|
|
Warren Slaney |
 |
|
|
Warren Slaney |
|
|
|
Criminal Cases Review Commission to review Slaney case click here to read article in Private Eye 2 September 2011 (pdf format) |
WARREN SLANEY IS INNOCENT PRESS RELEASE PRESS RELEASE PRESS RELEASE 20 YEARS INNOCENT RELEASE OF BALLOONS IN LEICESTER CITY CENTRE FRIDAY OCTOBER 15 2010 12:00 NOON Friday 15 October 2010 marks the 20 th anniversary of Warren Slaney being held in custody for a crime he did not commit. To mark the occasion family, friends and supporters will gather in Leicester city centre and release 20 balloons, one for each year that he has been in prison. Amongst those present will be Warren’s son Jake who was a baby when his dad was taken into custody for the notorious Hot Dog murders of 1990. Jake is now a young man working as a fitness instructor having grown up only ever seeing his dad on prison visits. T he protestors will also hand in a letter to the leader of the City Council highlighting the cost to the Leicester tax payers of keeping the wrong man in prison whilst the actual murderer remains unpunished for these crimes. Estimates of the cost of Warren’s wrongful imprisonment well exceed £1million. Warren Slaney has consistently contested his conviction and denied any involvement in the murder of Gary Thompson and his business partner John Weston. This has resulted in his being held for years in solitary confinement where he is being held at present on Prison Rule 46, “5 man unlock”. Warren Slaney’s case is currently being considered by the Criminal Cases review Commission who are looking at evidence, including from new witnesses. On a recent prison visit Warren said ‘This is not my life. My life was put on hold when I was brought into custody. I want my life back.’ Warren’s mother Mavis Slaney says ‘New witnesses have come forward and if there is anybody out there who can help with our enquiries or knows anything about the murders of John Weston and Gary Thompson then please come forward and help us to end this travesty of justice.’ CONTACTS:
ISSUED BY: Russ Spring russtspring@riseup.net NOTES TO EDITOR: Warren Slaney was sentenced to a double life sentence in 1992 for the 1990 murders of Gary Thompson and John Weston. An application was made to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (“CCRC”) in 1999. Warren Slaney’s case, whilst initially refused, is being re examined by the CCRC following recently discovered new evidence. ‘Every wrongful conviction has far reaching implications for us all. The total waste of public resources in today’s terms amounts to in excess of £1m and it is rising. It is certainly an aspect of miscarriages of justice that is largely overlooked.’ The campaign has the support of Dr Michael Naughton of The Innocence Project based at Bristol University who showed that miscarriages of justice were costing the public purse as much as £200m a year in 2002. In 2002 Dr. Michael Naughton conducted a report for the Miscarriage Of Justice Organisation (“MOJO”) and showed that miscarriages of justice were costing the public purse in excess of 200 m / year in the following four areas:
This does not account for other costs such as welfare payments for dependents and the loss of taxes that would have been paid in to the public purse. ‘The scale of the problem indicates that each case must be investigated thoroughly. A conservative estimate for Warren Slaney’s case stands at well in excess of £1m his trial, appeal, police investigation, etc. You may wonder what this means to you. People aren’t aware just how much public money is being absorbed by miscarriages of justice money that could be better used on services such as education, health and provisions for the elderly.’ - Dr Michael Naughton 11.10.10 See also Leicester family fighting to clear man serving two life sentences for murders, Leicester Mercury, October 14, 2010 West Midlands against Injustice is supporting Warren Slaney. |