United Kingdom ยท England and Wales, London (Central Criminal Court)
Sam Hallam: wrongly convicted, exonerated
Convicted of Murder during a street fight, conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm and violent disorder.
ConvictedOctober 2005
SentenceDetention at Her Majesty's pleasure with a minimum term of 12 years
Years in prison7
Exonerated17 May 2012
How the conviction was overturnedCCRC referral, with the Court of Appeal quashing the conviction as unsafe, Court of Appeal (Criminal Division), on a referral by the Criminal Cases Review Commission1,2,3
What went wrong
- Unreliable eyewitness testimony, with new evidence of collusion between witnesses
- An incorrect alibi that the court considered may have been a mistake rather than deception
- Phone evidence placing him elsewhere on the day
From conviction to exoneration
- Convicted at the Old Bailey at age 17 and given a minimum term of 12 years.1,2,3
- His first appeal was dismissed.1,2
- Applied to the Criminal Cases Review Commission, which later referred the convictions to the Court of Appeal.2
- The Court of Appeal found the conviction unsafe and quashed it, and he was freed after more than seven years in custody.1,2,3
Today
Conviction quashed in May 2012, and he was freed.
Sources
- Evidence Based Justice Lab, University of Exeter, Sam Hallam
- Criminal Cases Review Commission, Hallam, Sam (9 September 2024)
- ITV News, Innocent Hallam walks free after 7 years (17 May 2012)