MLA and journalist lose compo bid appeal
A Foyle Sinn Fein MLA and a Derry journalist whose murder convictions were quashed have lost their appeal against being denied compensation.
Judges ruled yesterday that Raymond McCartney and Eamonn MacDermott failed to meet the tests for any pay-out to be made.
Both men were also ordered to pay the costs of bringing their latest legal challenge.
Mr McCartney and Mr MacDermott were each cleared of murder in February 2007 after judges declared unease about the safety of guilty verdicts against them.
They had argued that substantial compensation was due for time spent in prison as a result of clear miscarriages of justice.
Mr McCartney served more than 17 years in jail for the killings of industrialist Jeff Agate and Special Branch detective Patrick McNulty in Derry in 1977.
During that time, he became a leading figure in the republican movement and took part in the Long Kesh hunger strikes.
Mr MacDermott, now a Derry-based journalist, spent 15 years behind bars for Constable McNulty's murder.
Both men denied any involvement in the killings and said they were beaten by police who fabricated confessions. After their cases were referred to the Court of Appeal by the Criminal Cases Review Commission, judges ruled that the convictions should be quashed.
But with an ex-gratia scheme used to pay out to those who suffered a miscarriage of justice withdrawn by that stage, the pair launched judicial review proceedings against the Secretary of State.
Their case hinged on how compensation cases require proof of innocence while others need a demonstration that the trial process was seriously flawed.
Following the rejection of their judicial review application last year, the two men went before the Court of Appeal.
Lawyers argued that allegations about another man arrested over the Agate murder being beaten in police custody were not passed on to prosecuting counsel in the trial.
‘Two tests’
But dismissing their appeals, Lord Chief Justice Sir Declan Morgan pointed to the two tests for claimants: demonstrating innocence, or to show something went seriously wrong in the trial resulting in the conviction of someone who should not have been convicted.
He said: "In this case, the new facts upon which the appellants rely raise issues about the credibility of one police officer and one other witness.
"It is not possible to come to any conclusion as to whether the new facts would have led to a different outcome in respect of the assessment of either witness."The new evidence was sufficient to give rise to unease about the safety of the conviction, but this is a case in which at its height it can only be said that the appellants might not have been convicted."
Sir Declan added: "Accordingly, the claims for compensation cannot succeed."
Speaking to the 'Journal' after the judgement was delivered, Mr MacDermott said: "We are disappointed but not surprised by the judgement. The Court of Appeal does seem to invite us to go to the House of Lords and we will be following that up.
"It is ridiculous that a conviction can be overturned yet we have to fight tooth and nail to secure any sort of compensation for that."
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Sunday 27 May 2012
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