Wrongly Convicted Database Record

 

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Martin Patrick Foran (1985 robbery conviction)

 

Charge:

Robbery and Conspiracy to commit robbery

Sentence:

8 years

Years Imprisoned:

8

Year Crime:

1984

Year Convicted:

1985

Year Cleared:

2013

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

United Kingdom

County or Region of Crime:

England

City of Crime:

Birmingham

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

"Martin Patrick Foran was wrongly convicted on May 3, 1985 of robbing and conspiracy to rob a pub in Birmingham, England on September 9, 1984. Foran's conviction was based on his alleged confession to a police officer that he insisted he had not made and was fabricated by the officer. After his conviction by a jury Foran was sentenced to six years in prison for his robbery conviction and two years to be served consecutively for his conspiracy conviction, for a total sentence of eight years in prison. Foran had twice made unsuccessful appeals to England and Wales Court of Appeals, with the first in 1986 and the second in 1995. In December 2012 England's Criminal Cases Review Commission referred his case to the appeals court based on new evidence not previously considered by the court undermining the credibility of the primary police officer's testimony. Foran's third appeal was successful when his conviction was quashed on April 16, 2013 by England and Wales Court of Appeals as "unsafe." The officer whose testimony the jury relied on to convict Martin Foran was a member of the West Midlands Serious Crime Squad that was disbanded in 1989 for corruption that included framing innocent people, including the Birmingham Six. In January 2014 a 1977 robbery conviction for which Foran was imprisoned for six years was referred by the CCRC to the Court of Appeals. A full hearing before the appeals court was scheduled for October 3, 2014. While imprisoned for that crime Foran went on a hunger strike to protest his innocence."

Conviction Caused By:

Perjurious testimony by a police officer that Foran made a confession that he in fact had not made.

Innocence Proved By:

"Martin Foran's 1985 robbery conviction was quashed on April 16, 2013 by England and Wales Court of Appeals as "unsafe.""

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

41

Age When Released:

49

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

Foran v R [2013] EWCA Crim 437 (16 April 2013)

Information Location 1:

http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Crim/2013/437.html

Information Source 2:

"Martin Foran 1985 robbery conviction quashed, BBC News, April 17, 2013"

Information Location 2:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-22179849

Information Source 3:

"'Double' miscarriage of justice victim Martin Foran speaks, By Helen Carter (staff), BBC News, August 14, 2013"

Information Location 3:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-23623892

Information Source 4:

"Olliers Solicitors Successfully Appeals The 1985 Conviction Of Martin Foran, By Tracy Gibbon, www.olliers.com, May 2, 2013"

Information Location 4:

http://www.olliers.com/latest-news/149-olliers-successfully-appeals-1985-conviction-martin-foran.html

Information Source 5:

"Martin Foran Gets Appeal Date, Olliers Solicitors, September 24, 2014"

Information Location 5:

http://www.olliers.com/latest-news/martin-foran-gets-appeal-date.html

Book About Case:

"Martin Foran: The Forgotton Man, J.R. Stephenson (ShieldCrest, England), Oct. 2014"

Book Information:

http://www.shieldcrest.co.uk/martinforan.html

Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

Movie About Case:

Comments About Case:

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

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