Miscarriage of Justice
Paul Blackburn spent 25 years in jail for the assault and attempted murder of a nine-year-old boy. He was 14 when he was arrested. He was released on licence in 2003 and in May 2005 the Court of Appeal accepted that Paul didn鈥檛 receive a fair trial and quashed his conviction.
The is an organisation dedicated to assisting innocent people both in prison and after their release.
Fi thanks for this challenging interview.
Complain about this postThank you Paul Blackburn for your honesty about your experience. I found your interview very distressing . You are amazing hang on in there!
I can not imagine how I would react in the same situation.
You were not guilty but what is sad is that those who are guilty will continue to be de-humanised.
I hope your talks to others will help expose the horrors of the prison service.
Best wishes
Susan Joy
My heart bleeds for Paul; what a country when a man who has suffered so much and is still suffering has no help. If ever there was a case for not bringing back the death penalty, surely this is it. I feel so much for him. Please wish him luck and happiness for the future.
Complain about this postWhat extaordinary strength of character and bravery Paul showed. I hope he can eventualy find it in himself to love the wronged teenager he was all those years ago. He was only 15.
Complain about this postOne aspect of cases such as Paul's which rarely gets mentioned is that, because the police have focused on the wrong person, the real murderer goes free.
Complain about this postI listened intently to a moving story and sensitively handled interview. Amazing subject matter and a timely reminder to myself that has leanings towards the death sentance these days with such heanous crimes being committed what a good thing it is we actually dont have it. How wrong i am to think such things in the face of such a miscarriage of justice suffered by this gentleman. Although some crime does seem to derserve such a sentance this is a timely reminder to the yes campaign just how things go wrong. I hope Paul gets all the support he rightly deserves. Thank-you for such a good program.
Complain about this postI was very moved by Paul Blackburn's story - he is a giant of a man.
I feel he needs inner healing - perhaps a spell in some of these places of retreat you see on the 'heaven & earth' programme may help him to live the rest of his life in such well deserved peace.
My very best wishes go with him and his partner and I apologise to him on behalf of the justice system we all live under.
Complain about this postDiscovered I was listening to Paul Blackburn in his interview. What a moving interview I was overwhelmed by it. I hope Paul Blackburn gets to read these comments of support and admiration for his outlook on his life. His lack of anger at society was amazing. I do hope that he can find a way of finding his own peace.
Complain about this postVery best wishes to him
Nicola Clark
Dear Paul,
Complain about this postWe are devastated for you. Your pain is our pain. You will never be alone again....you will always be in my prayers. There is a lot of love in this world.
With love for today,
Rosamund
What an incredible story, and very inspiring to hear how it might be possible to come out the other side of something like that and not have given in to hate.
Well done for coming on the radio to speak about this, I found it difficult not to cry while listening to this...
Complain about this postIn comparison with Paul Blackburn and with those he mentioned, the late Sally Clark, Angela Cannings, and others who have gone through the ordeal of unjust incarceration, the rulers of this country and those others who put Paul through his experiences are but moral pygmies.
Complain about this postFor someone so recently released from a long and dreadful ordeal in prison, Paul sounds remarkably well-balanced and rational as he speaks. Yet there is a clear undercurrent of deep pain. It takes enormous strength of character to rise above the truly awful experiences of the greater part of his life as he has done and, in such a brief time, turn his experiences into something practical and honest that can be used to educate and, hopefully, effect positive changes for our justice system in the future. I hope through these public speaking activities Paul can find some of the healing he so clearly needs. Paul, you should be proud of yourself, not full of self-hate. None of this is your fault and yet you are doing what you can to protect others who will come after you. After all you have been through, this is a great and noble act on your part.
Complain about this postFirst time doing this, so excuse a 70 year old who has just started e.mailing. I cried as I listened to Paul Blackburn. How can anyone survive this example of 'man's inhumanity to man' or boy, should I say. Where are these people who were responsible for this miscarriage of justice? I only hope there is someone out there who can help Paul realise what a remarkable human being he is and who will help him to enjoy life with his partner.My very best wishes to him.
