Belper News Article
The
following article appeared on the front page of The Belper News (a weekly
newspaper covering news in and around Belper, Derbyshire) on 8 June 2005.
It was written by myself and relates to the case of Michael Brown who was
jailed for murdering his stepfather, Derek Kinder:
Killer fighting to clear name
By S. C. Lomax
THE CONVICTED killer of a Belper man has told of his fight to clear his name.
Michael Brown was jailed in 2002 when a jury at Derby Crown Court found him
guilty of murdering his stepfather, Derek Kinder, of Ladywood Avenue in Belper, whose dismembered
corpse was found in a suitcase in a Newark river.
Brown has always maintained his innocence and has recently spoken from his
prison cell in a bid to let the outside world know the pain he and his family
are experiencing.
"At present I am serving a life sentence for a murder which I did not
commit.", he said.
"My situation is made doubly difficult in that the victim of this crime
was my stepfather.
"Both myself and my family have had so much to deal with as we try to
fight this miscarriage of justice.
"It is, however, a fight we all intend to win. From my point of view the
hardest thing is being labelled, as I wrongly am, as a murderer. It is also
very painful to watch my family suffer in the way that they have had to. On
top of all of this I have to cope with being separated from my family, whom I
love, until we can all right this wrong and be together again."
Brown claims that at the time of his stepfather's death, in May or June 2001,
he was in serious trouble with a loan shark company.
He had borrowed money after picking up a business card offering 'Quik Cash'
but was unable to meet the repayments.
Brown says he has no doubt that the loan sharks committed the murder,
claiming that he found them at the home he shared with his stepfather where
they allegedly informed Brown that Kinder had had an "accident."
The Justice for Michael Brown campaign group, established by his friends and
relatives, are urging anyone who has been offered 'Quik Cash' to contact them
in the hope that those who they believe were truly responsible for Derek
Kinder's death can be traced.
Brown remains optimistic for the future and is hoping he will be given the
opportunity to appeal against his conviction.
"The day will come for me when I get to clear my name. Until then my
fight and struggle goes on," he said.
The Matlock Mercury,
another weekly newspaper, also printed my article on their front page (though
they added two additional sentences of their own):
To view some of my other articles please click here
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