Wooster, Perry

Perry Wooster was convicted in June 1991 of murder and received a sentence of life imprisonment.

The CCRC received an application for review of the conviction in August 1997.

At trial it had been alleged that Mr Wooster had killed the victim with a revolver which he had used to shoot at the victim’s car as it made its way from a quarry where Mr Wooster and others had been “toying” with the gun.

During investigation, the CCRC obtained new evidence from a ballistics expert who estimated that the car in which the victim had been travelling when shot at would have been 185 yards distant when the shot was fired.

The expert concluded that the trajectory of the bullet would have fallen over this distance.

This evidence supported the case that Mr Wooster had aimed the gun above the car and did not intend to shoot to kill.

The CCRC considered that this strengthened the defence’s case that the shooting justified a verdict of manslaughter rather than murder.

The CCRC referred the conviction in August 2000.

The Court of Appeal upheld the conviction in February 2003.