Wrongly Convicted Database Record

 

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Andrew Watts

 

Charge:

"Fraud (passing bad checks, documents, casino, bankrupcy, etc.)"

Sentence:

2-1/2 years

Years Imprisoned:

0.875

Year Crime:

Year Convicted:

2005

Year Cleared:

2007

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

United Kingdom

County or Region of Crime:

England

City of Crime:

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

Andrew Watts was a co-defendant of Steve Sampson and William Hurley. The three businessmen were wrongly convicted in September 2005 of various counts related to their alleged theft and falsification of documents from an alleged environmental tax credit scheme for landfill waste. More than £1m in grants and fees were said to have been manipulated through false invoices and kickback arrangements. All three men protested their innocence throughout their seven month trial that was blacked-out from press coverage. Sampson and Watts were sentenced to 2-1/2 years imprisonment and Hurley was sentenced to 3 years imprisonment. In May 2007 the Court of Appeal quashed the conviction of all three men on the grounds that the trial judge's jury instructions were no clear enough for the jury to have made an informed decision. All three men had finished serving their sentences at the time of their exoneration.

Conviction Caused By:

Innocence Proved By:

In May 2007 the Court of Appeal quashed the conviction of all three men on the grounds that the trial judge's jury instructions were no clear enough for the jury to have made an informed decision.

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Information Source 1:

"Paradise Boss Fraud Conviction Quashed, Hoddesdon and Broxbourne Mercury, June 1, 2007"

Information Location 1:

Information Source 2:

"Cleared jail dad's 'living nightmare', Harts and Essex Observer, June 1, 2007"

Information Location 2:

http://www.herts-essex-news.co.uk/news/observer/2007/05/31/cleared%20jail%20dads%20living%20nightmare.lpf

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

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