United Kingdom ยท England and Wales
Sally Clark: wrongly convicted, exonerated
Convicted of Murder of her two infant sons.
ConvictedNovember 1999
Years in prison3
Exonerated29 January 2003
How the conviction was overturnedCCRC referral, with the Court of Appeal quashing the convictions as unsafe because the Crown pathologist had not disclosed microbiology evidence, Court of Appeal (Criminal Division), on a referral by the Criminal Cases Review Commission1,2,3
What went wrong
- Non disclosure by the prosecution pathologist of a microbiology report suggesting one baby probably died of a bacterial infection
- Misleading statistical evidence, as the court said the one in 73 million figure grossly overstated the chance of two sudden deaths in the same family
From conviction to exoneration
- Convicted at trial of murdering her two baby sons.1,2
- Her first appeal was dismissed.1,3
- The Court of Appeal allowed her second appeal, following a CCRC referral, holding the verdicts unsafe, and no retrial was ordered.1,2,3
Today
Convictions quashed in January 2003, and she died within five years of her release.
Sources
- Court of Appeal (Civil Division), via The National Archives, General Medical Council v Meadow [2006] EWCA Civ 1390 (26 October 2006)
- Law Gazette, Court of Appeal: failure to disclose Clark medical report was 'wholly unacceptable' (2003)
- Evidence Based Justice Lab, University of Exeter, Sally Clark