Complain about this postI was very moved by Paul Blackburn's dreadful experience and would like to pass on my very best wishes for his future. I was reminded of a book which I read and wondered if Paul had come across it. It is called Killing Time by Noel Fellowes who was an ex policeman wrongly convicted of murder. He has a web site at www.webassoc.org.uk/noelfellowes.asp
Complain about this postBrilliant book - can recommend it.
Why did this happen?
Complain about this postPaul stated the reason in his first sentence:
the pressure on the police to obtain a conviction. How do you stop that from happening again - it is a constant problem? The pressur comes from us (the public) & the media.
what an amazing interview with paul b , what a special man , i do not have the words . heartfelt wishes to you and every second of the rest of your life . your strength is amazing and i hope tears diminish , love increases and you have happiness for ever
Complain about this postWe have legislaion that allows for the forfeiture and sezure of assets when they are shown to be the proceeds of crimes such as drug dealing or fraud.
Let's have something similar for police officers who knowingly extract false confessions by threat, lie about or conceal evidence and otherwise fake it to convict an innocent person to the detriment of the public interest [see what was done to Timothy Evans of Rillington Place fame for a truly disgusting example]. Those officers who apparently terrorised their suspect, Paul Blackburn - a fifteen year old boy at the time - might have thought it possible they had the 'right man' in front of them but they would have known for certain that in the absence of positive evidence they could not be sure - yet it seems they carried on to scare him into a false confession and carried it through the courts.
This of course deliberately allows whoever actually did commit the offence to remain free and a danger to the public - thanks, guys!
[See what Christie did after Evans's arrest and conviction to see why we cannot accept this sort of behaviour from our constabulary.]
As discussed in the programme, when something like this comes to light our courts call the conviction 'unsafe,' the wrongly convicted individual is turfed out alone onto the street to commence a fight lasting a number of years for compenstation and the rest of us call it a miscariage of justice, shrug and get on with our lives.
Apart from an opinion being expressed here and there, you tend not to hear much of the officer or officers involved nor of what, if anything, might happen to them as a result. It may be thought any actions or news of them would tend to undermine public confidence in the constabulary, while the reverse is very obviously the case.
Nowhere near good enough, is it?
We could start by making such activities by police officers very clearly illegal and subject to instant dismissal. Where discovered years or decades after the event we should make it retrospective, sacking the officer and confiscating everything earned, including pension rights, property and investments, from what would then have to be considered his or her 'unsafe' police work in the intervening period. We would probably have to compensate everyone convicted on evidence provided by such an officer in the meantime as well - or at least certainly investigate every such case - and the seized assests could help to pay for it.
While homes could be lost, marriages broken down, careers, reputations and lives ruined as a result of such measures - just as they are for the wrongly convicted - in a world where judges appeare to bend over backwards in attempt to, for example, reduce the impact on an officer caught driving a patrol car at 139 mph, such legislation would probably only rarely be applied.
It would tend to provide a focus for their minds in the interview room and elsewhere, though, wouldn't it?
Complain about this postI would like to say how refreshing it was to hear the interviewer behave in such a humane and sensitive manner in eliciting Mr. Blackburn's disturbing experiences. Her careful and sparing contributions were just right.This the good standard of the 成人快手 extant years ago. It is sad that this is such a rarity amongst the present fashion of gratuitous intrusive interviews which plunder the emotions of victims and flaunt them with no respect.
Complain about this postSadly Mr. Blackburn is one of many to suffer grievous injustice. I have followed his story over many years in Private Eye, and can see repetitions still.
His strength of character is truly admirable - I hope it inspires people who are a position to help to speak out against corrupt officials. The State does not protect individuals.
For evil to to triumph all that is needed is for good men to do nothing.
Paul Blackburn's commentary was extremely impressive and moving. He made the very telling comment that no-one in authority is ever held to account for these miscarriages. Until they are, we will never move on or improve the situation. Everyone in the UK must be aware by now that neither the police nor the prison service are accountable to anyone except themselves.
Complain about this postI heard Paul in the morning and can almost picture how at a young age of 14 he must have felt - frightened and confused! I do hope that he finds the peace and happiness he so deserves! Paul, you are a strong person to have made it through this far, don't give up now! Just look at Nelson Mandela. Every cloud has a silver lining!
Complain about this postMy heart goes out to Paul Blackburn. This happens all too frequently. I know only too well what he is going through and how courageous he is.
