This is to flag up the case of Gary Critchley who is still in prison for an alleged murder at Campbell Buildings in 1980 – see recent posts on Bob Short’s Trash Can book thread for more details and also the official website and also this website.
The challenge is to get this miscarriage of justice overturned.
But how? I suggest it needs a twin track approach
Firstly to raise the public profile (as Jock has suggested) via myspace / facebook / blog sites like KYPP – for example by putting a slide show of Gary’s paintings plus a relevant soundtrack eg Raised in a Prison by the Mob on youtube or organising a UK exhibition of Gary’s paintings…
Secondly using official channels eg letters to your MP and the Rt Hon Alan Johnson MP
Home Secretary 2 Marsham Street London SW1P 4DF.
Gary is also being supported by Wendy Thurley and Julie Coimbra.
Julie and Wendy are librarians in Cambridge and contacted KYPP about the case.
Julie said [edited]:
“Myself and another librarian have become involved in trying to publicize this extraordinary miscarriage of justice. We happened to purchase some of Gary’s paintings and began corresponding with him without ever asking why he was inside. When the Private Eye article came out in July we were flabbergasted to say the least and began our campaign. Fifty of his paintings were sent to Adelaide and were in a recent exhibition there. Prior to posting them we photographed them all and have made them into cards to sell, 12 are at present on the website.
If you have ANY INFORMATION WHATSOEVER that could be helpful could you let us know and we can pass it on to Glyn Maddocks, the solicitor who has taken up his case. Anyone who can provide ANY INFORMATION should be encouraged to contact us as soon as possible”.
Julie and Wendy have created the website from which the following bio of Gary is taken.
Finally – don’t wait for someone else to act. If you think this is important get on and do it yourself.
Biography- Gary Critchley “Raised In A Prison”.
“England is a supposed model of democracy and justice, yet ironically I have so far been made to serve longer for being rebellious and non-conformist than the Yorkshire Ripper has for 13 serial Killings. Nowadays, painting is the only thing that keeps me alive.“
Gary Critchley
Born in Birmingham and raised on an estate that bordered on two mental hospitals, visiting and often staying with his elder brother in care homes and approved schools,
Gary was introduced to institutions at a very early age. At 8 years old he got drunk on alcohol and by the age of 12 he was drinking on a regular basis. Aged 14, Gary became a punk rocker, was recruited to the Young Socialist party and excluded from school for leading ‘pupil-power’ marches and picketing the school. Also aged 14 Gary was sent to juvenile detention centre for criminal damage and theft. During his time there he was physically and mentally abused and he describes this as a very negative period of his life.
Upon release he quickly deteriorated, abusing various drugs and becoming involved with crime. In 1980, six months after being released from borstal, he moved to live in London. In June of that year he was discovered severely injured four stories below the flat he was squatting [in Campbell Buildings] and was taken to hospital with a broken back, arm, legs and head injuries. When police investigated the circumstances, they found the body of another man in Gary’s squat. Charged and bailed for this man’s murder, Gary returned to Birmingham where even on crutches he continued his life of punk rock gigs and substance abuse.
In May 1981, he was found guilty of murder (despite numerous forensic discrepancies) and sentenced to be ‘detained at Her Majesty’s Pleasure’, the juvenile equivalent of a life sentence. The then Lord Chief Justice recommended that he should serve ‘no more that 8-9 years’. Despite this it was a full 20 years before Gary was first released in July 2000.
Gary was recalled to prison three months later for having sexual relationships with two female peers at his rehab unit and running away with one of them. After another three years in prison for these breaches of his license conditions, he was again released in 2003 to another drink /drug rehab centre. Twelve months later in 2004 he was again recalled to prison for missing a probation appointment. He’s still there.
Over the last five years in prison, Gary has suffered from severe depression and made three serious attempts to take his own life. After the second attempt, Gary was introduced to drawing and painting for the first time in and has since become a prolific painter. He has won a Koestler award for one of his paintings and has been both encouraged and inspired to paint by the staff of a Cambridge University library that have bought and exhibited several of his early works and sponsor him with materials etc.
Despite unanimous recommendations of release and the parole board agreeing that he does not constitute a risk to the public, Gary was recently refused parole on the grounds that if he was ever to relapse into drink /drug use there was a “possibility” that he “could” re-offend violently. This was despite all professional opinion and the masses of evidence to the contrary where Gary has been in active addiction without any such incident.
