A bishop found an East End murder convict’s case so “distressing and perturbing” that she has called for “reform” of the criminal appeals process.
Bishop of Gloucester Rachel Treweek was so moved by the case of Jason Moore, serving life for a crime he insists he did not commit, that she questioned the government in the House of Lords.
“It seems clear that reform is needed,” she told this newspaper.
Jason, from Canary Wharf, was charged with the 2005 stabbing of Robert Darby in Gants Hill after one eyewitness picked him from a photo line-up seven years after the crime.
He did not match witness descriptions of the killer and no forensic evidence linked him to the crime, but a jury convicted him in 2013.
A decade later, the eyewitness confessed to our investigations reporter he was “drunk” when he saw the stabbing and was not sure he’d picked the right person.
Even Robert’s family – including his older brother Tim, from Havering – are convinced Jason is innocent and want him released.
Bishop of Stepney Joanne Grenfell, who supports the Moore and Darby families’ joint campaign, shared her concerns with Bishop Rachel – the Church of England’s bishop for prisons.
Jason's parents, who live in Holland on Sea, are campaigning for his release.
They included how the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) had previously refused to reinvestigate Jason’s case or reinterview the eyewitness, misstating basic facts in its justification.
Bishop Rachel said she was left wondering “whether it is fit for purpose”.
Spurred on by Jason’s “extremely distressing and perturbing” case, she asked Lord Ponsonby – parliamentary under-secretary to the Ministry of Justice – whether Labour would review the CCRC.
CCRC chairwoman Helen Pitcher recently resigned under government pressure after an independent report found innocent man Andrew Malkinson spent up to ten avoidable years in prison for a rape he had not committed, because the CCRC failed to test DNA.
Last weekend, the Mail on Sunday reported another man – Peter Sullivan – may be exonerated after almost 40 years in prison, thanks to DNA the CCRC failed to test almost two decades earlier.
“It seems clear that reform is needed,” said Bishop Rachel.
“My hope and prayer is that under new leadership, there might be a renewed vigour for justice, for victims and those believed to be falsely imprisoned.”
Lord Ponsonby told her the government was awaiting the outcome of another independent review.
The CCRC said it could not comment on Jason’s case as there is a live application based on Newsquest's fresh evidence.
It admitted it had “let down” Mr Malkinson and said it had apologised, and said forensic experts advised it in 2008 that DNA testing in Mr Sullivan's case was “unlikely” to be successful.
Share