news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7536815.stm

His original conviction was centred around now discredited gunshot discharge residue evidence whilst his defence argued he was not capable of carrying out what could be seen as the "perfect crime" that required "meticulous" planning.

What incensed me about this whole case was the behaviour of the BBC which at all times presented biased and prejudicial news items which made a mockery of both the principle of journalistic integrity and the presumption of innocence until proven guilty.

Incidentally it is cases like this which, for me highlight why the death penalty is so abhorrent.

It also reinforces my deep unease about media led popular hysteria being used to influence sentencing.

It proves to me that the hang em and flog em brigade are deeply misguided at best.

Bananaman wrote:
What incensed me about this whole case was the behaviour of the BBC which at all times presented biased and prejudicial news items which made a mockery of both the principle of journalistic integrity and the presumption of innocence until proven guilty.

Incidentally it is cases like this which, for me highlight why the death penalty is so abhorrent.

It also reinforces my deep unease about media led popular hysteria being used to influence sentencing.

It proves to me that the hang em and flog em brigade are deeply misguided at best.

B'man, this case is indeed deeply disturbing. I feel for Jill Dando's partner and her family. This must be truly horrific for them. But you are right the whole celebrity-BBC personality-murdered background to all of it was unhelpful at best, and at worst it broke every rule in the book on reporting in such circumstances.

The BBC tried hard to make Jill Dando the Princess Diana of the BBC, which created a deal of laughter and scorn from other media outlets. The criticism unfortunately did not stop the hysteria created by the BBC. I have no doubt a great deal of pressure, was put on the police force to make an arrest and get a conviction at any cost. I have no doubt this affected the jury. It is a great pity this family could not sue for wrongful arrest. Unfortunately, the fact that the crown prosecution service does not seem to be finished with this man yet would probably influence the case. Note the statement

"Our test is always whether there is sufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction; it would be wholly wrong only to bring cases where we were guaranteed a conviction."
The Met Police said it would reflect on George's acquittal and "consider how best to proceed".


news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7537900.stm

I believe they will try again they are stating that the only reason he got off is a lack of evidence. I doubt if they will leave him alone. They will get him for something.

The latest news is that Barry George is entitled to seek compensation which may be up to £1m : Barry George is free to seek more than £1 million compensation as the victim of a miscarriage of justice after being cleared yesterday of the murder of the Crimewatch presenter Jill Dando. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk...e/article4446369.ece
Even if he wins that amount I doubt it will compensate for losing 8 years of his life!

Brenna1508 wrote:
The latest news is that Barry George is entitled to seek compensation which may be up to £1m : Barry George is free to seek more than £1 million compensation as the victim of a miscarriage of justice after being cleared yesterday of the murder of the Crimewatch presenter Jill Dando. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk...e/article4446369.ece
Even if he wins that amount I doubt it will compensate for losing 8 years of his life!

How right you are Brenna, my hope is he gets it before the police get him for something else. It seems from his police interview that he is a photographer. I wondered if the police will try to make something of that. The way he was portrayed in the lead up to the trial made him out to be some kind of pervert instead of someone with a passion for taking photographs. Some people take pictures of animals or the sunset or frogs or whatever, his interest seemed to be in taking photographs of woman. From what he said it did not seem to me that these were naked woman or anything like that it just seemed to be photographs of woman and could easily be an innocent hobby. Some woman had posed for him and some not. He did seem to have quite a vivid imagination as he seemed to tell people he had met and spoken to famous people and was related to one. As yet no law exists that I know of to put him in prison for stupidity like that.

The best thing this guy could do is take the compensation, sell his story and emigrate on the profits.

He owes this country nothing.

I just listened to a man on BBC, sorry about the lack of exact detail. I was too interested to take note of details. This man spent about 5/6 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. Eventually when he gained his release he had no help to adjust he left prison with about £44 in his pocket. He waited five years for his compensation which amounted to £100K ? A house of lords ruling allowed this to be reduced by a daily charge for looking after him for the time he was in prison. Beat that one Mugabe.

Martin, I hope he does sell his story that will at least keep him until he gets his compensation.

It seems I was wrong on the issue of Barry George and his interest in photography. He has admitted in the media that he was a stalker of woman and that is how and why he used photography.

This could be why the police continue to have an interest in him.

He also stated he was following another woman at the time Jill Dando died.

Martin suggested: The best thing this guy could do is take the compensation, sell his story and emigrate on the profits.
According to a couple of reports he is planning to join his sister and live in Cork. There are other family members living there also.

LYDIA REID wrote:
It seems I was wrong on the issue of Barry George and his interest in photography. He has admitted in the media that he was a stalker of woman and that is how and why he used photography.

This could be why the police continue to have an interest in him.

He also stated he was following another woman at the time Jill Dando died.

Why didn't he keep his trap shut? What a numpty!! Talk about defeat from the jaws of victory!

Still, it does not excuse the fact he was stitched up.

Martin
I think your post is quite extraordinary. This guy may not be guilty of killing Jill Dando but it seems to me he was certainly a serial stalker of women and therefore a pretty dangerous and terrifying individual. Profiling is common in such cases and yes a mistake was made but one he was guilty of stalking women and two there was a trace of gun residue in his clothing. I don't think stitching up applies although as I said a mistake was made. But please for God's sake don't paint him as some kind of victim.

Hi Clare and Martin.

He was a self-confessed serial stalker of woman and had he been put in prison for that, my sympathies would have been all with the women, which they are anyway. A woman stalked feels terrified and helpless.

Putting him in prison for murder was wrong and cannot be excused. The idea of the law is that if a person breaks a law they are punished for that crime not for the one they did last week else our justice system means nothing.

He may very well lose public sympathy now, it still does not excuse the fact that he was put in prison for a crime he did not commit. The police are not a judge and a jury, their job is to apprehend criminals not put them in prison because they committed another crime. His or her job is to present the evidence of that crime not to choose someone who may fit the bill because he is a criminal anyway.

I realise it must be heartbreaking and soul destroying for the police to know a person is guilty and not have the evidence to prove this, at least enough evidence to bring before a court of law.

Each agency has a part to play in instituting the principle of justice.


It was discovered that the police entered his premises with guns and this may be a reason for the one speck of residue on his coat.

Jill Dando and her family deserve the real killer to be caught, and put in prison. That would be justice.

Lydia

Can I just make it clear that I am not "excusing" anyone for imprisoning a person who was not guilty of the crime he was jailed for.

My post to Martin was to Martin and expressed my disgust that he felt George was a "numptie" for admitting he stalked women regularly. I was further appalled by the "stitched up" phrase when police clearly had used the normal process of profiling in trying to identify potential suspects. The phrase "stitched up" is close to "set up" in terms of what is understood by it. This investigation threw up a great deal, including the gunshot residue, and for you to attack the police in the manner you do in your last post is I think rather unfair. Also, by suggesting to Martin that stalking is not something that should be dismissed in such a manner I was not excusing the wrongful conviction.

I think all decent people feel uncomfortable when wrongful convictions surface and so we should. I think too tho that Barry George may not be guilty of murdering Jill Dando but he remains a danger to women if he continues his previous "hobby" of stalking women. Stalking is illegal too.

Hi Clare

If your post was solely for Martin then perhaps I should not answer this So I won't.