Brain-damaged man jailed over shopkeeper’s murder finally has conviction quashed

Oliver Campbell arrives at the Royal Courts of Justice, London, for his appeal hearing (Picture: PA)

A brain-damaged man jailed for life in 1991 for the murder of a shopkeeper in east London has had his conviction quashed by the Court of Appeal.

Oliver Campbell, 53, was given a life sentence after being found guilty of murdering Baldev Hoondle in Hackney the previous July.

He was released on licence in 2002.

His case was referred to the Court of Appeal by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) which investigates potential miscarriages of justice, in 2022, with barristers telling the court in February that ‘compelling’ new evidence proved Mr Campbell ‘cannot be’ the killer.

In their ruling, Lord Justice Holroyde, sitting with Mr Justice Bourne and Mrs Justice Stacey, said they had ‘concluded that the convictions are unsafe’.

He said: ‘We accept that, considered in the light of the fresh evidence, the rulings might be different.’

The senior judge continued: ‘A jury knowing of the fresh evidence would be considering the reliability of those confessions in a materially different context.

‘In those circumstances, we cannot say that the fresh evidence could not reasonably have affected the decision of the jury to convict.’

Mr Campbell’s lawyers argued he was ‘badgered and bullied’ by police into giving a false confession over his involvement.

Giving evidence during his appeal hearing, forensic psychologist Professor Gisli Hannes Gudjonsson said that there was a ‘high risk’ that Mr Campbell’s mental disabilities meant he gave a false confession as a form of ‘acquiescence’ during ‘relentless’ questioning.

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