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scotkaz
Joined: 28 Aug 2008
Posts: 526
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 Posted: Fri Jun 12, 2009 6:13 pm Post subject: |
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http://news.stv.tv/scotland/10220...on-may-be-miscarriage-of-justice/
There are two videos on this site also.
A man sentenced to a minimum of 20 years in jail for a gangland murder has had his case referred to the Court of Criminal Appeal.
William Gage, 37, was convicted in 2004 of the murder of Justin McAlroy by shooting him five times at his home in Cambuslang in Lanarkshire. But the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission has asked the Court of Criminal Appeal to re-examine the conviction.
William Gage is serving a minimum of 20 years behind bars for the murder of 28-year-old Justin McAlroy. In March 2002 he was shot five times outside his home in a row over a £50,000 drug debt. Mr Gage has always said he was innocent, and now the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission said a miscarriage of justice may have occurred.
Solicitor Aamer Anwar said: "We welcome the decision, the SCCRC believes that Mr Gage may be the victim of a miscarriage of justice and it is in the interests of justice that the case goes back to the Court of Appeal.
"It has been five long hard years for Mr Gage who has always protested and maintained his innocence since the beginning. This is a positive step forward but there is still a long road ahead."
At the trial McAlroy's wife Tracey told the court 'she would never forget those eyes' before identifying Gage in court as the killer.
Archive
William Gage report from 2005 (video)
She had initially told police she only glimpsed the killer as he ran away. Witnesses at the trial described the hitman as being five feet ten tall with a round face and cropped hair, but Mr Gage is six feet two, thin and had long hair at the time.
The gunman was said to be wearing a padded jacket but it was the discovery of a thin cagoule with Gage's DNA that helped convict him. The cagoule was found in a burned white Saab that had been sold by Gage a couple of months earlier.
The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission said: "The absence of specific directions to the jury regarding the dock identification amounts to a misdirection and may have given rise to a miscarriage of justice."
They went on to say that "The applicant's trial may have been unfair" in relation to the way in which evidence was dealt with.
In 2006, the appeal court rejected Mr Gage's claims of innocence. He has questioned the alleged links between the deceased and senior Labour politicians.
More questions about the robustness of the Crown case are posed by this appeal. Gage has already been incarcerated for seven years. Now he hopes the clock is ticking on the countdown to his freedom.
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Lydia
Joined: 06 Nov 2008
Posts: 82
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| Posted: Fri Jun 12, 2009 9:13 pm Post subject: |
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Missed the news but I can pass on my very best wishes. You have fought long and hard and you deserve this. I hope and pray this works out for you and best wishes to your family.
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We are the parents in Scotland denied justice for our children who had illegal post mortem's or had organs removed illegally at post mortem. |
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Big Wullie
Joined: 25 Apr 2007
Posts: 1149
Location: Glasgow
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| Posted: Sat Jun 13, 2009 1:48 am Post subject: |
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Great News
I wish Wullie and his family the very best and hope he now applies for Interim Liberation.
Having spoken to his Father I am of the opinion he has great fighting spirits and will live to see his son cleared, which is his only wish for now, I wish him all the very best and pray his wish comes true.
The commission are to be commended for their decision, after all the criticisms I have made over the years of them I am having to eat my words in this case.
Wullies case was one which was included in my dossier to kenny MacAskill.
I am ecstatic said Wullie's Father when I spoke to him yesterday.
I hope the courts do not burst this feeling and free him on Interim Liberation while he awaits his appeal.
The final word must go to all who have supported Wullie over the years for their tenacious support and fight to help Wullie.
Thanks to all his supporters
Todays Herald:
http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/n...on_appeal_to_see_dying_father.php
Archive from STV:
http://video.stv.tv/bc/news-090612-gagearchive/
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http://justiceforwulliebeck.webs.com/index.htm
http://williambeck.blogspot.com/
http://williambeck.wordpress.com/about/ |
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scotkaz
Joined: 28 Aug 2008
Posts: 526
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Big Wullie
Joined: 25 Apr 2007
Posts: 1149
Location: Glasgow
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| Posted: Sat Jun 13, 2009 6:48 pm Post subject: |
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Scotkaz
As much as I hope Wullie can be freed to be with his Father I am not entirely convinced this will happen.
We need only look at recent referrals of Megrahi and Ferrie both of whom are still locked up.
Megrahi is being emotionally blackmailed to drop his appeal and promised he will get out and sent to Libya if he conforms and spend the rest of his numbered days with his family.
Who knows what will happen but what we expect is not always what happens.
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http://williambeck.blogspot.com/
http://williambeck.wordpress.com/about/ |
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scotkaz
Joined: 28 Aug 2008
Posts: 526
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| Posted: Sun Jun 14, 2009 9:46 am Post subject: |
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Wullie
I am not confident of interim lib either but can be thankful that the SCCRC referred the case in the first place.
However, being the eternal opimist  I can hope that perhaps the courts will do things on a case by case basis. But I will not be surprised if it does not happen sadly. |
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Big Wullie
Joined: 25 Apr 2007
Posts: 1149
Location: Glasgow
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scotkaz
Joined: 28 Aug 2008
Posts: 526
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| Posted: Mon Jun 15, 2009 9:40 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | Wullie could apply for Home Leaves which would soften the blow a little for his dad in that he would not have to visit the Prison. |
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I will speak to Wullie or one of the family today about this Wullie. Thanks for thinking of this. |
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scotkaz
Joined: 28 Aug 2008
Posts: 526
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| Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2009 9:49 pm Post subject: |
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| Big Wullie wrote: | Scotkaz
Another thought entered my mind while thinking of Wullie's poor Father !
