Killer loses battle to clear his name

Paul Cleeland might take his case to Strasbourg

A man who served 25 years in jail for murder has lost his battle to clear his name in the English courts.

Three Appeal Court judges turned down Paul Cleeland's request to reopen his case.

Mr Cleeland, 58, was jailed in 1973 for killing gangland leader Terry Clarke with a shotgun in Stevenage, Hertfordshire.

He is now considering taking his case to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

First I am going to take a rest, and then we will consider whether we are going to Europe

Paul Cleeland

Mr Cleeland was freed in 1998, five years after the end of his tariff.

Appeal judges considered fresh evidence in his case in February 2002, but rejected all 20 grounds of his appeal and said there was nothing which threw doubt on the safety of his conviction.

However, in an almost unprecedented move, the case was relisted on Wednesday after Cleeland claimed the judges had reached a decision which was in conflict with the evidence.

In an impassioned speech, Mr Cleeland said: "I rotted in prison for 27 years.

"I went through hell for 27 years, screaming that I was innocent."

But Lord Justice Potter said: "Even if we have the jurisdiction to relist we see no grounds to relist it for a hearing either before us or before a different constitution of this court."

'Cover-up'

He added that there were no significant points of law to merit taking the case to the Law Lords.

Mr Cleeland said after his failure in the court on Wednesday: "First I am going to take a rest, and then we will consider whether we are going to Europe."

He has always claimed that he was the victim of a cover-up, and that original the jury was not allowed to see crucial weapons evidence.

Mr Clarke, a friend of Mr Cleeland, was shot twice as he got out of his car after returning from a Hertfordshire bar on Guy Fawkes night in 1972.

There was no eyewitness evidence against him and the only motive put forward by the police was that he had an argument with Mr Clarke two years earlier.

At Mr Cleeland's first trial in April 1973, the jury could not reach a verdict.

But a retrial the following year saw him convicted of murder and sentenced to life in jail, with a minimum tariff of 20 years.