An inspirational speaker Michael O'Brien is confirmed for our 2016 United Against Injustice Conference in Liverpool.
Michael O'Brien spent eleven years in prison for a crime he didn't commit - the so-called Cardiff Newsagent Murder. Since having his conviction quashed in December 1999, Michael has worked tirelessly to ensure that those falsely convicted of crimes are exonerated.
Barbara Stone the sister of Michael Stone is confirmed as a speaker at the United Against Injustice Annual Conference 8th October 2016,
Barbara Stone says new DNA technology could clear her brother’s name almost 20 years after the murders of Lin and Megan Russell.
Ms Stone rarely sees her brother - now 55 - but admits she thinks about him – and what she sees as a gross miscarriage of justice – every day.
Michael Stone was jailed for life in 1998, after being convicted of the murder of Lin and Megan Russell and the attempted murder of Josie Russell, then aged nine, in a remote country lane near Canterbury on July 9
Michael has always denied being responsible for the appalling crimes but was found guilty.
Despite being behind bars for the past 19 years since his arrest he still protests his innocence.
He was found guilty after drug addict – and now convicted murderer – Damian Daley gave evidence for the prosecution, telling the court how Stone had confessed to him in prison that he had carried out the dreadful attacks.
Another prisoner, Barry Thompson, admitted lying about an alleged confession by Stone a day after he was jailed.
Barbara is a passionate speaker who has doggedly campaigned to shed light on the truth of this terrible crime. Barbara believes that new advances in DNA technology will finally prove the innocence of her brother and point to the real killer.
Twenty-five years ago the Birmingham Six were freed after their convictions for the murders of 21 people in two pub bombings were quashed. They had served nearly 17 years behind bars in one of the worst miscarriages of justice seen in Britain.
Paddy Hill recalls
"They jammed a pistol in my mouth and smashed it around, breaking my teeth so badly it was agony to even have a sip of water until I finally saw a dentist, two weeks later. They told me they knew I was innocent but that they didn't care: they had been told to get a conviction and that if I didn't admit to the bombing, they would shoot me in the mouth. They slowly counted to three, then pulled the trigger. They did that three times. Each time, I thought I was going to die," says Paddy, pulling up his lip to show his toothless upper gum before rolling down his trouser leg to reveal scars and cigarette burns he says were meted out to him later by the same policemen.
These days Paddy is of slight frame but don’t let that fool you. Within him burns a fire which has been raging for 40 years and its flames fuel his desire to expose the truth behind November 21, 1974.
Paddy doesn’t need a mic. He’d have made a fine orator in Roman times, for his voice could shake an amphitheatre.
Paddy says
“The truth is the cops told us they knew we were not guilty right from the beginning”.
But here is the measure of the man.
“My mother, God rest her, used to say to me ‘don’t be bitter.’ Well I’m not bitter against every police officer, I’ve honestly met some wonderful cops along the way.
Paddy is a long-time supporter of United Against Injustice and it is a privilege to have him speak at the conference. NOT TO BE MISSED.
Michelle is the sister of Barry George wrongly convicted for the murder of Jill Dando.
Committed Christian, campaigner for justice, wife, and mother of three.
Michelle campaigned for eight years for the release of her disabled brother, Barry George, after he was wrongly convicted in 2001, for the high profile murder of BBC television presenter, Jill Dando. Mr George was acquitted in 2007 and sent for re-trial in 2008. He was found not guilty, by unanimous jury verdict on 1st August 2008.
Since her brother’s wrongful incarceration, she became a public speaker at Miscarriage of Justice conferences across the UK
She is also a guest lecturer at University College Cork and Portsmouth University to law students interested in miscarriages of justice.
Hillsborough a tortuous 27-year struggle for Justice “This has been the greatest miscarriage of Justice of our time.” Andy Burnham.
Sheila will speak as a representative of the Hillsborough Justice Campaign
Originating from a large Liverpool-Irish family, Sheila calls herself “Scouse, not English.” A former chair of the Liverpool Irish Centre Cooperative and well-known activist and campaigner, Sheila is the Spokesperson for the Hillsborough Justice Campaign. For 27 years she has campaigned for truth and justice to be brought to the people who died and survivors of the 1989 Hillsborough disaster.
Sheila said: “Throughout my life and my career, I have learned that adversity takes many forms – but so does success, and the obstacles life throws at us shouldn’t be a barrier to achieving our goal
On Friday 13th May 2016 Sheila was honoured for her contribution to public service by a degree of Honorary Doctor of the University of Dublin
Janet is an active campaigner with Joint Enterprise: Not Guilty by Association (JENGbA) which is a grass roots campaign launched in 2010 by families wanting to highlight the abuse of the Joint Enterprise doctrine. They are currently supporting over 600 prisoners, men women and children, the youngest of which is 13 years of age.
Janet is the Wigan mother of teen Jordan Cunliffe one of three boys given life sentences for the killing of Garry Newlove, evHe
Jordan Cunliffe was walking home from the chip shop when a neighbour mistook his group of friends as vandals.
en though the then 15-year-old did not lay a finger on the victim.challengedthechildrenandafteranaltercation he received one significant blow to his neck and died 2 days later.
Jordan who was just 15 years old did NOT take part in any vandalism, argument or the spontaneous attack that lasted just a few seconds.
Jordan did not witness the attack as he is BLIND.
He is now serving a 12-year Life sentence along with 2 other co-defendants.
Jordan was convicted under the law of joint enterprise, the Chester Crown Court jury believing that as he was part of the gang that killedMr Newlove and did nothing to stop the attack, he was equally culpable.
JanetCunliffe, is calling for the scrapping of “guilt by association”, and continues to protest her son’s innocence.
Part of it hinges on Jordan’s poor eyesight. He suffers from a degenerative condition called keratoconus and now medics from a hospital in Glasgow have taken images of the murder scene and manipulated them so that they give an estimation of what Jordan’s view would have been based on his medical records. Only vague shapes can be made out.
She said: “My son could barely see anything and these photos give a good impression of how little.
Back by popular demand for the third year running
David and John are leading a workshop in the morning, as guest speakers in the afternoon you can follow up on that workshop, there will be an opportunity for questions and answers
David James Smith
is an award winning journalist and author. He has written extensively about crime and criminal justice issues, conducting detailed investigations into some of the most high profile cases of recent years.He has written five non-fiction books including The Sleep Of Reason – The James Bulger Case and Supper With The Crippens about the Edwardian murderer Hawley Harvey Crippen. David’s longform journalism for The Sunday Times Magazine won him Broadsheet Feature Writer Of The Year at the British Press Awards in 2011 and again in 2012.
John was Called to the Bar in 1996. He works at the Criminal Cases Review Commission investigating potential miscarriages of justice. He was a panellist at the Commission’s recent stakeholder event.