...but the point is Face it was a jury trial...I have served on a few of them myself and it's a strange thing but try as people might to weigh up evidence as impartially as possible and do the best each person on a jury brings the baggage of their own beliefs, fears, hopes and wishes to that.
My point is that a jury decided upon the evidence they were presented with they were left with the impression that that was the case (Tommy's guilt)......I would love for that jury to be asked to consider the verdict they returned right now...Now knowing that Coulson is a bribing, lying scumbag...Would that maybe change their verdict as individuals and as a group?
Maybe yes...Maybe no...but the point is that simply given the points that are now known, and especially that Coulson's testimony can be shown in itself to be perjurious then any decision based upon that testimony surely must be in question given that we can never go and ask the jury the question.
Let me put it like this....if someone provides corroborative evidence in a murder trial saying that they seen someone do it and the person is convicted....but later they reveal (through choice or third party disclosure) that they were lying about the testimony they supplied at the original trial would anyone be happy to see that murder conviction stand without, at a minimum, a retrial? I doubt it and, while I doubt that any different decision might be reached, I believe a retrial is needed to ensure justice is seen to be done in this case.
But does any of that change what Tommy said? That's the problem. I wish it wasn't like that, but it was the video evidence that the jury probably used as their main reason for convicting him.
You're 100% right...it doesn't change anything Tommy has said or done.
.....and the video evidence may well have been the main reason...but my point is we don't know and have no way of knowing so in any criminal trial if any substantive evidence is found to be wrong/misleading then the conviction is possibly unsound.
3 years for fuck all cubed was very harsh...let him out know now and call it quits all round I say.
Joined: 08 Mar 2010 Location: Pembrokeshire (Wales)
Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2011 11:35 pm Post subject:
Just an observation...
Lothian & Borders Police spend several million pounds and devote thousands of man hours to investigate the 'desperado' Tommy Sheridan.
Giving evidence before the commons select committee, former DAC of the Metropolitan Police Peter Clarke uttered ".....I could not justify the huge expenditure of resources this would entail over an inevitably protracted period.....", when referring to the NOTW hacking 'investigation', or rather lack of one.
Given the difference in size and resources of those two particular forces, ahem s-e-r-v-i-c-e-s (!), it does make you wonder how they arrive at those particular decisions.
Tommy Sheridan perjury conviction appeal rejected
4th August 2011
The BBC understands that Tommy Sheridan's appeal against his perjury conviction has been refused. It is thought that judges at the Court of Criminal Appeal have said his case was "unarguable".
The former Scottish Socialist Party leader was jailed for three years at the High Court in Glasgow in January after being convicted of perjury. He was found guilty of lying during his successful defamation case against the News of the World newspaper in 2006.
Sheridan has been serving his sentence at Castle Huntly Open Prison in Angus.
Gagging order to be imposed on Tommy Sheridan as part of parole deal
TOMMY Sheridan, the former Scottish Socialist leader, is believed to be the first person in Scotland to be served with a ban on speaking in public as part of his parole conditions when he is released from jail on Monday.
The Scotsman has learned that the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) has imposed a unprecedented six-month gagging order on Sheridan, who has already signalled that he wants to play an active role in the pro-independence campaign, as part of a series of conditions that will effectively silence the former Glasgow MSP.
Last night, Paul McBride, one of Scotland’s leading QCs, said that the move was “almost unheard of” and suggested that the order had been imposed to save prison authorities from “embarrassment” at Sheridan’s release just one year into his three-year sentence for perjury.
Mr McBride also attacked the order as “silly and pointless” and warned that the prison service decision had set a “very dangerous precedent” for a democratic society.
Sheridan is thought to have been released on a home detention curfew, which involves “serving a sentence”, but where the sentence is served “in the community rather than in custody”.
During that time, the offender is still regarded as part of Scotland’s prison population.
Although the curfews have different conditions for specific individuals, such as being forced to wear an electronic tag, Sheridan is understood to be the first offender in Scotland to be banned from making public statements after release.
A prison service source said that Sheridan will be allowed to attend a press conference outside his Glasgow home on Monday afternoon, but will then be prevented from making any further public comments for a period of six months after his release from Castle Huntly open prison.
Mr McBride said he had rarely encountered such stringent restrictions.
“There’s a human rights issues, as I’ve never heard of someone being released and told don’t speak in public. It sets a very dangerous precedent,” he said.
“It’s not appropriate to a democratic society because if someone is released they are either part of society or they are not. If they are not fit to be released, then they should finish their sentence. There are rapists and murderers who have not had this condition imposed.”
