Wrongly Convicted Database Record

 

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Veronica Ryan (1990 charges)

 

Charge:

False Imprisonment

Sentence:

Years Imprisoned:

Year Crime:

1990

Year Convicted:

1991

Year Cleared:

2009

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

United Kingdom

County or Region of Crime:

Northern Ireland

City of Crime:

Belfast

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

"Daniel Gerard Morrison, Daniel Caldwell, Gerald Hodgins, James Martin, Liam Martin, John Murphy, James O'Carroll, and Veronica Ryan were the eight co-defendants wrongly convicted in 1991 of falsely imprisoning IRA member Sandy Lynch, who was a British informant, for two days in January 1990. At the time of their convictions Veronica Ryan was married to her codefendant James Martin, and known as Veronica Martin. The convictions of the eight codefendants were based on perjurious testimony by three prosecution witnesses. The codefendants claimed there was no false imprisonment and they were the victim of a frame-up by IRA double-agents working for the British. Daniel Morrison was sentenced to eight years imprisonment. England, Wales, and Northern Irelands Criminal Case Review Commission (CCRC) reviewed the cases of the eight codefendants in light of the discovery of new exculpatory evidence that hadn't been disclosed to their trial counsel. After determining they were victims of a miscarriage of justice, in 2008 the CCRC referred their cases to the Court of Appeal in Belfast for review. On October 24, 2008 the Court of Appeal issued its oral ruling quashing the convictions of the eight co-defendants as unsafe. The appeals court's written ruling on January 9, 2009 stated regarding the non-disclosed evidence that "had the material and information been provided, it is now clear that evidence which was not in fact produced during the trial could have been given which would have had a significant effect on its outcome. We are of the view that, had the trial continued, the giving of that evidence would almost certainly have led to the acquittal of the appellants on all charges." (Morrison & Ors, R v [2009] NICA 1 (9 January 2009), ¶6) Veronica Ryan was married to her codefendant James Martin at the time of her conviction, and she was then known by her married name of Veronica Martin. Daniel Morrison is known by his nickname of Danny Morrison."

Conviction Caused By:

Perjurious testimony by three prosecution witnesses.

Innocence Proved By:

"Convictions of the eight co-defendants orally quashed by Northern Ireland's Court of Appeal on October 24, 2008, with its written ruling issued on January 9, 2009."

Defendant Aided By:

"Criminal Case Review Commission (England, Wales, and Northern Ireland)"

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Female

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"Veronica Ryan, Criminal Case Review Commission referred cases database (last viewed Feb. 1, 2014)"

Information Location 1:

http://www.justice.gov.uk/about/criminal-cases-review-commission/case-library/20

Information Source 2:

"Morrison & Ors, R v [2009] NICA 1 (9 January 2009) "

Information Location 2:

http://www.bailii.org/nie/cases/NICA/2009/1.html

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

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