Sam Hallam Appeals Murder Conviction

Following the discovery of new evidence a young man, convicted of murder in 2005, will take his case to the court of appeal today.

24-year-old Sam Hallam was 17 when he was convicted of killing trainee chef Essayas Kassahun in Hoxton in October 2004. He was sentenced to life with the recommendation he serve 12 years.

New evidence recently emerged raising doubts over key parts of the prosecution case against him and questions the safety of the murder conviction.

Hallam’s family and friends, including the actor Ray Winstone, have campaigned to have his case reopened for a number of years.

After Hallam failed to have his conviction overturned at his first appeal, his case was referred to the criminal cases review commission (CCRC), which spent three years examining the evidence. They instructed Thames Valley police to carry out inquiries on their behalf, which involved examining the whole of the original Metropolitan police murder investigation.

Their report is key to Hallam's claim of innocence, and unearths new evidence said to undermine the disputed identification evidence from two witnesses that put Hallam at the scene of the killing.

The Thames Valley report is also understood to contain criticism of the original Met police investigation into the killing. The original inquiry did not analyse mobile phone cell site evidence or CCTV footage, it is understood.

That inquiry was led by then Detective Chief Inspector Michael Broster, who was recently criticised by the coroner in the inquest into the death of MI6 officer Gareth Williams over his role as the liaison point with MI6.

The CCRC said it decided to refer the case after deciding there was "the real possibility that the court of appeal would now quash the conviction".

Hallam's appeal is set to last two days in the Royal Courts of Justice in London.

(H)