The QC further claimed that the terms of the curfew could damage Sheridan’s ability to earn a living.
Mr McBride said: “Although Tommy’s unable to campaign for public office because of his conviction, it seems odd that there are restrictions being imposed about what sort of work he can do, particularly in the current economic climate.”
Under the terms of the curfew, Sheridan will be expected to observe the same conditions that have been imposed on him during the regular weekend leave breaks he has been allowed from prison.
The SPS source said that the condition was being imposed to ensure that Sheridan still faces “similar restrictions to those of a prison inmate” during the first few months of his parole. The former politician remains at risk of being recalled to prison if he speaks at political rallies or gives media interviews.
The Scotsman previously revealed that Sheridan previously had his week-long home leave from jail reduced to just three days by prison authorities, after the initial decision to grant him a week’s leave was made public.
Yesterday, Sheridan’s solicitor Aamer Amwar said that his client was “just going to read a statement” and will not be giving interviews at Monday’s press conference.
Mr Anwar declined to say what Sheridan would say, but issued a statement saying that the family had asked that their “privacy is respected”.
Sheridan is expected to be met at prison near Dundee by his wife Gail and sister Lynn, before heading home, where he will meet a group of close friends.
Mr McBride warned that the gag on Sheridan could prove pointless if others agree to speak for him.
“It’s an utterly ineffective and inefficient thing to do, as there’s nothing to prevent others speaking on his behalf. It’s silly and unnecessary, and probably challengeable in the courts,” he said.
Former Euro MP Hugh Kerr, who used to be Sheridan’s spokesman and part of his SSP inner circle, also said that the parole conditions would restrict his ability to earn a living.
He said: “It’s a great shame that we won’t have his voice contributing to the campaign for Scottish independence for a while.
“Given that part of the early release of prisoners is about rehabilitation, there’s a question about what Tommy’s supposed to do, as he’s a politician and campaigner.
“I would have hoped that the judicial authorities would have been more lenient over this.
“However, I’m sure he will make his voice heard in the campaign at the end of the period.”
Sheridan previously appeared at a social evening at a Glasgow city centre pub during a period of weekend leave, when he declined to speak to the media.
The left-winger was convicted of five counts of perjury relating to evidence he gave in his civil court case against the News of the World. He was initially awarded £200,000 in compensation but the newspaper appealed and won.
An official Scottish Prison Service spokesman said: “Someone on a home detentions curfew is still serving a sentence, it’s just that the sentence is being served in the community rather than in custody.
“Conditions are associated with home detention curfews, but these conditions are not universal and they do pertain to individuals.”
That's crazy and it can only help to build support for Tommy in the end. I reckon most people who liked him before accept that he was wrong to lie in court, but that that it wasn't really a matter of great importance.
Next stop the tanning salon! Decidedly pale former MSP Tommy Sheridan steps out of prison into arms of his wife
Richard Hartley-parkinson
30 January 2012
The 47-year-old walked out of Castle Huntly prison near Dundee shortly after 10am with his wife, Gail, vowing to appeal his conviction. The politician and former Celebrity Big Brother contestant was jailed on January 26 last year for committing perjury during his successful defamation action against the News of the World in 2006. He was awarded £200,000 in damages after winning the civil case but a jury at the High Court in Glasgow found him guilty of lying about the now-defunct tabloid's claims that he was an adulterer who visited a swingers' club.
During his trial it was alleged that he had sex with Katrine Trolle, a Scottish Socialist Party member, in his marital bed. It was also claimed that she was involved in a threesome with Sheridan and his brother-in-law. Miss Trolle said she had a fling with the former MSP for several years, but he denies ever having slept with her. Trial judge Lord Bracadale subsequently handed the former leader of the Scottish Socialist Party a three-year jail sentence, telling him his decision to pursue the Sunday tabloid for defamation 'brought the walls of the temple crashing down' on him.
Speaking outside his Glasgow home, Sheridan said he intends to launch a fresh appeal against his conviction, and fight for an independent Scotland. He also claimed the prospect of a 'gagging order' against him was lifted earlier today. Sheridan said: 'It is a relief to be able to speak personally for once. It seems a long time now since I have been able to speak. It's been an absolute delight to be back home with my beautiful wife who I love dearly, and my daughter Gabrielle who I have missed beyond words are able to describe. Up until a couple of hours ago, I didn't know I was going to be able to speak. Up until a couple of hours ago I was still gagged. I was told two hours ago that that gag has now been lifted. Unfortunately, although I am not to be gagged today, I will be tagged.'
