'No bitterness' says freed prisoner

Frank Johnson (right) was freed from prison this week

A man who spent 26 years in prison for murder before his conviction was quashed has spoken of his "lost years".

Irish-born Frank Johnson, now 66, was jailed in 1976 for the murder of Jack Sheridan, who died after he was set alight at his shop in east London.

But on Wednesday three appeal court judges said his conviction was "unsafe" after hearing Mr Johnson had a mental disorder at the time of his trial.

Mr Johnson, who has now been released, said: "I don't hold any bitterness. I just feel sadness.

Now I have learnt not to worry about things I have no control over

Frank Johnson

"Sometimes understanding is more important than knowledge.

"I understand why Mary, my partner, left me - the kids were very young.

"There is nothing I can do about the past. That time is gone; it's finished.

"Sometimes you just have to go along with it and I have to look ahead now."

Mr Johnson is currently living with Billy Power, one of the Birmingham Six who has fought tirelessly for his release.

The appeal hearing had been told by barrister Edward Fitzgerald QC that Mr Johnson had developed a paranoid psychosis at the time of the trial and the original verdict was "not safe".

'State of denial'

Mr Johnson always maintained he did not murder Mr Sheridan, 60, who died three weeks after being attacked in his shop in Whitechapel on 3 February, 1975.

Two other men, Jack Tierney and David Smart, were also convicted of the murder but have since been freed on parole.

However, Mr Johnson turned down the chance of parole, which would have enabled him to leave prison years ago, insisting he was innocent.

In an interview with The Observer newspaper, Mr Johnson said: "I got angry with the system for a long time and it didn't hear me.

"Now I have learnt not to worry about things I have no control over. If you are fighting to swim against the tide on your own, you are going to lose."

Paddy Hill, another member of the Birmingham Six, and the founder of the Miscarriage of Justice Organisation (Mojo), said Mr Johnson was still in a state of denial.

'Problems suffered'

Mr Hill likened what Mr Johnson was now going through with Vietnam veterans.

He said: "The problems suffered by people like Frank Johnson are not realised by the people themselves until at least a year after their release.

"I would be amazed if he was genuinely as well-adjusted as he appears to be at the moment.

"I don't want to say it, but I do think the anger, the upset and disorientation will come."