Simon Hall (murderer)
Simon Hall | |
---|---|
Born | 1977 or 1978 |
Died | 23 February 2014 (age 36) minimum tariff of 15 years imprisonment |
Criminal status | Deceased |
Simon Hall (1977 or 1978 – 23 February 2014) was a British murderer who was the subject of a lengthy campaign by
The family of victim Joan Albert released a statement following Hall's confession saying: "During the last 10 years the publicity surrounding the appeals has been very distressing for our family, making moving on impossible... we are also grateful to those who have helped us throughout this difficult ordeal".
Murder
Hall was a
Claims of innocence and assistance
"There was never a shadow of a doubt that they had the wrong guy, he didn't have it in him – he's too sensitive and kind."
—Hall's wife Stephanie, who he married in prison, declaring that he was innocent in 2009.
Hall refused to acknowledge his guilt and his legal team attempted to discredit the fibre evidence against him.
Appeal
In 2011 the Court of Appeal upheld his conviction, concluding that the conviction was correct and saying: "The scientific support for the assertion that the appellant was the source of the fibres found at the crime scene is compelling. We have no reason to doubt the safety of the jury's verdict and the appeal is dismissed."[10] Even after this appeal was rejected the Bristol Innocence Project continued to promote his claims of innocence, complaining that the Court of Appeal had not taken his claims of innocence "seriously" and saying that they didn't seek "the truth of whether alleged victims of wrongful convictions are innocent or not".[10] However, by this time Hall had already confessed to the crime to his wife Stephanie, revealing details including his motive for the crime.[11] Despite this, Stephanie Hall continued to protest his innocence to national prisoners' newspaper Inside Time.[12]
Confession
In 2013, following the rejection of his appeal, Hall formally admitted his guilt to prison authorities after ten years of claiming his innocence, leading to outrage in the national media.
Retired detective Roy Lambert, who led the original inquiry, said in response to the confession: "I've always been satisfied that he was responsible for killing Joan. Lots and lots of people were supporting him, MPs were supporting him and now he's deceived all of them because all along he's known that he's done it".[3] Suffolk Police released a statement saying: "Over the 10 years since Hall's conviction there have been a number of appeals and campaigns which have asserted that Simon Hall was wrongfully convicted of Mrs Albert's murder. These events and the related uncertainty have undoubtedly exacerbated the suffering Mrs Albert's family have had to endure since Joan was murdered. We sincerely hope that Simon Hall's admissions to having committed this brutal crime will in some way enable the family to move on with their lives."[3][4] The family of victim Joan Albert, who had had to endure years of claims that Hall was innocent, released a statement saying: "During the last 10 years the publicity surrounding the appeals has been very distressing for our family, making moving on impossible, but we would like to thank Suffolk Police, including Roy Lambert and his team, who carried out the original investigation, to present day officers who continue to support us. We are also grateful to those who have helped us throughout this difficult ordeal".[6]
Suicide
Only one year after he finally confessed, Hall was found unresponsive in his cell at HM Prison Wayland in Norfolk, and was later pronounced dead,[1] having committed suicide by hanging.[11][14] [15] Stephanie Hall accepted that she had wrongly believed in his innocence.[16][11]
Impact
The Hall case was described as an embarrassment to miscarriage of justice activists and an example of a case that they "quietly bury" as they do not wish to appear to have wrongly defended a guilty person.[11] The New Statesman said that the Hall case had "gravely undermined the claims of many of the genuinely innocent".[14]
See also
- Stephen Downing – British man who was cleared of murder on appeal after a campaign by Don Hale, only to allegedly go on to confess to the murder
- Rough Justicecampaign, only to go on to kill a man
- Michael Weir – British man released on appeal for murder but later convicted at retrial
- James Hanratty – British murderer who was the subject of a 'miscarriage of justice' campaign led by Bob Woffinden, but later proven to be guilty
- Colin Norris
- Jessie McTavish
- Siôn Jenkins
- M25 Three
References
- ^ a b "Appeal-campaign killer found dead". Belfast Telegraph. 23 February 2014. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
- ^ "Hanged killer took own life in cell". 20 June 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Simon Hall confesses to Joan Albert murder 12 years on". BBC News. 8 August 2013. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
- ^ a b c d "Simon Hall admits he murdered 79-year-old Joan Albert despite decade campaigning for 'miscarriage of justice'". The Independent. 8 August 2013. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
- ^ a b c "Man confesses to woman's murder after decade trying to clear name". The Guardian. 8 August 2013. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
- ^ a b c d "Suffolk killer Simon Hall admits guilt after a decade of denial". ITV News. 8 August 2013. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
- ^ a b c d e "Capel St Mary: My Simon is innocent". Daily Gazette and Essex County Standard. 9 November 2009. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
- ^ "UoBIP: Why the conviction of Simon Hall cannot stand". University of Bristol. University of Bristol Innocence Project. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
- ^ a b "Killer admits murder 12 years on - costing taxpayers £500000". The Telegraph. 7 August 2013. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
- ^ a b "University of Bristol Innocence Project response to Simon Hall judgment by the Court of Appeal". University of Bristol News and Features. University of Bristol Innocence Project. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
- ^ a b c d "Who killed Jill Dando?". Nick Ross. April 2019. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
- ^ Hall, Stephanie (1 October 2011). "Justice isn't blind; it has tunnel vision". Inside Time.
- ^ a b c d "Joan Albert murder: Simon Hall supporters respond to confession". BBC News. 9 August 2013. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
- ^ a b Campbell, Duncan (28 February 2017). "Rough justice: who is looking out for the wrongfully convicted? How internet sleuths - and secret courts - have changed the reporting of miscarriages of justice". New Statesman. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
- ^ "Hanged killer took own life in cell". 20 June 2016.
- ^ "Murderer Simon Hall 'was found hanged after confession'". BBC News. 13 June 2016. Retrieved 24 September 2022.