He added: 'I want to thank the thousands of ordinary folk across Scotland and further afield who have taken time to write to me, send me cards and letters, contact me on Facebook and to show their solidarity with me and my family throughout this difficult 12 months. I would like to thank them for being so human and so warm and respecting the fact that although we lost a trial in December of last year, we will continue to fight to clear my name. And we are determined to highlight the contrasts in treatment between the 20-plus - I've lost count of the number of - News of the World former journalists who have been arrested.
'I have not read of any of them who have had their homes raided over a mammoth nine-hour search, or their children traumatised in the interests of justice. Apparently they handed themselves in at the stations. Well, I've got news for them and for others: this fight is far from over. This story has not yet finished. I believe that I will return to Glasgow High Court in the near future.'
Sheridan claimed 'witnesses' had lied during his perjury trial and said he would have 'a strong appeal that will hopefully lead to the quashing of my unfair, unsafe and unsound conviction'. He added: 'I have to also say, however, that in the 12 months I have been away, things have not got any better for ordinary working-class folk. Wages have been cut, prices have increased and the Con-Dem millionaire Government wants to make ordinary folk pay for a crisis that was nothing to do with them. I look forward to re-engaging in the battle for justice and against inequality and poverty, and I also look forward to engaging in the campaign to deliver Scotland not just as an independent country but as an independent socialist country as well. I thank once again all of those who have stuck by me, my family and my friends. But most of all, I thank my wife Gail.'
His lawyer, Aamer Anwar, said the new appeal is related to the outcome of the police investigation into alleged perjury during Sheridan's trial. Mr Anwar said: 'Tommy is delighted to be back at home with his family. He intends to make up for lost time as best he can. I have been instructed to prepare a new appeal which will be related to the outcome of Strathclyde Police's investigation into allegations of phone hacking and perjury at Tommy's trial. Tommy was told before Christmas by the Scottish Prison Service that on release he could not speak directly to the media. Such a condition would have been a draconian attack on his right to free speech. Over the weekend we stated this would be illegal and challenged it in the courts. The authorities have come to their senses and a gagging order will not be imposed.'
Sheridan will be tagged later today and under the terms of his release will have to stay at home between 7.15pm and 7.15am. Before they returned to a party inside the house, Mr and Mrs Sheridan shared an emotional kiss on their doorstep.
During the three-month High Court trial, Sheridan claimed he was the victim of a 'vendetta' by the police and a 'conspiracy' involving the Sunday newspaper and former colleagues within the SSP. In August last year he was denied the chance to appeal against his conviction, following a ruling by senior judges. Sheridan - who previously served time as part of an anti-poll tax campaign and then over an anti-Trident protest at Faslane nuclear submarine base - maintained his innocence through the trial. He claimed he was the victim of a 'vendetta' by the police and a 'conspiracy' involving the News of the World and colleagues within the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP).
The former SSP leader said 16 former allies were lying as part of a 'political civil war' when they told the High Court in Glasgow that he had admitted at a 2004 meeting having been to Cupid's swingers' club in Manchester. Sheridan, who conducted his own defence, called Andy Coulson to give evidence during the sensational trial. But the jury found him guilty of perjury during the 2006 civil defamation case and lying about having an affair with SSP member Katrine Trolle.
In a 50-minute plea before sentencing, Sheridan asked for a 'proportionate and reasonable' sentence and referring to previous perjury cases, including those of former Conservative MPs Jeffrey Archer and Jonathan Aiken, said: 'This is not a murder trial. Nobody has been killed and neither has an innocent person been imprisoned.' But the judge, Lord Bracadale, while praising him as a 'hard-working' politician, added:' When perjury is established it must be dealt with seriously for the benefit of the court and the public. You embarked on an action in the Court of Session knowing that, for it to be successful, you would be required to tell lies under affirmation. You committed perjury and you were awarded a very large sum in damages. The only appropriate sentence is one of imprisonment.'
Any prisoner serving a sentence of less than four years is currently eligible for automatic early release at the halfway point in their jail term. Sheridan would therefore be entitled to be freed from prison after 18 months. However, under current provisions, it is possible for individuals to spend up to the last six months of their sentence on home detention curfew. This means they can be freed from prison to live at home but must wear an electronically monitored tag for the remainder of their sentence.
At the weekend Sheridan's lawyer, Aamer Anwar, said he had been told that prison authorities would try to 'gag' him on his release. Mr Anwar promised to seek a judicial review if a public-speaking ban features in Sheridan's release conditions. Speaking on Saturday, Mr Anwar said: 'I was aware that this was being imposed. It's unprecedented, absolutely draconian and denies my client the right to earn a living.'
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