Nolan, Patrick

Patrick Nolan was convicted in May 1982 of murder and received a sentence of life imprisonment.

The CCRC received an application for review of the conviction in March 2000.

Mr Nolan was interviewed in March 1981, one of 6,000 possible suspects interviewed by police, and released.

In September 1981 Mr Nolan was re-arrested and confessed to the murder in the course of three days of intensive interviewing without the presence of a solicitor or other adult.

Mr Nolan alleged mistreatment by interviewing officers and his conviction was based solely on the confession.

During review, the CCRC obtained new expert evidence indicating that Mr Nolan was subject to vulnerabilities which made him compliant and open to manipulation, casting doubt on the reliability of his confession.

This report would have assisted the defence’s case at trial that Mr Nolan’s confession was unreliable and should not have been admitted in evidence.

The CCRC referred the conviction in June 2005.

The Court of Appeal quashed the conviction in November 2006.