Two months after the case was last heard, Oliver Campbell returned to the Royal Courts of Justice yesterday for the final hearing of his murder conviction appeal.
Campbell was jailed in 1991 for the shooting of shopkeeper Mr Hoondle during a robbery. However, discrepancies existed between Campbell and the description of the gunman, and his guilt was based on his confession.
A witness described the gunman as approximately 5ft 11in, and other evidence suggested he was right-handed. Campbell is left-handed and 6ft 3in.
Yesterday afternoon, the judges announced they would reserve their judgement to consider the ‘extremely detailed’ and ‘dense’ arguments presented – as reported by the Hackney Gazette’s Charles Thomson.
Campbell, who has the mental age of a 7-year-old, was interviewed 11 times over the course of two days. Under questioning, Campbell chose not to have his lawyer present and confessed to the crime.
In court, Campbell’s lawyers questioned whether his consent to be interviewed without a lawyer was “voluntary, informed and unequivocal” due to these mental difficulties.
However, the Crown prosecutor John Price KC argued that Campbell knew his lawyer having used his services previously, including for criminal behaviour, suggesting he was aware of his right to legal representation during the police interviews.
Price stated, ‘the empirical evidence shows that he could and, prior to November 30, has decided when and from whom he wished to have assistance at a police station.’
Concerns about the possibility of a false confession have been central to the entire appeal, with Campbell’s lawyers basing their arguments on scientific research developed since his conviction.
After the court adjourned in February, Campbell’s legal team submitted additional written evidence, focusing on advancements in the understanding of false confessions. More on the evidence provided by forensic psychology experts in court can be found on the Justice Gap here.
Defence barrister Michael Birnbaum also highlighted that Eric Samuels, Campbell’s co-defendant in the 1990 crime, had exonerated Campbell to the police and supposedly named the real killer – information which was not shared with the jury at the time of trial being dismissed as ‘hearsay’.
While Price maintained that many of the concerns raised by the defence were addressed during Campbell’s initial trial, saying ‘nothing has changed’, the defence disagrees.
Outside the court, one of Campbell’s lawyers, Glyn Maddocks KC, noted ‘the way in which police interrogate people or question people now is significantly different… the way that people with serious disabilities are treated now is massively different. And all of that really didn’t feature in the arguments put forward by the Crown.’
The judges – Lord Justice Holroyde, Mrs Justice Stacey and Mr Justice Bourne – will now make their decision and deliver it electronically.
Speaking outside the court afterwards, Campbell said ‘the wheels of justice move very slowly’.
