Wrongly Convicted Database Record

 

Go to Database Search Page

Go to  Database Index Page

Owen Michael Crooks

 

Charge:

Murder

Sentence:

Life Imprisonment with possibility of parole

Years Imprisoned:

4

Year Crime:

2002

Year Convicted:

2008

Year Cleared:

2012

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

United Kingdom

County or Region of Crime:

Staffordshire

City of Crime:

Pattingham

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

"Levi Walker, from Birmingham, Adam Joof, from Willenhall, West Midlands, Antonio Christie, from Great Bridge, West Midlands, Michael Osbourne and Owen Crooks were wrongly convicted in 2008 of the September 2002 murder of Kevin Nunes, 20 in Staffordshire, England. Their convictions were based on the key prosecution eyewitness testimony by Simeon Taylor. The men were sentenced to life in prison with minimum terms ranging from 25 to 28 years in prison before being eligible for early release. Their convictions were affirmed on appeal. It was then discovered that the prosecutoiin failed to disclose a 2007 police report that cast doubt on Taylor's credibility and that there was widespread corruption within the police department. Based on the new evidence the convictions of the five men were quashed on March 8, 2012 and the Crown prosecution service announced they would not be retried. Four of the co-defendants were subsequently released, while Walker remained imprisoned on another murder conviction. On July 4, 2012 the three-judge panel for the Appeals Court for England and Wales.released its written opinion. They stated it as a "very bad case of non-disclosure. It is to be hoped that the appropriate measures will be taken against those responsible for what appears to us to be a serious perversion of the course of justice, if those measures have not already been taken.""

Conviction Caused By:

"Perjury by the prosecution's star "eyewitness" Simeon Taylor."

Innocence Proved By:

"England's Court of Appeals quashed the conviction of all five defendants in March 2012. On July 4, 2012 the Court issued its written ruling."

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

26

Age When Released:

30

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"Adam Joof, Antonio Christie, Michael Osbourne, Levi Walker and Owen Michael Crooks -v- The Crown, Ct of Appeals, [2012] EWCA Crim 1475 (July 4, 2012)"

Information Location 1:

http://www.judiciary.gov.uk/media/judgments/2012/joff-and-others-v-the-crown-judgment

Information Source 2:

"Court of appeal quashes convictions of five men for Kevin Nunes murder, Vikram Dodd (staff), The Guardian, March 8, 2012"

Information Location 2:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2012/mar/08/kevin-nunes-murder-convictions-quashed?newsfeed=true

Information Source 3:

"Five men jailed for murder of Wolverhampton drug dealer Kevin Nunes have convictions overturned, Birmingham Post (Birmingham, England), March 8, 2012"

Information Location 3:

http://www.birminghampost.net/news/west-midlands-news/2012/03/08/five-men-jailed-for-murder-of-wolverhampton-drug-dealer-kevin-nunes-have-convictions-overturned-65233-30491010/

Information Source 4:

"Kevin Nunes case: Judges condemn 'bad non-disclosure', Staff writers, BBC News, July 4, 2012"

Information Location 4:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-18712183

Information Source 5:

Information Location 5:

Book About Case:

Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

Movie About Case:

Comments About Case:

Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org

Hosted on forejustice.org and mirrored on justicedenied.org .