are a lot of “alleged” miscarriages of justice out there and your case will soon be yesterday’s news if you do not keep proactive. 

If leave to appeal has not been granted the next stop is the Criminal Case Review Commission (CCRC) 

It took almost 5 years from the first application form being sent about the wrongful arrest to the case being assigned a case worker at the CCRC. (-see under “Links”for more information on this government body) 

It took almost 2 years for the campaigning team to read the case papers, make sense of everything and discover evidence. 

It took over 3 years of tenuous work, everyday to get recognition and to build momentum with the website and the campaign. 

Research is paramount, read about other cases, watch documentaries, read books, look up the organisation’s websites, ask questions and study whatever you need to study to understand the case better. 

H.M forces and the Justice system are not keen to admit that they have made a mistake and they will make it as difficult as they can for you, be persistent and do not feel discouraged by closed doors, do not expect them to be helpful but keep knocking! 

Correspondence needs to be followed up, make sure you keep copies of everything you send and do not hesitate to send forms 2 or 3 times, just in case one gets “lost in the post”. Follow up with a phone call to ensure it has been received. 

Our application to the CCRC was sent twice by the person inside and twice by us, yet they spent months claiming that they hadn’t received it. 

The police will undoubtedly monitor what you are doing, especially if you get a lot of press attention, they have the means to screen your website, phone calls, etc. … this is not a certainty but be aware that it does happen! Be sure of who you speak to and what you talk about. 

Beware of people who claim to know information about the case; people like to feel involved and have the best intentions at hearts, don’t believe in hearsay. 

Remember that not everyone will agree with you, you may get some strong opinions at times; rise above it and keep focused, everyone is entitled to their opinion and do not waste your time arguing pointlessly. 

Be suspicious of people’s “hidden agendas”, criminal cases are delicate subjects; do not divulge information to just anyone because you think they might help you. 

Always respect the victim’s dignity and integrity. 

If you do not have a lawyer, always confer with the agencies who will advise you if you are unsure about anything. 

As frustrated as you may feel at times, remember that the system is designed to discourage you, the longer you go on, the more chances you have of succeeding, persistence and determination will get you there eventually. 

Take one day at a time. 

Unfortunately, miscarriages of justice do happen and therefore try and study previous cases closely, educate yourself, use the support groups and work with other campaigners, share your knowledge. 

As time goes on and we learn how to fight the system, hopefully the time it takes to overturn wrongful convictions will shorten and eventually the judicial system might put appropriate procedures in place to allow people to defend themselves fairly and rapidly. 

Stay patient, active and never give up. 

Please contact us on the website if you have any questions. 

Thank you for reading, 

Insidedoubt 

Link to Part 17d here

Killer Simon Hall: False & Misleading Narratives, John Hatton, Domestic Violence, Innocence Network UK, Bristol University, Michael Naughton, Keir Starmer, Michael Mansfield, Killer Michael Cheong, Alleged Message Of Support From Serving Police Officer, Professor Peter Bull, BBC Rough Justice, The Innocents’ Brief & The Appointment Of A Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) Case Manager – Part 17b©️   


Joan Albert’s Killer.
Photograph of Simon Hall taken whilst at large and wanted by Suffolk police for a sexually motivated murder

Killer Michael Cheong

In August 2005 Danielle Nuttall wrote an article for the East Anglian Daily Times headed E-mail backing for convicted killer.

Excerpts from her article read;

An investigation was launched last night after a Suffolk police officer allegedly posted a message of support on a website set up to help free convicted murderer Simon Hall.

The email appears on a website which was created by family and friends of 27-year-old Hall in a bid to get his conviction for killing Capel St Mary pensioner Joan Albert overturned.

Suffolk Constabulary admitted last night it was launching an investigation into the message, which purports to be from a serving member of Suffolk police whose name cannot be published for legal reasons.

A police spokesman said: “We have been made aware of the website comment attributed to a police officer and are making initial inquiries.

“The views expressed do not reflect Suffolk Constabulary’s position on this matter”

The alleged police officer’s message also refers to the case of Suffolk police officer Michael Cheong, who was recently found guilty of the manslaughter of Brian Spencer in Guyana 23 years ago.

It said:

“His trial started in July and finished the other day. The verdict: guilty. We’re all shocked and devastated”

And, in a comment directed at the Halls, it adds:

“Our thoughts and prayers go to you and your family… I know the injustice of it all.

“Shamefully, I am also a police officer in Suffolk. Why is this happening?”

It is not known what action the police officer will face if the email is deemed genuine.

Phillip Smith, secretary of the Suffolk Police Federation, said there were a number of charges under misconduct regulations, including an offence of bringing the police force into disrepute.

He said if the message was legitimate, a professional standards department might investigate and bring forward a tribunal.

“We have not seen something like this before. The officer could just receive some strong words of advice,” he said.

“I’m sure they will investigate those comments and draw a conclusion and submit their findings”

Last night Hall’s mother Lynne said of the alleged police officer comment:

“It was a big boost.

