Shirley, Michael
Published:
Michael Shirley was convicted in January 1988 of murder and received a sentence of life imprisonment.
The CCRC received an application for review of the conviction in November 1997.
The victim in this case had also been raped.
A key part of the prosecution’s case against Mr Shirley at trial had been blood grouping tests upon seminal fluid swabs taken from the victim which produced a match with Mr Shirley (and also 23 per cent of the population at large).
During review, the CCRC arranged new DNA tests of exhibits retained by the Forensic Science Service.
These tests proved that the seminal fluid was not attributable to Mr Shirley.
The CCRC referred the conviction in April 2001.
The Court of Appeal quashed the conviction in July 2003.