Samra, Gurbinder Singh

Gurbinder Singh Samra was convicted in May 1995 of murder and received a sentence of life imprisonment.

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

Mr Samra had been charged with the murder of his wife.

He was examined pre-trial by a doctor who found no evidence to support a defence of diminished responsibility but diagnosed him with a personality disorder.

Mr Samra defended the case on the basis of provocation but the court refused to admit evidence of his disorder in support of this defence.

Following investigation, the CCRC referred the conviction in April 2000 on the basis of new expert psychiatric evidence that Mr Samra had been subject to both a personality disorder and learning difficulties at the time of the offence.

These findings gave support to a defence of diminished responsibility.

The Court of Appeal quashed the conviction in July 2004 and ordered a retrial.