Ashley King

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Ashley King and Billy Waugh (aged 11 at the time) were convicted of the murder of Margaret Greenwood. They were accused of tricking their way into her house on bonfire night by pretending to be collecting for bonfire night, and stabbing her. King confessed under police questioning, admittion to clubbing her over the head but claiming Waugh had stabbed her. King had no solicitor for the majority of the interviews. Several retractions were made once he had a solicitor. On appeal, new expert evidence indicated that King was borderline mentally handicapped and was abnormally suggestible. The confessions were obtained in breach of the rules at the time and King’s suggestibility made him very vulnerable. As a result, the confession evidence was not reliable and the conviction was quashed (Waugh had been released from custody in 1987, after the Court of Appeal ruled that his conviction was unsafe and unsatisfactory). .

View Press (www.theguardian.com)

View Press (innocent.org.uk)

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