The case of Stephen Downing : the worst miscarriage of justice in British history
Downing, Stephen, 1956-2019
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On 12 September 1973 17-year-old gardener Stephen Downing encountered the badly beaten and unconscious figure of 32-year-old Wendy Sewell lying on the footpath of Bakewell Cemetery. Stephen ran to the nearby workmen's building and in the meantime the perpetrator of the attack who had been hiding, dragged Wendy's body out of sight to a second location where she was subsequently found. Downing was taken into custody and questioned without a solicitor and eventually signed a false confession statement and Wendy died 2 days later from her injuries. Following a 3-day trial during February 1974 Downing was found guilty by a jury, convicted and sentenced to what was eventually a full life sentence. After many years his plight eventually reached journalist Don Hale, whose tireless efforts led to a Criminal Cases Review and appeal in which Downing was released as a middle aged man after some 27 years.
Main title:
The case of Stephen Downing : the worst miscarriage of justice in British history / Stephen Downing ; foreword by former police intelligence officer Chris Clark.
Author:
Imprint:
Barnsley, South Yorkshire : Pen & Sword True Crime, 2019.Barnsley, South Yorkshire : Pen & Sword True Crime, 2019.
Collation:
xv, 167 pages : illustrations (black and white), maps (black and white) ; 24 cm
ISBN:
9781526742025 (pbk)
Dewey class:
364.1523
Language:
English
Subject:
BRN:
2247004