“To be honest when the investigation was going on we did speak to a few officers who felt the end result was not justified.

“It’s nice to see it on paper. I hope it is legitimate but on the other hand I would hate anybody to lose their job over it. It would be a shame.

“There’s going to be those who do not believe in the war but they have to go to war because they are soldiers.

“You will always get that in the police force as well”

Excerpts by Danielle Nuttall for the East Anglian Daily Times article headed E-mail backing for convicted killer dated 18th August 2005

Further excerpts from the same media article read;

Earlier this year, Hall posted his own message on the website describing his ordeal since conviction and warning the public the pensioner’s killer was still at large.

The former East Bergholt High School pupil said:

“From a psychological point of view it must be a relief for the public when they learn from whatever media source that a man has been charged with murder and it must be an even bigger relief when that man is convicted of the crime.

“I obviously appreciate the necessity of putting whoever is responsible behind bars as soon as possible but I am not the man responsible for this crime and that gives me the unfortunate task of telling you that there is a loony still out there”

The campaigning website has now launched a nationwide mailing campaign targeting as many MPs in the country as possible.

Hall’s family and friends have written more than 200 letters to contacts asking them to lobby their local MP.

The website also asks visitors to download its generic letter and fill in their details before sending it to their MP.

The letter says:

“Having consulted Mr Hall, and having studied the details of the case, we have real concerns about the safety of his conviction.

“We would like to share our concerns with you in the hope that the case can be resolved, with justice prevailing”

Forensic expert Professor Peter Bull, based at Oxford University, is presently undertaking his own experiments using some of the evidence in Hall’s case.

His family hopes the results will aid his appeal.

Excerpts by Danielle Nuttall for the East Anglian Daily Times article headed E-mail backing for convicted killer dated 18th August 2005

John Hatton Allegedly Specialised in “Miscarriages Of Justice”

It is not known who the investigative journalist Michael Naughton said he could “vouch for his integrity” was, referred to in Part 17a which can be read by tapping on the button below;

But John Hatton (who Stephanie Bon had also sent a copy of her 25th of September 2006 email to regarding Simon Hall apparently “suffering with his teeth”) wrote an article for the Big Issue magazine, which was published in September 2004 headed Innocence network attacks appeals system and included an interview with Michael Naughton.

A couple of years later however the Stroud News and Journal reported under the header Journalist walks out of ‘kangaroo court that John Hatton had been convicted for domestic violence;

Journalist John Hatton sensationally walked out of his own domestic violence trial – claiming he would never get justice from a ‘kangaroo court’.

Hatton, aged 59, of Bridgeside, Cainscross, was conducting his own defence before a judge at Stroud Magistrates’ Court.

He was accused of a common assault on his ex-partner, Stella Hender.

But after deputy district judge William Thomas rejected a series of Hatton’s legal submissions the freelancer – who specialises in miscarriages of justice – took the rare step of quitting his own trial on Monday.

Hatton said he wanted to prove that Ms Hender was an unreliable witness and suffered from a mental illness.

“My case is simply that there was domestic violence in this relationship – but it was her violence towards me”

he said.

“The reality is that for years she has been suffering from an untreatable personality disorder”

But prosecutor Maxine Bown said there was no evidence to suggest Ms Hender had mental health issues.

Hatton said he wished to call a witness who had a conviction for a sex offence – but wanted the court to protect the man’s identity from the press to prevent reprisals.

When Judge Thomas said he would deal with that application when the time arose, Hatton demanded an instant answer.

Judge Thomas refused and Hatton announced he was walking out.

The judge said the trial would continue in Hatton’s absence and bailed him to return after lunch to hear the result.

After hearing Ms Hender’s evidence the judge said he had heard enough to convict.

Hatton was found guilty of the assault on July 7 last year.

Ms Hender told the court she had been with Hatton for four years but that the relationship had ended that evening when he pulled out some of her hair in a drunken rage.

When Hatton returned to court he announced his intention to appeal.

He was bailed to return on April 21 for sentencing.

Stroud News and Journal article headed Journalist walks out of ‘kangaroo court dated the 21st of March 2006

Message Of Thanks

A year after John Hatton’s conviction for domestic violence, Stephanie Bon published a message from killer Simon Hall.

The message included John Hatton’s name, thanking him and others for all their “hard work” and “faith” in the killer;

Message from Simon – 5 April 07
Hello…It’s been a long time since I wrote anything for this website, probably too long but with the airing of the BBC Rough Justice – The Innocent Brief in mind and the massive rise in the profile of this case I thought I should attempt some kind of message.

Here goes…

This year is proving to be a good year.

The campaign for freedom gathers pace with the appointment of a CCRC Case Manager and our attempts to raise awareness of my situation reaching levels I never thought could be realised.

What started as just a little website giving information to the public and helping me by making me feel that people were working hard for me and I wasn’t forgotten, has grown into one of the leading miscarriages of justice websites on the internet today.

