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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Driving Related misdemeanor |
Sentence: |
£90 & three driving penalty points |
Years Imprisoned: |
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Year Crime: |
2016 |
Year Convicted: |
2016 |
Year Cleared: |
2016 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
United Kingdom |
County or Region of Crime: |
England |
City of Crime: |
Cheltenham |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated |
Summary of Case: |
"Nicholas Ralph was wrongly convicted in 2016 of the misdemeanor of running through a red light in Cheltenham, England. Ralph, 59 and the father of six, was prosecuted based on the testimony of two police officers that he ran through a red light at a roundabout. Ralph's defense was he didn't run the red light and the police car the two officers were in wasn't even at the roundabout. Ralph said the police car was parked in a garage and they stopped him when he passed them after going through the roundabout. Ralph claimed one of the officers was training the other officer in road policing techniques, and they used Ralph 'as a guinea pig' to demonstrate how to pull someone over. Ralph told the court, After his bench trial, Ralph was fined £90 with three penalty points on his licence. Ralph appealed. Ralph also made a complaint against the officers, and he submitted requests to the police and the Highways department for any CCTV footage taken at the roundabout, however, his requests were denied. On September 3, 2016 the Gloucester Crown Court quashed Ralph's conviction based on insufficient evidence Ralph committed the crime. During an appeal hearing the two officers gave conflicting testimony of where their car was positioned at the time of the incident -- although they both claimed they were at the roundabout. A passenger in the backseat of Ralph's car, Mark Langman, gave a statement that Ralph stopped at the roundabout and there there was a car alongside that also stopped, and that both cars proceeded forward at the same time. The passenger also stated that sometime after going through the roundabout the police car pulled up behind them. Ralph's son, Wesley Ralph, testified that the car alongside went into the roundabout at the same time. Ralph also testified that his car and the car alongside were both stopped at the light, and both entered the roundabout at the same time after the light changed. Ralph said about the officer's accounts, "They have lied to you, They were not at the lights at all. They just were not there." In quashing Ralph's conviction the three-judge panel noted that the defense witnesses were credible in describing that the other car drove onto the roundabout at the same time. In announcing the Court's ruling, Judge Jamie Tabor stated, "It is a fair assumption, and one we make, that there were not two drivers who were both prepared to jump red lights at the same time. If there were, the police officers would have told us about it."" |
Conviction Caused By: |
Perjury by the two arresting officers. |
Innocence Proved By: |
"On September 3, 2016 the Gloucester Crown Court quashed Ralph's conviction based on insufficient evidence Ralph committed the crime." |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
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Age When Released: |
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Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
White |
Information Source 1: |
"Car dealer won appeal against conviction after 'police lied' he jumped a red light, By Dave_Shep, Gloucestershirelive.co.uk, September 3, 2016" |
Information Location 1: |
http://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/car-dealer-won-appeal-against-conviction-after-police-lied-he-jumped-a-red-light/story-29682026-detail/story.html |
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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org