I am still fighting the British Justice System for my son who was convicted on circumstantial evidence of the murder and subsequent dismemberment of my husband. This leaves me in the horribly unique position of being both the wife of the victim and the mother of the accused and my life is a living hell. He also is not guilty and has been wrongly convicted.
We feel that the law and the police have let him down at every possible opportunity just the same as Paul.
In the meantime these killers are still out there preying on other unsuspecting young people.
Paul I hope you're reading this. Your dignity and the work you are doing in the face of everything you have suffered is awe inspiring.
Complain about this postPaul has emerged from his nightmare as an articulate and intelligent man and is to be congratulated for his efforts to educate others by speaking of his experiences.
One can only hope that the recent advances in forensics and DNA evidence will help to prove innocence as well as convict the genuinely guilty.
What an appalling reflection on our society / Government that somebody who has been a victim of the judicial system and has been through such a traumatic experience lasting so many years, let alone a person being released back into society from prison, receives no help whatsoever, or emotional counselling, and yet such time and effort is devoted to the shallow, publicity seeking contestants in the reality TV programme Big Brother.
Complain about this postI have just listened, again, to the interview with Paul Blackburn. It is no easier to hear the second time round.
Complain about this postI can only apolgise for the pain and loneliness that he suffered, for no reason at all. From this devastating experience of one individual, I hope our justice system will learn from their sorry mistakes and that our government see fit to provide the necessary intervention to support these victims of our justice system.
I wish Paul every luck in finding the happiness that he so dearly deserves and may the sun always shine on him.
Best wishes
Hilary
The purpose of the Prison Chaplaincy, where it exists, is to give solice and support to ithe nnocent (of whom there will always be some) and those who need help in reordering their lives. Clearly this facility failed and Paul Blackburn should not have suffered so terribly. Where there is an active and dedicated team supported by the prison authorities it can make a great difference to the inmates. However there is a major flaw in the system in that there is a reqirement that Chaplains should have no contact with anyone who is moved on. No letters, no words of support or encouragement, no apparent interest, no continuity. There are workers who through various churches or groups are trying to provide help for men when they leave, but they have no contact before and have no idea what the ex prisoners will need in particular. Worse they are very few and far between.
PS Might any one think of becoming a prison visitor? There is a great need.
Complain about this postI was moved to tears by Paul's account of the devastating effect this miscarriage of justice had on his life. His honesty and raw emotion really hit a nerve and I expect resonated with many listeners whose lives have been imprisoned through circumstances beyond their control.
Complain about this postBeyond the tragedy of his actual physical imprisonment, I felt he captured the desperate plight of many men, women and children , around the world, who have no control over their destinies.
It was truly a great piece of radio.
Felix Holman
I would just like to say thankyou for the many genuine and honest things people have felt moved to say. I have tried to turn a very negative and damaging part of my life into something positive by talking about it and thankyou for allowing me to do that.
Complain about this postIt's terrible that victims of miscarriages of justice receive so little help or support, yet millions is spent on giving murderers new identities when they leave prison.
Complain about this postWoke up to this programme. Paul came on and I was transfixed. What an amazing man. To be so articulate in his emotional and intellectual account of his story, to try to educate others and to attempt to cope with what happened to him... a truly inspirational person. I hope that the messages of support and sympathy reach him. I have spoken to many of my friends and family of what I heard. A success of human spirit.
Thank you for sharing your story.
Complain about this postPlease explain - if Saturday Live is live how do you manage to have all those snippets of what is to come at the beginning of the programme? Can Fee Glover see into the future, does she have a Tardis, or is Saturday Live not really live at all....?
Complain about this postThis was one of the most powerful pieces of radio i ever heard.
Complain about this postMiranda Sawyer's review in the Observer reminded me to try to store it on the pc but time has run out, sadly.
The memory of that interview and the other excellent comments here bring tears to my eyes, even now.
The only thing that i can add, apart from my part in the collective apology for Paul's utterly disgraceful treatment, is that we too have been deprived of this giant of a man's contribution to society.
I'm so hoping that Paul can keep it together and forgive us enough that he can move forward and give us the benefit of the lessons he's learnt.
and huge respect to the Miscarriage of Justice Campaign. If I were rich a huge donation would be winging its way to you.