Dunn, James

James Dunn appeared at Birmingham Crown Court in July 2006 along with four other men charged with murder on the basis of joint enterprise.

He pleaded not guilty but was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 26 years.

Mr Dunn appealed against his conviction but the appeal was dismissed in June 2009. He applied to the CCRC for a review of his case in September 2013.

Having considered the case in detail, the CCRC decided to refer Mr Dunn’s conviction to the Court of Appeal.

The referral was based on previously undisclosed material relating to the reliability of a key prosecution witness at trial.

The material indicated that this witness had told lies under oath at a separate trial. Mr Dunn’s defence at his own trial was that this witness was lying about material issues.

This new evidence raised a real possibility that the Court of Appeal would quash Mr Dunn’s conviction.

The CCRC referred the conviction in September 2015.

The Court of Appeal quashed the conviction in September 2016.