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20/06/2007
Second appeal granted in Jill Dando murder case
Barry George, the man convicted of murdering television presenter Jill Dando, has won the right to a second appeal.
The case was referred to the Court of Appeal following a review by the Criminal Cases Review Commission.
The commission said that the referral was based on new evidence which called into question the firearms discharge evidence at the trial and the significance attached to the evidence.
Miss Dando, 37, was shot dead on the doorstep of her home in Fulham, west London in April 1999.
The popular BBC presenter had worked on a variety of shows, including the 'Six O'Clock News', 'Holiday' and 'Crimewatch'.
Barry George, 47, was jailed for life for the murder in July 2001 and lost a subsequent appeal against his conviction in July 2002.
Professor Graham Zellick, chairman of the Criminal Cases Review Commission, said: "It is not for the commission to decide whether or not the conviction should be quashed. Our role is limited to assessing whether there is a real possibility that the Court of Appeal may quash the conviction in the light of new evidence or argument and we have concluded that it is so.
"It is now a matter for the Court of Appeal as to whether it judges that the new evidence or argument does indeed render the conviction unsafe, in which case it will be quashed. If it is, then the court must decide whether there should be a new trial.
"Our role is now at an end - we are not a party to the proceedings in the Court of Appeal - unless the court directs us to carry out further work, as occasionally happens and as it is authorised to do by the Criminal Appeal Act.
(KMcA/JM)
The case was referred to the Court of Appeal following a review by the Criminal Cases Review Commission.
The commission said that the referral was based on new evidence which called into question the firearms discharge evidence at the trial and the significance attached to the evidence.
Miss Dando, 37, was shot dead on the doorstep of her home in Fulham, west London in April 1999.
The popular BBC presenter had worked on a variety of shows, including the 'Six O'Clock News', 'Holiday' and 'Crimewatch'.
Barry George, 47, was jailed for life for the murder in July 2001 and lost a subsequent appeal against his conviction in July 2002.
Professor Graham Zellick, chairman of the Criminal Cases Review Commission, said: "It is not for the commission to decide whether or not the conviction should be quashed. Our role is limited to assessing whether there is a real possibility that the Court of Appeal may quash the conviction in the light of new evidence or argument and we have concluded that it is so.
"It is now a matter for the Court of Appeal as to whether it judges that the new evidence or argument does indeed render the conviction unsafe, in which case it will be quashed. If it is, then the court must decide whether there should be a new trial.
"Our role is now at an end - we are not a party to the proceedings in the Court of Appeal - unless the court directs us to carry out further work, as occasionally happens and as it is authorised to do by the Criminal Appeal Act.
(KMcA/JM)
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