George, Barry

Barry George was convicted at the Central Criminal Court on 2 July 2001 of the murder of Jill Dando and sentenced to life imprisonment. The Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal against conviction on 29 July 2002.

It was the prosecution’s case that Mr George had shot and killed Ms Dando as she was about to enter her home.

At trial, the primary evidence on which Mr George was convicted was the finding of a particle of firearms discharge residue (FDR) discovered in Mr George’s coat pocket. This FDR particle had similarities to FDR found on Ms Dando at the crime scene.

Mr George applied to the CCRC for a review of his conviction in November 2002.

During review, the CCRC obtained fresh expert firearms evidence which called into question the FDR evidence given at trial, as well as the significance apparently attached to that evidence.

The CCRC concluded that this new evidence raised a real possibility the Court of Appeal would quash the conviction.

The CCRC referred the conviction in June 2007.

The Court of Appeal quashed the conviction in November 2007 and ordered a retrial.