Wullie could apply for Home Leaves which would soften the blow a little for his dad in that he would not have to visit the Prison. |
I think this is in the works,
Mr Gage Snr is fighting on and getting treatment. He is a tough cookie. I only hope he can hang on long enough to see justice done for Wullie
I came across this article that didnt get posted on here. Thought I would add it so it is there for people to read later.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/jun/23/glasgow-murder-case-review
William Gage, who was convicted of murder in 2004 and sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 20 years before he becomes eligible for parole, may be about to see a change in his fortunes.
Earlier this month, the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC), which investigates possible miscarriages of justice, referred his case to the high court. While there is no guarantee that he will be freed, it is possible that the jury verdict that sent him to Shotts maximum security prison in Lanarkshire, Scotland, may be overturned.
Gage, 38, who bought and sold used cars, is in prison for a high-profile murder. At about 10pm on 7 March 2002, Justin McAlroy was shot five times outside his house in Cambuslang, Glasgow. He had crawled under his car in an attempt to escape, but died a few hours later in the city's Victoria Infirmary.
The shocking circumstances of the killing – his pregnant wife, Tracy, heard the shots from inside the house and glimpsed the killer as he ran away – alone ensured that it would be a big news story. But McAlroy was not just anyone. He had contacts and enemies in the criminal world. During the trial the court heard that McAlroy was under surveillance by the Scottish drug enforcement agency.
His father, Thomas McAlroy, was a millionaire businessman who donated thousands of pounds to the Scottish Labour party. Only six days before his death, Justin McAlroy attended a Labour party fundraising dinner at his father's golf and country club. Also present were Jack McConnell, an MSP, and John Reid, the former home secretary.
In such a high-profile case, the police were under pressure to achieve results. On a sunny morning in May 2002 police arrested Gage in the West End of Glasgow. He was detained on suspicion of McAlroy's murder. As Gage would admit, he was no angel. At the time of his arrest he was out on parole, having served three and a half years of a seven-year sentence for his part in an armed robbery as the getaway driver.
After his arrest for murder, Gage contacted the Miscarriages of Justice Organisation Scotland. John McManus, one of its founders, described the ensuing trial as a "theatrical farce" and dismissed the evidence as being full of "supposition and assumptions".
Gage denied murdering McAlroy and perverting the course of justice by trying to destroy evidence in the getaway car. The prosecution's case was built around the discovery of Gage's DNA in a white Saab and the presence of firearm discharge residue (FDR) found on items of clothing, a black cagoule jacket, a snood (a hood or scarf) and a pair of gloves.
In a key moment of the trial, Tracy McAlroy, who said she would never forget the killer's "evil eyes" (his face was covered), identified Gage as her husband's killer.
In his summing up the judge, Lord Emslie, seemed to draw the jury's attention to discrepancies in the prosecution's case. He pointed out the contrast between the descriptions of the padded Inuit-style jacket worn by the killer with the thin cagoule found in the Saab; he noted that it was beyond dispute that items in the car bore Gage's DNA, but asked members of the jury whether they were convinced that the Saab had, in fact, been the getaway car; and he cautioned them about the testimony given by Tracy McAlroy.
He said: "I would have to direct you in that situation, that is if it is the wrong car and the wrong jacket – you would have no proper corroboration, no proper corroborative basis, to hold this murder charge proved against the accused, William Gage, and you would require to return a verdict of acquittal, if all you were left with was a few people who said general things about build and one person, Tracy McAlroy, claiming to recognise eyes: that would not be enough."
The jury found Gage guilty of murder after the two and a half-week trial. He was sentenced in February 2004. His appeal was rejected in 2006 and, in December 2007, the SCCRC decided not to refer his case to the high court.
But the commission reversed its decision on 12 June. It is understood that it was troubled by Tracy McAlroy's identification of Gage in court. While it is a staple of film and television courtroom dramas, "dock identification" has long been considered an outdated and unreliable method of helping to convict people. While the commission took note of Emslie's comments to the jury about Tracy McAlroy's evidence, it highlights his failure to address the risks associated with identification from the dock.
"The commission is struck by the absence of any reference to the dangers inherent in a dock identification, or of any reference to the fact that no previous, fairer identification had been obtained (there was no identification parade)," the report said.
The commission also raised concerns about the identification of the white Saab by one witness, Charles Bowman. Bowman, a night security man, initially thought he had seen a Volvo but changed his mind when the police showed him a Saab. The commission said that no attempt was made to highlight the potential for Bowman's evidence to be tainted, given that he had originally identified a different make and model of car. Similar concerns were raised about the identification of clothing, including the jacket.
After 89 pages, the report concluded: "The commission believes that there may have been a miscarriage of justice in the applicant's case. The commission also believes that it is in the interests of justice that the case be referred to the high court for determination. The commission accordingly does so." |
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scotkaz
Joined: 28 Aug 2008
Posts: 526
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| Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2009 3:21 pm Post subject: |
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Wullie Gage has lodged his appeal today
HMA -v- WILLIAM GAGE GL02020560 XC408/09
Note of Appeal Lodged 18/09/2009 1 Day 18/09/2009
WILLIAM GAGE Aamer Anwar&Co
HMA -v- WILLIAM GAGE GL02020560 XC408/09
Order Judge report 18/09/2009 1 Day 18/09/2009
WILLIAM GAGE Aamer Anwar & Co
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