Books

A Fair Cop

Michael Bunting was enjoying a successful career as a West Yorkshire uniformed police officer when he tackled a drunk, John Patterson, who violently assaulted him. Patterson was convicted and given a community service order, but Bunting was in turn convicted of assault on Patterson on the evidence of a fellow officer, and sent, briefly, to prison.
Michael Bunting's other claim to fame occurred before his own conviction. He had arrested Leeds footballer Carlton Palmer for disorderly conduct and indecent assault, of which Palmer was subsequently convicted.
Cynical readers of this interesting and readable book will wonder whether these two significant events in ex-PC Bunting's career could possibly be connected.
Recommended reading.

available from Amazon at £4.96

The Criminal Cases Review Commission
Hope for the Innocent?

Edited by Michael Naughton
includes a chapter by INNOCENT's Dr Andrew Green
published 29 October 2009

Review in by Duncan Campbell, 16 January 2010

'Michael Naughton's timely and authoritative book comprehensively destroys the myth that the central mission of the CCRC is to correct wrongful convictions of the innocent.' Professor Mike McConville, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
'This is a timely and provocative volume, which draws attention to the limitations of Criminal Cases Review Commission and similar institutions. .. It ought to act as a useful antidote to any sense of complacency on the part of those responsible for rectifying such miscarriages.' - Professor Peter Duff, former member of the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission

available from Amazon

Jeremy Bamber: Evil, Almost Beyond Belief?

by S. C. Lomax
The History Press

In October 1986 Jeremy Bamber was convicted of the murders of five members of his family at their home in Essex. It was alleged he had killed his relatives before staging the scene so that it appeared his sister, Sheila Caffell, had committed four acts of murder before turning the murder weapon, an Anschutz semi-automatic rifle, on herself. The trial judge described Bamber, during sentencing, as being warped, callous and evil, almost beyond belief. Bamber, however, remains adamant he is the victim of a miscarriage of justice. Jeremy Bamber: Evil, Almost Beyond Belief? examines, in great detail, the case of Jeremy Bamber. For the first time all of the relevant information, from both the defence and prosecution cases, is explained. New evidence, only recently obtained, is discussed. Some of the information contained in the book will feature in the defence case when Bamber next appeals against his conviction. It has not previously been made public.

Review by Andrew Green

hardback £18.99
available from Amazon for £13.29

Power Resistance Knowledge
the epistemology of policing

Andrew Green

Andrew Green is one of the founders of INNOCENT. This book analyses the production of knowledge that can become evidence in serious criminal cases, drawing on the records of miscarriage of justice cases he has investigated. It is not a book about miscarriage of justice, but it will be found useful by anyone seeking to understand how miscarriages of justice come about.

paperback £10.90
available from Amazon for £9.81
or from the publisher Midwinter & Oliphant, post free

The Death of Justice: Guilty Until Proven Innocent

Michael O'Brien

Michael O'Brien was imprisoned for eleven years for a crime he didn't commit - the Cardiff Newsagent Murder. In this book he reveals all about the police incompetence and scapegoating which landed him as an innocent man in prison. It also tells of his tooth-and-nail fight through the highest courts, not only to get himself free, but to gain the highest compensation payout of its kind. While in prison, Michael lost not only his freedom but everything he'd ever had, including his wife, his child, and even his health. It has taken him years to rebuild his life. But he did gain something from his time inside; a self-taught knowledge of Law, and the burning desire to help others fight for justice.

paperback £9.95
available from Amazon for £5.56
See Cardiff Newsagent Three page

Rethinking Miscarriages of Justice
Beyond the Tip of the Iceberg

Dr Michael Naughton

Lecturer in Sociology and Law, University of Bristol
Founder of the University of Bristol Innocence Project and the Innocence Network UK

hardback 233pp. £45
Palgrave Macmillan 2007

read a sample chapter

No Smoke

by Sandra Lean

Exposure Publishing, 2007, £11.99
available from sandra.lean@live.co.uk and from Amazon

A thorough analysis of seven serious miscarriage of justice cases, and an attempt to understand where the British justice system goes wrong

Review by Andrew Green

THE SECRET OF BRYN ESTYN
by Richard Webster
Orwell Press 2005
£25 hardback (but try Amazon)

Detailed investigation of how false allegations of sexual abuse against children's care home workers were obtained by the police.

WHO KILLED JILL DANDO?
The Case of Barry George
by S. C. Lomax
Kempton Marks 2004
£9.99

Review by Andrew Green

STOLEN INNOCENCE
by John Batt
Ebury Press 2004
£14.99 hardback

By a solicitor who is a family friend, Stolen Innocence is an interesting and full account of someone closely involved in this case. Sally Clark was fitted up by expert pathologists and pediatricians, and although she and her husband (themselves successful commercial lawyers) sacrificed their home and their careers to pay for her defence, she spent years on prison before key data withheld by a pathologist was found and proved her innocent.

