Wrongly Convicted Database Record

 

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Bernadette Ferguson

 

Charge:

Bank Fraud

Sentence:

18 months

Years Imprisoned:

0.75

Year Crime:

Year Convicted:

2000

Year Cleared:

2015

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

United Kingdom

County or Region of Crime:

Northern Ireland

City of Crime:

Londonderry

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

"Sean Francis, Francis Taggart and Bernadette Ferguson were codefendants wrongly convicted in 2000 of conspiring to defraud the Irish drinks company -- Brendans Cream Liqueur -- of nearly £1.5m. Francis was convicted by a jury, and Taggart and Ferguson pled guilty. Francis was sentenced to five years in prison, Taggart to 3 years in prison, and Ferguson to 18 months in prison. They all served their sentences. Years later it was discovered that the defendants were not provided the exculpatory evidence of a detectives statement suggesting a named police informer provided information about the alleged offence, and it also raised the possibility the informant may have been given "participating informant status" over criminal activity linked to the fraud scheme. Francis, Taggart and Ferguson submitted a post-conviction appeal to have their convictions quashed based on the non-disclosure and their possible entrapment. The Public Prosecution Service agreed their appeals should be allowed. On September 25, 2015 the Northern Ireland Court of Appeals quashed the convictions of the three defendants in ruling, "We are satisfied that the information contained in the statement ought to have been disclosed to the defendants. If disclosed, it would have raised issues around entrapment which could have given rise to a real possibility that the prosecution would have been stayed or relevant evidence excluded. In the absence of such disclosure we are satisfied that the applicants were deprived of a fair trial and that their convictions were unsafe,""

Conviction Caused By:

Innocence Proved By:

"On September 25, 2015 the Northern Ireland Court of Appeals quashed the convictions of the three defendants in ruling, "We are satisfied that the information contained in the statement ought to have been disclosed to the defendants. If disclosed, it would have raised issues around entrapment which could have given rise to a real possibility that the prosecution would have been stayed or relevant evidence excluded. In the absence of such disclosure we are satisfied that the applicants were deprived of a fair trial and that their convictions were unsafe,""

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Female

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"Drink fraud: Two men and woman have convictions quashed, By Staff, BBC News, September 25, 2015"

Information Location 1:

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-foyle-west-34356254

Information Source 2:

"Jail terms after £1.5m fraud, By Staff, BBC News, June 23, 2000"

Information Location 2:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/803441.stm

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

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