Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Murder |
Sentence: |
15 years |
Years Imprisoned: |
7 |
Year Crime: |
1985 |
Year Convicted: |
1986 |
Year Cleared: |
1992 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
United Kingdom |
County or Region of Crime: |
Wales |
City of Crime: |
Swansea |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated Released |
Summary of Case: |
"Wayne Darvell and his brother Paul Darvell were codefendants wrongly convicted in 1986 of the 1985 murder of a 38 year old sex shop worker in Swansea, Wales. Their convictions were based on the alleged, but unsubstantiated confession of Wayne Darvell to the police. In 1992 the Court of Appeals quashed the convictions of the Darvell brothers as "unsafe and unsatisfactory" based on new evidence investigators admitted evidence from Wayne Darvell had been doctored and other evidence suppressed. The Darvell's were released after seven years in custody. The police involved in the alleged confession later faced criminal charges after the Darvell's exoneration. Paul and Wayne Darvell were awarded £80,000 in compensation each for the seven years they spent in prison. Paul Darvell was 42 when he was found dead at his Neath home on March 18, 2005, but his death wasn't considered suspicious by authorities." |
Conviction Caused By: |
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Innocence Proved By: |
In 1992 the Court of Appeals quashed the convictions of the Darvell brothers and they were released. |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
"£560,000 (£80,000 for each year of incarceration)" |
Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
23 |
Age When Released: |
30 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
White |
Information Source 1: |
"Brothers freed over 'false evidence': Darvell brothers, By Terry Kirby (Crime Correspondent), The Independent (London, England)" |
Information Location 1: |
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/brothers-freed-over-false-evidence-darvell-brothers-1533276.html |
Information Source 2: |
Innocent UK website |
Information Location 2: |
http://www.innocent.org.uk/cases/ |
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Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org