TOWN WITHOUT PITY
by Don Hale
with Marika Huns and Hamish McGregor

Published in April 2002, only a few months after Stephen Downing's conviction was quashed by the court of appeal, this account by Don Hale of his battle to find the evidence to prove Stephen's innocence is absolutely riveting. A highly recommended book.

FOREVER LOST, FOREVER GONE
by Paddy Joe Hill and Gerard Hunt

Paddy Joe Hill was one of the men who went on to become known as the Birmingham Six. This 1995 book is his account of the men's arrest for the Birmingham pub-bombings and their treatment at the hands of police officers and prison warders in the days afterwards, as well as their trial and 16-year imprisonment before their successful appeal in 1991.

An extract from the book - Chapter 13: Welcome to Winson - is Paddy Joe's account of his arrival and reception at Birmingham's Winson Green prison on remand after his arrest.

Error of Judgement
The truth about
the Birmingham bombings
by Chris Mullin

This account of the Birmingham Six case was first published in 1986 (before the men's unsuccessful 1987 appeal); the updated version was published shortly before the successful 1991 appeal. The first half of the book covers in graphic detail the manner in which 'confessions' were extracted by the police from some of the men and their treatment on remand in Birmingham's Winson Green prison.

TRIAL & ERROR
by Robert Kee

This 1986 book looks at the true events surrounding the convictions and trials of the Guildford Four and Maguire Seven

Judith Ward
Ambushed
My Story

This autobiography was written by Judith Ward in 1993

MISCARRIAGE of JUSTICE
An Irish Family’s Story of Wrongful Conviction as IRA Terrorists
By Anne Maguire
with Jim Gallaher
Foreword by Cardinal Basil Hume

This book tells the tragic story of the Maguire Seven. As it is out of print we have made the book available in its entirety as a pdf file.

(Right click on the book cover or the link above to save the file to disk. Only requires 32 sheets of A4 if you print out the odd pages, turn the paper over and then print out the even pages).

No Smoke Without Fire
by Jill Morrell

Foreword by Anne Whelan

Recommended reading for anyone doing any campaigning work!

Now out of print, but available in an updated version from United Against Injustice

Miscarriages of Justice
by Bob Woffinden

Sadly out of print, but amazon.com did manage to unearth a copy after six months. Maybe they can find another?

INNOCENT would like to thank Mr Woffinden for granting his kind permission to reproduce a number of the chapters on this site: Timothy Evans, Guildford Four, Maguire Seven, Birmingham Six, Reg Dudley/Bob Maynard and Stafford/Luvaglio.

Kevin Callan's Story
by Kevin Callan

Kevin Callan spent four years prison before the court of appeal overturned his conviction for the murder of his step-daughter.

With a foreword by Michael Mansfield QC, who represented Kevin Callan at his appeal.

The book is now out of print - but is available here in pdf format.

To read this book, you will need Adobe Reader. If you don't already have this programme, download it free

TRIAL AND ERROR
by David Jessel

The following (long) chapters of this - now out of print - book have been reproduced at this website in pdf format: Peter Fell, Sheila Bowler, Mark Cleary, Mary Druhan, Gary Mills and Tony Poole

To read these chapters, you will need Adobe Reader. If you don't already have this programme, download it free

Anybody's Nightmare
THE SHEILA BOWLER STORY
by Angela and Tim Devlin

The campaign to have Sheila Bowler's case re-examined was led by Angela and Tim Devlin, who knew Sheila Bowler prior to her wrongful conviction. Angela Devlin writes on women in prisons; Tim Devlin, the son of the former law lord, Lord Devlin, is also a journalist.

Introduction to "Anybody's Nightmare" by Frances Gibb, The Times

HANRATTY - The Final Verdict
by Bob Woffinden

This 1997 book has to be the definitive work on the Hanratty case in the meantime. Bob Woffinden discovered new evidence for his TV documentary, Hanratty - The Mystery of Deadman's Hill, and later made a submission to the Home Office that the case be referred to the court of appeal. Whilst researching this book he was allowed access to previously unavailable documents, allowing him to piece together all the evidence in the case. With an indispensable chronology and a detailed index!

LET HIM HAVE JUSTICE
by Iris Bentley
with Penelope Dening

A fascinating account of Derek Bentley's short life by his sister Iris, ghosted with Penelope Dening. This 1995 book is notable for its evocative portrayal of their childhood in war-torn London, and the terrible events that led to the trial of Derek and Christopher Craig for the murder of a policeman.

It presents new evidence following the refusal of a pardon for Bentley in 1992 by Kenneth Clarke, the then Home Secretary.

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