In June 1991 Mrs Shaughnessy was stabbed to death at home. In July 1992 the Taylor sisters were convicted of that murder. An investigating police officer had suppressed an inconsistent statement made by a highly material witness, and there was also complaint about press coverage during the trial.
Held: The reporting was ‘unremitting, extensive, sensational, inaccurate and misleading’. Though the judge had given appropriate warnings to the jury, it was impossible to say that the jury had not been influenced. A fair trial was no longer possible, and the appeal succeeded, with no re-trial being possible either.
Citations:
Times 15-Jun-1993, Independent 15-Jun-1993, (1994) 98 Cr App R 361
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Regina v Abu Hamza CACD 28-Nov-2006
The defendant had faced trial on terrorist charges. He claimed that delay and the very substantial adverse publicity had made his fair trial impossible, and that it was not an offence for a foreign national to solicit murders to be carried out . .
Cited – Regina v Stone CACD 14-Feb-2001
The defendant appealed against his conviction in 1998 of murder based on a confession said to have been made to a fellow prisoner on remand. A witness supporting that confession said after the trial that he had lied under police pressure. The appeal . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Judicial Review, Criminal Practice, Media
Updated: 25 October 2022; Ref: scu.88157