Roden, John

On 10 June 1995 at Newport Crown Court Michael Attwooll and John Roden were convicted of the murders of Gerald Stevens and Christine Rees. They were sentenced to life imprisonment.

The victims were shot at the premises of a taxi firm in Risca in south Wales, where they both worked. Mr Attwooll was Mr Stevens’s partner in the firm.

The prosecution alleged that Mr Attwooll, with Mr Roden’s help, killed the victims using a rifle supplied to him by his brother-in-law.

Mr Attwooll applied for leave to appeal against his conviction but this was refused on 29 February 1996. Mr Roden’s application was refused on 18 July 1996.

The CCRC received an application for review of the conviction in June 1998.

Having considered a range of issues, including material available at the time of the trial which the jury did not hear, the CCRC decided that both men’s cases should be referred back for fresh appeals.

The CCRC referred the conviction in May 2007.

The Court of Appeal upheld the conviction in April 2008.