Man wins murder conviction appeal

12 April 2012

A former aircraft engineer who spent more than 14 years behind bars for a murder he says he did not commit has spoken of his "mixed emotions" after he was freed by the Court of Appeal.

Andrew Adams, now 36, said that to describe himself as being "over the moon" after his conviction was quashed by three judges would be an "understatement".

But Adams, aged 23 when he was found guilty at Newcastle Crown Court in 1993 of the shooting murder of retired science teacher Jack Royal, also described his bitterness over being "let down so badly" by his original defence lawyers.

To loud cheers from the public gallery, Lord Justice Gage, Mr Justice Silber and Mr Justice Treacy ruled that various "criticisms and failures" relating to the handling of his defence had the cumulative effect of being "sufficient to render the verdict unsafe".

Adams, from Chapel Park, Newcastle, had his case referred to the Court of Appeal by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), the independent body which investigates possible miscarriages of justice.

He faced an anxious wait after the judges announced their ruling before the Crown announced that it was not seeking a retrial.

After his release Adams, surrounded by well-wishers, including his long-term girlfriend Clare Brayson, 35, who he thanked "for being there through the good and the bad times", said: "I have been waiting for today for 15 years.

"This is the result I ought to have had at my trial in 1993.

"It is hard to describe how I feel right now. I have very mixed emotions. But, overall, to say that I'm over the moon would be an understatement."

Adams added: "I feel bitter that my original trial lawyers let me down so badly. At the time I was charged I was 21 years old. I'd turned to them for help and assistance which I did not get in the way I ought to have done. As a result I've spent 15 years in prison."

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in