Hanna, Hugh

Hugh Hanna was convicted, alongside his co-defendant Robert Hindes, in June 1977 of murder and possession of firearms with intent. Mr Hanna received a sentence of life imprisonment.

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

Mr Hanna had been arrested in 1976 on suspicion of having carried out a murder on behalf of a loyalist paramilitary gang in Northern Ireland.

Mr Hanna, then aged 16, was interviewed four times over 60 hours.

He was denied the support of either a solicitor or his parents until the final interview, when his father was present as he made a confession statement.

The CCRC’s investigation raised several concerns in respect of the police’s interviews:

• The length and succession of interviews by officers leading up to the confession.
• The prolonged period of detention in custody.
• Allegations of oppressive conduct in questioning.
• A failure to assess fitness for interview (new psychiatric evidence suggested Mr Hanna would have been vulnerable in the face of intense questioning, affecting the reliability of his confession).
• Denial of medication.
• Denial of any supporting adult or legal advice during questioning, in breach of the Judges’ Rules then applicable to the interrogation of suspects.

In addition, the CCRC found that the terms of the confession had developed and changed, giving rise to doubts about the credibility of the confession evidence.

Mr Hanna’s confession was also inconsistent with Mr Hindes’ confession and with the crime scene evidence.

Finally, sensitive information tending to exculpate both defendants had been withheld from the defence and there were substantial deficiencies in the forensic evidence presented at trial.

The CCRC referred the conviction in October 2003.

The Northern Ireland Court of Appeal quashed the conviction in September 2005.