It has proven to be such a valuable tool from which we have managed to gain help and support from so many people all over the world including Barristers, Solicitors, Law Students, Politicians, Journalists, film makers, Authors, Doctors, Scientists and even serving police officers, but that was obviously denied!!

All things considered I am okay, if just a little tired and underweight. I’ve more wrinkles and grey hair but apart from that there is nothing to report. I’m healthy so I mustn’t grumble.

My family and friends are still there for me and although some with whom I was once very close seem to have drifted away, others from old have come along for the ride plus new people who have never met me but still send messages and letters of support.

There is nothing better than family and friends; knowing that you are loved and cared about.

Can anything else be more important?

Here’s hoping to see you all on the other side of the wall.

Mum, Dad & Shaun – I love you, Steffie – You’re amazing, Oli – you legend!

To Campbell Malone, Michael Naughton, Gabe, Made, Jo, Amanda, Jess, Keir Starmer, Peter Bull, Allan Jamieson, Cathy & Josie, Innocent & MOJO, John Hatton, thank you for all your hard work and faith in me,

Last but not least, thank you to all the people out there for your support!

Simon,

A November 2009 forum called Nailsworth.com included a post which said John Hatton had supported killer Simon Hall’s innocence fraud campaign;

John has more ability than just writing articles for a free village magazine.

His investigative journalism is very professional and competent.

For the past 8 years, he has continued to help our family fight a Miscarriage of Justice, and his reports regarding our cause have been published in Private Eye, Big Issue and the Newcastle Evening Chronicle.

He has also managed to highlight some very disturbing failures in the investigation of the case.

Apart from helping us, he has given a tremendous amount of support to others who have been wrongfully convicted, some of the prominent cases being Simon Hall and Ian & Angela Gay.

Forum post from nailsworth.com here dated the 16th November 2009

Death of 3 Year Old Christian Blewitt

Angela and Ian Gay were convicted of killing three year old Christian Blewitt.

Excerpts from a 2004 media article headed Couple killed child with salt, court told read;

Ian and Angela Gay

A couple killed a three-year-old boy they were hoping to adopt by poisoning him with salt, a court was told yesterday.

Ian and Angela Gay, from Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, were accused of feeding Christian Blewitt up to four teaspoons of salt after he failed to meet their expectations.

Christian and his younger brother and sister were placed with the defendants as prospective parents in November 2002.

3 year old Christian Blewitt

Julie Macur QC, for the prosecution, told Worcester Crown Court that the boy was admitted to hospital in a critical condition less than two months later.

She said tests revealed excess levels of sodium and chlorine in his blood, equivalent to 40g of salt, and that he had suffered a brain haemorrhage.

He died four days later.

She told the court:

“Mr Gay told police when interviewed that Christian was a liability and not too bright.

This is an indication that the children had to fit their lifestyle and Christian did not come up to proof”

3 year old Christian (left) Angela and Ian Gay (right)

Ian Gay, 37, and Angela Gay, 38, deny murder, manslaughter and cruelty to a child.

They are accused of causing Christian to collapse by feeding him poisonous levels of salt and by shaking him or hitting his head on a firm surface.

Miss Macur said that a post-mortem examination revealed 11 areas of bruising to the top of Christian’s head, which were not apparent externally.

Excerpts from article by James Sturcke for the Independent dated the 20th of November 2004

Michael Mansfield who was a patron of the now defunct UK innocence network

and who represented actual, factual guilty killer Simon Hall during his December 2010, had also represented Angela and Ian Gay during their appeal.

The Gay’s murder convictions were deemed unsafe by the court of appeal as can be read in the court of appeal judgement here.

Charlotte Pinkey

The Nailsworth.com forum also included a post here by the mother of the killer of 16 year old Charlotte Pinkney.

John Hatton had apparently also written a story headed Rose Thorns about Charlotte Pinkney’s killer and his innocence fraud.

Charlotte Pinkney disappeared in the early hours of Saturday the 28th of February 2004, following a party in Burnside Road, Ilfracombe, north Devon.

Charlotte was reported missing on 4th March 2004.

Killer Nicholas Rose & Inside Justice

An excerpt from a media article about killer and innocence fraudster Nicholas (Nick) Rose, which outlined a report by the prison and probation ombudsman (Which can be read in full here) read;

Mr Rose told his offender supervisor (probation officer in prison) that he had been very low at the end of 2017 and the beginning of 2018 because he had learned that Inside Justice (a charity that investigates possible miscarriages of justice) were not going to pursue an appeal against his conviction.

He said he had resorted to using drugs to cope.

Excerpt from article by Marie-Claire Alfonso for the Bournemouth Daily Echo headed Murderer Nicholas Rose dies at HMP Guys Marsh after taking Spice dated the 1st April 2022
33 year old Angus Sibbett

Angus Sibbett

John Hatton also met with and wrote about one of the killers of Angus Sibbett, who was murdered in January 1967 and in September 2012, which can be read here.

John Hatton made an interesting post via his facebook social media page in September 2012;

It was reported here that John Hatton passed away on the 1st February 2020

Link to Part 17c here