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NLJ this week: An unsafe conviction?

14 June 2024
Issue: 8075 / Categories: Legal News , Criminal
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The conviction of Michael Stone for the brutal murder of Dr Lin Russell and her daughter Megan is the subject of analysis by David Wolchover, Ridgeway Chambers, in this week’s NLJ

Wolchover writes: ‘There has never been a shred of forensic evidence implicating Stone—no microscope traces, no fibres, no fingerprints, no DNA, nor any other evidence connecting him with the scene.’ Instead, the prosecution put forward evidence of a prison cell confession.

Was it a sound conviction? Wolchover dissects the case and comments on the law regarding unsworn oral confessions in private.

Issue: 8075 / Categories: Legal News , Criminal
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NEWS
Tech companies will be legally required to prevent material that encourages or assists serious self-harm appearing on their platforms, under Online Safety Act 2023 regulations due to come into force in the autumn
Commercial leasehold, the defence of insanity and ‘consent’ in the criminal law are among the next tranche of projects for the Law Commission
The Bar has a culture of ‘impunity’ and ‘collusive bystanding’ in which making a complaint is deemed career-ending due to a ‘cohort of untouchables’ at the top, Baroness Harriet Harman KC has found
Lawyers have broadly welcomed plans to electronically tag up to 22,000 more offenders, scrap most prison terms below a year and make prisoners ‘earn’ early release
David Lammy, Ellie Reeves and Baroness Levitt have taken up office at the Ministry of Justice, following the cabinet reshuffle
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