MOJO
  • Home
  • About
  • News
  • Contact
  • Comment
  • Testimonials
  • Donate
Sally Clark
January 29 2020

On This Day, 2003

Euan News

On this day, 29 January 2003, Sally Clark was exonerated of the murder of her two sons. She had served more than three years of a life sentence.

Her conviction founded on “expert” testimony from eminent paediatrician Sir Roy Meadow.

He estimated the likelihood of two infants from the same family dying of cot death syndrome was one in 73 million.

But the Royal Statistical Society took the unprecedented step of writing to the Lord Chancellor to object to the way the statistic had been calculated, saying it was inaccurate.

In July 2005 Sir Roy was struck off by the General Medical Council for giving “misleading” evidence in the Sally Clark case.

Tragically, Sally Clark was found dead at her home in March 2007. She had died accidentally as a result of acute alcohol intoxication. Her solicitor said she had “never fully recovered” from the affects of the appalling miscarriage of justice.

From the BBC website, we reproduce the following press report of the day:

Solicitor Sally Clark has been cleared by the Court of Appeal of murdering her two sons after serving more than three years of a life sentence.

Three judges decided Sally Clark’s conviction for murdering her two baby sons in 1999 was unsafe.

The 38-year-old from Wilmslow in Cheshire has protested her innocence ever since she was jailed for life at Chester Crown Court.

She was convicted of smothering 11-week-old Christopher in December 1996 and shaking eight-week-old Harry to death in January 1998 at the home she shared with her husband Stephen.

Mrs Clark emerged from the cells at 15:40GMT and was hugged and kissed by her husband, who has stood by her throughout the ordeal. She has one surviving son, now aged four.

She said: “This is not a victory. We are not victorious. There are no winners here.”

“We have all lost out. We simply feel relief that our nightmare is finally at an end.”

She went on to thank the public for their support, her legal team and friends and family.

Her conviction hinged on evidence given to the original trial by eminent paediatrician Professor Sir Roy Meadow.

He estimated the likelihood of two infants from the same family dying of cot death syndrome was one in 73 million.

But the Royal Statistical Society took the unprecedented step of writing to the Lord Chancellor to object to the way the statistic had been calculated saying it was inaccurate.

However, an initial appeal in October 2000 was thrown out on the basis there was overwhelming evidence she had killed both boys.

Her second appeal was won after new medical evidence was presented to the court.

It showed her son Harry had suffered from a brain infection which could have led to his sudden death. Although this evidence was known to the prosecution pathologist, Alan Williams, at the time of the original trial, he did not disclose the information.

Mrs Clark was suspended from the Roll of Solicitors in 2001 after her murder conviction. Her husband is also a solicitor.

Sally Clark’s successful appeal has brought hope for another mother convicted of murdering her two infant sons. Angela Cannings has been fighting to clear her name since she was jailed by Winchester Crown Court in April 2002.

The original article can be found HERE.

“Has anyone at the CCRC got the time, please?” – Justice Gap On This Day 2019…

Related Posts

Guildford 4

News

Birmingham bombings inquest whitewash repeated at Guildford

The decision by the coroner at the Birmingham bombings inquest to exclude from scrutiny the very matters that might have allowed the victims’ families some degree of closure – a decision that also denied justice to Paddy Hill and the other unwitting victims of the atrocity – rendered that exercise effectively pointless and, depending on […]

3990

News

Prisoners denied access to forensic evidence in bid to prove their innocence

For miscarriage of justice victims looking to overturn their wrongful convictions, one of the most significant challenges they encounter is the refusal of police and Crown to allow access to crucial evidence that could fatally undermine the case against them. From The Guardian online yesterday (10 July), we reproduce an interesting article that highlights this […]

community

News

MOJO Community Project Launches

The MOJO Aftercare and Reintegration Team are pleased to report the successful, long-awaited launch of our MOJO Community Project. The MOJO Community is an extension of our client-led reintegration programme which aims to bring clients together to seek to mitigate the consequences of wrongful imprisonment and to offer an alternative to commonly encountered feelings of […]

Latest Tweets

  • We reproduce this article by Samuel Osbourne from the Independant 30 May 2019. mojoscotland.org/carbon-credits…
    4 years ago
  • We reproduce here a worrying piece from the Guardian from 29 May 2019 by Sian Cain about austerity and it’s potenti… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
    4 years ago
  • There is a debate on going regarding the not proven verdict in Scotland. In an article from the Times, Gordon Jacks… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
    4 years ago
→ Follow us

Archives

Search

  • Home
  • About
  • News
  • Contact
  • Comment
  • Testimonials
  • Privacy Notice
© Miscarriages of Justice Organisation (Scotland) 2023 - Company No SC239555 - Registered Charity No SC033820 The work of MOJO is financially supported by the Scottish Government