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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Obstructing engines on railways |
Sentence: |
12 months probation |
Years Imprisoned: |
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Year Crime: |
2008 |
Year Convicted: |
2009 |
Year Cleared: |
2014 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
United Kingdom |
County or Region of Crime: |
England |
City of Crime: |
Selby |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated |
Summary of Case: |
"Clemmie James of London was one of twenty-nine codefendants wrongly convicted in 2009 of obstructing engines on railways, an offence under the Malicious Damage Act of 1861, when on June 13, 2008 they boarded a train carrying coal to Drax -- Britain’s largest coal-fired power station – near Selby, North Yorkshire. The train was stopped by two of the "Camp for Climate Action" protestors posing as Network Rail workers wearing orange jackets and hard hats, who held up a red flag. The train and a nearby bridge were then scaled by 40 protesters wearing white paper boiler suits and carrying banners protesting global warming. To prevent the train from moving the protesters shoveled almost 20 tons of coal onto the track. Some of the protesters chained themselves to the train. The protest lasted 16 hours. Twenty-nine of the protesters were arrested and prosecuted. The defendants were between the ages of 21 and 43. The delays to freight and passenger trains and the clean-up of the protest cost Network Rail almost £37,000. The prosecution contended that the protesters planned action was a intended as a publicity stunt, while the protester's defense was the law of necessity that they were going to act out of the necessity to protect the public from the power plant's dangerous emisions. In early 2009 five of the activists pled guilty and 22 were convicted after a jury trial during which the judge barred any expert testimony concerning climate change. Two other protesters were convicted separately. The protester's sentences ranged from 60 hours of community service to 12 months probation. It was later discovered that the prosecution failed to disclose prior to trial that the group had been infiltrated by undercover policeman Mark Kennedy who acted as a quasi agent provocateur and in advance reported the planned protest to his handler, and who rented a van and transported all of the activists to the protest site. It was also discovered that Kennedy kept a detailed record of all that happened in the activist group and made reports to his handler, who passed them onto senior police officers in West Yorkshire. On January 21, 2014 England's Court of Appeals quashed the convictions of all 29 defendants, ruling that “There was a complete and total failure, for reasons which remain unclear, to make a disclosure fundamental to the defence. In those circumstances, this court has no alternative but to quash the convictions.”" |
Conviction Caused By: |
Prosecution failed to disclose that undercover agent Mark Kennedy was acting as an agent provocateur in the activist group. |
Innocence Proved By: |
"On January 21, 2014 England's Court of Appeals quashed the convictions of all 29 defendants, ruling that “There was a complete and total failure, for reasons which remain unclear, to make a disclosure fundamental to the defence. In those circumstances, this court has no alternative but to quash the convictions.”" |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
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Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
24 |
Age When Released: |
24 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
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Information Source 1: |
"Coal train ambushed near power station in climate change protest, By Martin Wainwright (staff writer), The Guardian (London), June 14, 2008" |
Information Location 1: |
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2008/jun/14/activists.carbonemissions |
Information Source 2: |
"Drax Power Station protestors committed criminal act not peaceful demonstration, CPS Press Release, March 7, 2009" |
Information Location 2: |
http://www.cps.gov.uk/news/latest_news/131_09/ |
Information Source 3: |
"Drax protest trial judge relaxes warning on talk of climate change, By Martin Wainwright, The Guardian (London), July 1, 2009" |
Information Location 3: |
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2009/jul/01/drax-climate-change-protest-court |
Information Source 4: |
"Drax coal train hijackers sentenced, By Helen Carter (staff writer), The Guardian (London), September 4 2009" |
Information Location 4: |
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2009/sep/04/drax-protesters-sentenced |
Information Source 5: |
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Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org