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No Retrial For Graham Huckerby And James Power (28 January 2005)

The Crown Prosecution Service has decided that there is not enough evidence against Huckerby and Power and so they believe there is no prospect of them being convicted once again. Accordingly no retrial will take place.

Graham Huckerby and James Power Are Free! (Tuesday 21 December 2004)
It is with great pleasure that I can announce the Court of Appeal in London has ruled the convictions of Graham Huckerby and James Power unsafe. Huckerby and Power were both convicted of conspiring to commit armed robbery but have now been officially vindicated. Earlier today Graham Huckerby left Dovegate Prison and James Power left Lowdham Grange Prison. I am incredibly pleased that the waiting is now over for them and they are able to spend Christmas with their families. This decision on the part of the appeal judges is a fantastic Christmas present for Graham, James, their families, friends and supporters.

There is a small chance that the appeal judges will order a retrial (the judgment ends with the statement that this will be considered) but the men will both still be free until their trial. We doubt a third trial will take place.

Although everyone is elated by the news there are the underlying thoughts that these men should never have been sent to prison in the first place. The police failed to find any of the armed robbers who stole the £6.6 million and, in gaining two convictions to prevent public criticism, they sent two innocent men to prison. I hope to see some form of public apology from Greater Manchester Police.

For details of the robbery and trial of Huckerby and Power please visit the 'Published Articles' page of this website, where there is an article I have written about the case.

To view the Court of Appeal judgment please click here

The following is an article I wrote for Miscarriages of Justice UK (MOJUK) prior to the appeal hearing in November 2004:

Graham Huckerby and James Power at the Court of Appeal (by S. C. Lomax)

The appeal of Graham Huckerby and James Power is finally due to be heard on 11 and 12 November 2004 at the Court of Appeal. An earlier hearing, which should have taken place in July, was cancelled due to the death of one of the three judges assigned to the case.

Both Huckerby and Power were convicted in 2002 for conspiring to commit armed robbery and were sentenced to fourteen years imprisonment. It had been seven years earlier when £6.6 million in cash and cheques was stolen from the Midland Bank Clearing Centre in Salford. The police investigation, named Operation Volga, failed to recover any of the money and all of the masked raiders who carried out the robbery have evaded capture. The police needed at least one conviction to satisfy Government figures and prevent public criticism, after all a huge sum of money had been stolen.

With their failure to find those who committed the armed siege on the security van, which was driven by Graham Huckerby, the police began to explore the possibility that the elusive armed criminals had been assisted by someone from the inside. With their investigation underway the finger of suspicion pointed to Huckerby, a man with no criminal record who had been left traumatised by the incident, during which a shotgun was pointed at his head and he was tied to railings.

Huckerby was not the only man who detectives studied. Telephone calls linked Huckerby to a man named James Power, who was unemployed. Doubtless both Huckerby and Power made a number of telephone calls to a great number of individuals but the short conversations were deemed indicative of a conspiracy. The police used other highly dubious evidence, as did the prosecution during the trial, to show both men were responsible for this extremely well planned and executed crime.

Both men did pay thousands of pounds into their bank accounts over a large number of time following the robbery, but at trial these deposits were explained. For example a friend of Huckerby’s repaid a large loan. It was also shown how Huckerby had been restless and agitated on the day before the crime, whilst visiting his daughter in hospital. However, his daughter was in a great deal of pain and discomfort, and the hospital staff did not know what was wrong, so it is understandable he should be viewed to be restless and agitated.

The unknown armed raiders have committed the perfect crime but the greatest crime of all is the wrongful incarceration of two innocent individuals, particularly as one was a victim of the robbery and the case against the other is nothing short of a joke. It is hoped the Court of Appeal will recognise that both Huckerby and Power are scapegoats and that the judges will quash their convictions and finally allow their release.

To visit the official campaign website for James Power please use the following address - www.jamespower.g3z.com. Details of Graham Huckerby's case are available at www.innocent.org.uk

UPDATE (18 December 2004) I have today been informed that a judgment will be read on Tuesday 21 December 2004. At this time we do not know the outcome. We hope that the convictions will be quashed and both men will be free in time for Christmas.

UPDATE (22 November 2004) The judges have still not made a decision. As soon as a decision has been announced details will be placed on this site. Please contact me if you would like to be informed of the outcome.

UPDATE (17 November 2004) The judges are still considering their decision. We have been warned it could be after Christmas that a decision is reached. Please remember Graham and James in your prayers during this difficult period.

UPDATE (16 November 2004) the judges retired to consider their judgment on Friday 12 November. At present they have not decided whether they should quash or uphold the convictions. The prosecution have argued the medical evidence presented to show that Graham Huckerby's statements to the police were unintentionally misleading (Huckerby was suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder when interviewed by the police, and this is one of the grounds for the appeal) was technically available at the time of Huckerby and Power's trial and therefore it should not be admissible at the Court of Appeal, even though it does offer an innocent explanation for information given by Huckerby. I believe the rules governing the admission of evidence for the Court of Appeal should be altered to allow evidence suggesting innocence to be heard, after all the Court of Appeal is a court of justice. For this and other suggestion please visit my 'Necessary Reform' section of this website. The Police and Criminal Evidence Act of 1984 does state that suspects who are suffering from mental health disorders, as defined under the Mental health Act, do provide misleading information without them being aware of this and so they might incorrectly be viewed to be lying.

   
 
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