John Joseph Boyle

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Charge:	Firearm related (including ammunition)
Sentence:	12 years
Years Imprisoned:	9
Year Crime:	1977
Year Convicted:	1977
Year Cleared:	2003
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	United Kingdom
County or Region of Crime:	Northern Ireland
City of Crime:	Belfast
Result:	Judicially Exonerated
Summary of Case:	"John Joseph Boyle was wrongly convicted in Belfast, Northern Ireland on October 14, 1977 of possession of firearms and ammunition with the intent to endanger life, for his alleged role in an IRA attempt to murder a policeman. Boyle's conviction was basedo n his alleged confession that he denied, of possession of firearms and ammunition with intent to endanger life, and membership in the I.R.A. John Boyle was sentenced to 12 years in prison and released in 1986 after serving 9 years. Boyle submitted an application with the UK's Criminal Case Review Commission, and in 2002 they submitted his case for court review based on new evidence that the police had rewritten notes to incriminate Boyle and exculpatory evidence was not disclosed to his trial lawyer by the prosecution. The Court of Appeals quashed Boyle's conviction on April 22, 2003 -- 17 years after his release. Boyle submitted an application for compensation which was denied by the government. Boyle appealed, and in July 2008 the Court of Appeal ruled that he was eligible for compensation because his conviction was "a result of a failure in the process.""
Conviction Caused By:	The police had rewritten notes to incriminate Boyle and exculpatory evidence was not disclosed to his trial lawyer by the prosecution.
Innocence Proved By:	"Court of Appeals quashed conviction on April 22, 2003 after referral by the Criminal Cases Review Commission"
Defendant Aided By:	Criminal Case Review Commission
Compensation Awarded:	Eligible
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	19
Age When Released:	28
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	White
Information Source 1:	"Conviction quashed after 25 years, BBC News, April 29, 2003"
Information Location 1:	http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/2985569.stm
Information Source 2:	"Wrongly jailed man wins appeal, BBC News, July 21, 2008"
Information Location 2:	http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/7518254.stm
Information Source 3:	"Recent Case Statatistics, Criminal Cases Review Commission"
Information Location 3:	http://www.ccrc.gov.uk/latestnews/latestnews_case.html
Information Source 4:	"In the Matter of John Boyle, [2008] NICA 35 (7-21-2008)"
Information Location 4:	http://www.bailii.org/nie/cases/NICA/2008/35.html
Information Source 5:
Information Location 5:
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John Joseph Boyle

Charge:

Firearm related (including ammunition)

Sentence:

12 years

Years Imprisoned:

9

Year Crime:

1977

Year Convicted:

1977

Year Cleared:

2003

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

United Kingdom

County or Region of Crime:

Northern Ireland

City of Crime:

Belfast

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

The police had rewritten notes to incriminate Boyle and exculpatory evidence was not disclosed to his trial lawyer by the prosecution.

Innocence Proved By:

"Court of Appeals quashed conviction on April 22, 2003 after referral by the Criminal Cases Review Commission"

Defendant Aided By:

Criminal Case Review Commission

Compensation Awarded:

Eligible

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

19

Age When Released:

28

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"Conviction quashed after 25 years, BBC News, April 29, 2003"

Information Location 1:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/2985569.stm

Information Source 2:

"Wrongly jailed man wins appeal, BBC News, July 21, 2008"

Information Location 2:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/7518254.stm

Information Source 3:

"Recent Case Statatistics, Criminal Cases Review Commission"

Information Location 3:

http://www.ccrc.gov.uk/latestnews/latestnews_case.html

Information Source 4:

"In the Matter of John Boyle, [2008] NICA 35 (7-21-2008)"

Information Location 4:

http://www.bailii.org/nie/cases/NICA/2008/35.html

Information Source 5:

Information Location 5:

Book About Case:

Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

Movie About Case:

Comments About Case: