01. Miscarriages of Justice Registry

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Case: Sam Kulasingham

31

Age When Imprisoned

1994

Conviction overturned

6

Years in prison

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Table of Contents

Description
Sam Kulasingha, amd Prem Sivalingham were convicted of tripple murder following a petrol attack that killed three people. The primary evidence against them was from two witnesses. On appeal, new evidence suggested that police officers used violence against key witnesses and threatened them with deportation. Appeal judges quashed the convictions on the basis of breaches of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act, non-disclosure of evidence that could have helped the defence, and witness unreliability. Judges said that they had a distinct sense of unease about the verdicts, and that the convictions could not be regarded as safe or satisfactory.
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Overview

Jurisdiction

England & Wales

First & Last Name

Sam
Kulasingham

Gender

M

Ethnicity

Asian

Age When Imprisoned

31

Age When Released

Years in Prison

6

Compensation

Compensation Paid

Compensation Link

Compensation Type

Compensation Amount

Dates

Year of Crime

1986

Year of Conviction

1988

Year Conviction was Overturned

1994
Excerpt

Research information

Reference

19

Link to Full Case

Offences

Offence

Murder

Offence Convicted Of

Murder

Most Serious Offence

Murder

Courts

Factors Involved

Inadequate disclosure, Official misconduct, Witness evidence from non-complainant

Guilty Plea

Tried with Others

Yes

Retrial

Majority Verdict

Unanimous Verdict

Evidence

Type of Witness Evidence

Affirmative Evidence of Innocence

Fresh Evidence

Evidence casting doubt on the integrity of police, evidence relating to the reliability of witness testimony

CCRC Referral

Neutral Citation

Unknown

Online Press

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/firebomb-murder-convictions-quashed-1439003.html

Crown Argued Case at CofA

Previous Appeals

Unsuccessful appeal in 1992

Number of Previous Applications

1

Legal Representation on Appeal

Is Post Office Case