Sam Hallam
{{Short description|English victim of miscarriage of justice}}
{{EngvarB|date=June 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}
Sam Hallam (born 1987), from Hoxton, London,[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/sam-hallam-i-need-time-to-recover-from-the-last-seven-years-man-jailed-for-murder-has-conviction-quashed-7764000.html "I need time to recover from the last seven years": Man Jailed for Murder has Conviction Quashed], independent.co.uk. Accessed 5 December 2022. is one of the youngest victims of a UK miscarriage of justice after an appeal court quashed his murder conviction in 2012.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2012/may/16/sam-hallam-released-seven-years|title=Sam Hallam released after seven years in prison|author=Sandra Laville|work=The Guardian|date=16 May 2012}}
Background
In 2004, aged 17, Hallam had been sentenced to serve a minimum of 12 years in prison for the murder of a trainee chef, Essayas Kassahun, during a street brawl in Old Street.{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/9272389/Sam-Hallam-murder-conviction-finally-quashed-after-seven-years-in-prison.html|title=Sam Hallam murder conviction finally quashed after seven years in prison|date=17 May 2012|work=The Daily Telegraph}}
Two witnesses claimed to have seen him at the scene, but their evidence was unreliable, with one witness attempting to go back on his statement in court, and another saying, "I just wanted someone to blame on the spot, really." No other evidence, forensic or otherwise, existed to link him to the scene, and Hallam always maintained he was not there, although he had no alibi to prove it.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2012/may/16/community-campaign-justice-sam-hallam|title=How a community's outcry led to campaign for justice for Sam Hallam|author=Sandra Laville|work=The Guardian|date=16 May 2012}}
The campaign
Friends and family of Hallam asked veteran human-rights campaigner Paul May to set up a campaign to prove his innocence. May mounted a legal appeal for Hallam and arranged numerous events and media interviews to publicise the case.{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlZTky4J-rA|title=Sam Hallam- Young. Innocent and inside GMTV.|date=20 April 2011|publisher=YouTube}}
Actor Ray Winstone presented a TV documentary which was screened in 2010 which outlined the flaws in the case against Hallam{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxODLDNru8A|title=Sam Hallam Part One|date=20 April 2011|publisher=YouTube}}
Playwright Tess Berry-Hart created a verbatim theatre play Someone To Blame as part of the campaign to raise awareness of the case. Directed by David Mercatali, the play used verbatim court transcripts, witness testimony and first-person interviews from the original case and ran at the King's Head Theatre Islington in February 2012.{{cite web|url=http://www.whatsonstage.com/off-west-end-theatre/reviews/03-2012/someone-to-blame_4930.html|title=Someone to Blame|date=26 March 2012|publisher=WhatsOnStage.com}}{{cite web|url=http://hackneycitizen.co.uk/2011/03/16/sam-hallam-campaigners-make-drama-of-hoxton-murder-case/|title=News, comment and reviews from the Hackney Citizen – hackneycitizen.co.uk|work=Hackney Citizen|date=16 March 2011}}{{cite web|url=http://islingtonnow.co.uk/2012/03/07/play-probes-miscarriage-of-justice/|title=Play probes 'miscarriage of justice'|publisher=islingtonnow.co.uk|date=7 March 2012}}
=First appeal=
In 2007, there was a failed appeal with the judges holding that the evidence of the witnesses could still be relied upon. The case was then referred to the Criminal Cases Review Commission, which spent three years examining his case. Thames Valley Police was instructed on their behalf to examine the original Metropolitan Police investigation.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2012/may/16/sam-hallam-appeal-murder-conviction|title=Sam Hallam to appeal against murder conviction|author=Sandra Laville|work=The Guardian|date=16 May 2012 }} Based on their findings, the case was sent back to the Court of Appeal.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2011/aug/03/sam-hallam-murder-case-appeal|title=Sam Hallam murder case sent back to court of appeal|author=Duncan Campbell|work=The Guardian|date=3 August 2011}}
=Second appeal=
In May 2012 after only three hours hearing, the Crown Prosecution Service decided not to defend the conviction, and the three judges led by Lady Justice Hallett granted temporary bail. Hallam walked out the front doors of the Court of Appeal and was drenched in champagne.{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/9269413/Sam-Hallam-freed-from-murder-sentence-after-seven-years-as-court-hears-of-serious-miscarriage-of-justice.html|title=Sam Hallam freed from murder sentence after seven years as court hears of 'serious miscarriage of justice'|date=16 May 2012|work=The Daily Telegraph}} The next day, Hallam attended court with his mother, Wendy Cohen, to hear his murder conviction formally overturned.{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/05/17/sam-hallam-appeal-convict_n_1523265.html|title=Sam Hallam Appeal: Convicted Murderer To Hear Verdict After Insisting Innocence|work=The Huffington Post UK|date=17 May 2012}}
After Hallam's release, Someone To Blame was updated for a weekend run at the King's Head to celebrate his freedom.{{cite web|url=http://hackneycitizen.co.uk/2012/06/01/someone-to-blame-sam-hallam-drama-returns/|title=News, comment and reviews from the Hackney Citizen – hackneycitizen.co.uk|work=Hackney Citizen|date=1 June 2012}}{{cite web|url=http://www.entertainment-focus.com/theatre-review/someone-to-blame-review/|title=Someone to Blame review – Entertainment Focus|date=4 June 2012 |publisher=entertainment-focus.com|accessdate=5 December 2022}} Hallam's father and grandmother had both died while he was imprisoned.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-18094298|title=Sam Hallam freed on bail in murder conviction appeal|date=16 May 2012 |publisher=BBC News|accessdate=5 December 2022}}
Later events
Hallam launched a legal challenge in January 2015 challenging the law that prevents him from receiving compensation for the years he wrongly spent in prison.{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/wrongly-convicted-men-launch-new-case-against-the-justice-secretary-9985773.html|title=Wrongly convicted men launch new case against the Justice Secretary|work=The Independent|date=18 January 2015 |accessdate=5 December 2022}} The case was unsuccessful, causing a debate over whether the UK compensation system was incompatible with the presumption of innocence.{{Cite news |last=Robins |first=Jon |date=2019-01-31 |title=Innocent, jailed and uncompensated: these are the men our system fails |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jan/31/supreme-court-miscarriages-justice-appeal-sam-hallam-victor-nealon |access-date=2023-11-15 |issn=0261-3077}}
In July 2023 Hallam took his case for compensation for wrongful imprisonment to the European Court of Human Rights. The judgment is expected to be heard some time in 2024.{{Cite news |last=Hattenstone |first=Simon |date=2023-11-07 |title=At 17, I was jailed for a murder I didn't commit – and spent seven life-changing years in prison |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/nov/07/jailed-for-murder-i-didnt-commit-spent-seven-life-changing-years-in-prison |access-date=2023-11-15 |issn=0261-3077}}
See also
References
{{reflist|30em}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hallam, Sam}}
Category:People wrongfully convicted of murder
{{Miscarriage of justice in the UK}}