Hester, James

James Hester was convicted in July 1995 of burglary and received a sentence of three and a half years’ imprisonment.

The CCRC inherited an application for review of the conviction from the Home Office in March 1997.

Following an investigation, the CCRC found that a critical alibi witness had not been called.

Clear evidence was found that Mr Hester had given instructions that this witness be called but there appeared to have been a breakdown of communication.

As a result, no arrangements were made by defence solicitors for the witness to be notified or to attend trial.

This had partly been the result of Mr Hester’s defence solicitors experiencing a period of professional difficulty.

The CCRC concluded that in these circumstances the failure to call the witness was due to factors beyond Mr Hester’s control.

The CCRC referred the conviction in April 1998.

The Court of Appeal quashed the conviction in December 1998.