Patrick Nicholls

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Charge:	Murder
Sentence:	Life Imprisonment
Years Imprisoned:	22.9
Year Crime:	1975
Year Convicted:	1975
Year Cleared:	1998
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	United Kingdom
County or Region of Crime:	England
City of Crime:	Worthing
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Patrick Nicholls was wrongly convicted on November 24, 1975 in the Lewes Crown Court of a murder that didn't occur, and robbery. The prosecution's case was based on the testimony of two pathologists that Nicholls died of a heart attack after being suffocated and her face severely beaten. Nicholls' defense was that he found his friend dead at the foot of her homes' stairs. Nicholls was convicted by a jury of murdering and robbing his 74-year old friend, Mrs. Gladys Heath at her home in Worthing, West Sussex, England on April 2, 1975. After his conviction Nicholls was sentenced to life in prison. Nicholls appeal was denied on July 7, 1977. Dr. Bill Thompson and Tony Ham conducted a review of the evidence in Nicholls' case from 1990 to 1992. They prepared a point by point breakdown of problems with the prosecution's evidence that convinced the Criminal Case Review Commission to accept his case. A review of the pathology evidence in Nicholls' case convinced Professor John Crane that Heath's facial injuries were insignificant, and that her heart attack was probably caused by falling down the stairs in her home. Based largely on the new forensic evidence that undermined the trial evidence the jury relied on to convict Nicholls, his case was referred to the Court of Appeals by the Criminal Case Review Commission on 18 November 1997. Nicholls was 70 when he was released on bail in March 1998 after almost 23 years in custody. The Court of Appeals for England and Wales quashed Nicholls' convictions on June 12, 1998 based on the new expert forensic evidence that Heath died from natural causes. The Court's ruling stated: "We allow this appeal because the pathological evidence that this was an unlawful killing, and natural causes could be excluded, has now been shown to be unreliable. In allowing this appeal we wish to express this Court's great regret that as a result of what has now been shown to be flawed pathological evidence Nicholls was wrongly convicted and has spent such a very long time in jail. We allow these appeals and we quash the convictions for murder and robbery." (R. v. Patrick Nicholls [1998] EWCA Crim 1918)"
Conviction Caused By:	Mistaken cause of death by prosecution's two pathologists who testified at trial.
Innocence Proved By:	"The Court of Appeals for England and Wales quashed Nicholls' convictions on June 12, 1998 based on the new expert forensic evidence that Heath died from natural causes. "
Defendant Aided By:	Dr. Bill Thompson and Tony Ham whose two year review of evidence in Nicholls' case convinced the Criminal Case Review Commission to accept his case.
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	47
Age When Released:	70
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	White
Information Source 1:	R. v. Patrick Nicholls [1998] EWCA Crim 1918 (Quashing conviction based on new forensic evidence.)
Information Location 1:	http://netk.net.au/UK/Nicholls.asp
Information Source 2:	"The Criminal Case Review Commission (UK), Annual Report 1998-99, p 15"
Information Location 2:
Information Source 3:	"Prisoner served 23 years before murder death ruled to be natural causes, By INNOCENT, innocent.org.uk, March 9, 2016"
Information Location 3:	https://innocent.org.uk/2016/03/09/prisoner-served-23-years-before-murder-death-ruled-to-be-natural-causes/
Information Source 4:	"Email to Hans Sherrer from Dr. Bill Thompson concerning the work of himself and Tony Ham on Patrick Nicholls' case. Email received on July 28, 2017."
Information Location 4:
Information Source 5:	""68% of Convictions Reviewed in England Are Overturned""
Information Location 5:	http://christianparty.net/dnaengland.htm
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Patrick Nicholls

Charge:

Murder

Sentence:

Life Imprisonment

Years Imprisoned:

22.9

Year Crime:

1975

Year Convicted:

1975

Year Cleared:

1998

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

United Kingdom

County or Region of Crime:

England

City of Crime:

Worthing

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Mistaken cause of death by prosecution's two pathologists who testified at trial.

Innocence Proved By:

"The Court of Appeals for England and Wales quashed Nicholls' convictions on June 12, 1998 based on the new expert forensic evidence that Heath died from natural causes. "

Defendant Aided By:

Dr. Bill Thompson and Tony Ham whose two year review of evidence in Nicholls' case convinced the Criminal Case Review Commission to accept his case.

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

47

Age When Released:

70

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

R. v. Patrick Nicholls [1998] EWCA Crim 1918 (Quashing conviction based on new forensic evidence.)

Information Location 1:

http://netk.net.au/UK/Nicholls.asp

Information Source 2:

"The Criminal Case Review Commission (UK), Annual Report 1998-99, p 15"

Information Location 2:

Information Source 3:

"Prisoner served 23 years before murder death ruled to be natural causes, By INNOCENT, innocent.org.uk, March 9, 2016"

Information Location 3:

https://innocent.org.uk/2016/03/09/prisoner-served-23-years-before-murder-death-ruled-to-be-natural-causes/

Information Source 4:

"Email to Hans Sherrer from Dr. Bill Thompson concerning the work of himself and Tony Ham on Patrick Nicholls' case. Email received on July 28, 2017."

Information Location 4:

Information Source 5:

""68% of Convictions Reviewed in England Are Overturned""

Information Location 5:

http://christianparty.net/dnaengland.htm

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