Evans, John

John Evans pleaded guilty on 11 February 1998 at Mold Crown Court to the murder of his wife Donna Marie Evans, after receiving legal advice as to the effect of a ruling by the trial judge on an issue relating to provocation. He was sentenced to life imprisonment

Mr Evans sought leave to appeal against his conviction. His application was dismissed on 18 May 1998.

In January 2003, Mr Evans applied to the CCRC for a review of his conviction.

Following review, the CCRC concluded that there had been evidence available at the time of trial which would have supported a defence of provocation.

As such, the CCRC considered that Mr Evans’s guilty plea was founded on erroneous advice from counsel.

In addition, the CCRC obtained fresh expert evidence indicating that a medical condition had prevented Mr Evans from giving evidence at trial.

This had a causative impact on the circumstances in which he came to plead guilty.

There was therefore a real possibility that the Court of Appeal would find the conviction unsafe.

The CCRC referred the conviction in August 2007.

The Court of Appeal upheld the conviction in November 2009.