Innocent man locked up for murder for two decades as key witness statement gathered dust

03.06.2022 - 12:21 / manchestereveningnews.co.uk

John Kamara was locked up for two decades for a murder he did not commit.

For 20 years, a vital witness statement was gathering dust in a storeroom which undermined the key evidence that helped put him in prison. Mr Kamara had no idea it was there, the Liverpool Echo reports.

This miscarriage of justice has been explored in a documentary on the Crime and Investigation Network, called British Injustice, presented by investigative journalist Raphael Rowe - who himself served 10 years in prison for a crime he did not commit before winning an appeal.

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The documentary tells how John was jailed for life after the brutal murder of betting shop manager John Suffield, 23, who was stabbed 19 times in a botched robbery in 1981. His co-accused Ray Gilbert served 36 years in prison before being released on licence, but also maintains his innocence.

Mr Suffield was killed a short time after 9.30am on Friday, March 13, after opening the Joe Coral's bookies on Lodge Lane, Toxteth. His hands had been tied and he was beaten by his assailants, who made off with less than £200 in cash.

Police at the time believed Mr Suffield had inadvertently angered his attackers because his stammer meant he could not respond to their demands for a code to a time-locked inner safe. After just a matter of days, Merseyside Police arrested the two men and subjected them to intense, prolonged interrogation without the presence of solicitors.

After around 48 hours, detectives obtained what appeared to be a confession from Mr Gilbert, who tragically for John and his family falsely named him as his accomplice. Mr Gilbert later retracted his confession and says he was