Gore, Lisa

Lisa Gore was convicted in December 1996 at Preston Crown Court of infanticide. Ms Gore received a probation order of three years with a psychiatric treatment order.

Ms Gore died in August 2003. An application to the CCRC for review of the conviction was made on her behalf by her parents in November 2004 following correspondence from the Attorney General’s Office which had identified Ms Gore’s as one of a number of convictions it considered appropriate for review.

Ms Gore had been charged with infanticide on the basis that she had failed to act in a way that may have prevented her baby’s death (her “omissions”). Ms Gore pleaded guilty. It was accepted that she was suffering from a psychiatric condition.

The CCRC’s reference was based on the submission that a woman could only be convicted of infanticide under section 1(1) of the Infanticide Act 1938 if all the ingredients of murder were proved, in particular the “mental element” for murder was proved, namely an intention to kill or to cause serious bodily harm.

Following review, the CCRC concluded that Ms Gore’s defence had been prejudiced by the drafting of the indictment which made no reference to any intent to kill or cause grievous bodily harm. This had a consequential impact upon the advice which Miss Gore received.

The CCRC also obtained fresh expert psychiatric evidence supporting the contention that Ms Gore’s conviction, arising from her guilty plea, was unsafe as she did not properly appreciate the nature of the charge at the time of her plea.

In addition, the CCRC found that there were “serious doubts” as to whether Ms Gore’s omissions caused the death of her baby and that there was no evidence that she intended by her omissions to kill her baby.

The CCRC referred the conviction in October 2006.

The Court of Appeal upheld the conviction in June 2007.