This ruling is currently the subject of a judicial review, being in breach of not only the Human Rights Act but also several judicial rulings regarding Lifers. There are also investigations still going on into the events surrounding the index offence, of which Gary to this day has no memory.
Gary describes his on-going imprisonment as “warehousing”. He has now actually served more than three times the recommended sentence. He maintains that he never murdered anyone, never intended to hurt anyone and has never before or indeed since the age of 17 been involved in any violence. He says he is now semi-institutionalised and a true product of the system. No longer jailed in relation to the original offence, he has become somewhat of a political prisoner: being punished over and over by a retributive system for his years of rebellion and breaches of petty rules.
Gary on right with green jacket and blond spikes 1979/80 – photo courtesy of Carol Coombes.
Some of Gary’s prison artwork may be viewed HERE
http://www.justiceforgarycritchley.org
Template for contacting MP’s and other officials or media. Please cut and paste the document below onto a word document and print it out to send by post or fax.
Dear …………………..,
I am contacting you regarding Gary Critchley, prisoner no B39969 (A1473AK), convicted of murder in 1981.
The Judge at the time recommended he serve no more than 9/10 years.
This is now his 30th year of incarceration. The conviction is unsafe and according to his solicitor one of the worst miscarriages of justice Britain has ever seen.
Briefly the case is as follows, however please read the Private Eye article
(http://www.b39969.org.uk/pdf/private_eye_24July2009.pdf)
for full details.
Gary allegedly killed a man in 1980. During this murder he sustained frontal lobe damage to his brain, by being hit with a hammer. He also broke his back, ankle and wrist and was found in the street covered in blood.
The victim sustained more than 20 blows with a hammer.
The blood on Gary was found to be from his injuries and there was not one speck of the victim’s blood on him.
The victim was discovered in a room on the upper floor in the building, Gary was found outside on the pavement.
The only evidence to link Gary to the crime was a trainer, two or three sizes too small for him, on his left foot. On his right foot was his own boot which fitted him.
Gary apparently killed the victim, avoiding any blood, changed one shoe, hit himself on the head with the hammer, and then jumped out of the window.
The truth indicates that both Gary and the victim were attacked by a third party, who remains at liberty.
I feel that this really is a grave miscarriage of justice.
Unfortunately, this is not a high profile case, merely the case of an ordinary citizen who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. A person who nearly lost his life, but who ended up in prison himself, for something the forensic evidence suggests that he didn’t commit.
I am asking you to look into this, because I know if you do, you will want to take it further.
……………………………………………… Signature.
Nick Hydra
April 21, 2010 at 8:41 amHi, the you tube video is now finished.
I will upload it today (without any tags) so people can have a look at it.
BUT we need to decide whether or not to have a seperate you tube channel (justiceforgarycritchley?), which I can set up, but it would seem to make more sense if any emails, comments etc went to the website rather than me. I’m happy to forward anything on, it just seems a bit of a pointless delay.
Any thought from the more technically minded?
This is the text in intend to attach to the video:
Gary Critchley, prisoner no B39969 (A1473AK), convicted of murder in 1981.
The Judge at the time recommended he serve no more than 9/10 years.
This is now his 30th year of incarceration. The conviction is unsafe and according to his solicitor one of the worst miscarriages of justice Britain has ever seen (private eye, 24July 2009)
Briefly the case is as follows, however please read the above article for full details.
Gary allegedly killed a man in 1980. During this murder he sustained frontal lobe damage to his brain, by being hit with a hammer. He also broke his back, ankle and wrist and was found in the street covered in blood.
The victim sustained more than 20 blows with a hammer.
The blood on Gary was found to be from his injuries and there was not one speck of the victim’s blood on him.
The victim was discovered in a room on the upper floor in the building, Gary was found outside on the pavement.
The only evidence to link Gary to the crime was a trainer, two or three sizes too small for him, on his left foot. On his right foot was his own boot which fitted him.
Gary apparently killed the victim, avoiding any blood, changed one shoe, hit himself on the head with the hammer, and then jumped out of the window.
The truth indicates that both Gary and the victim were attacked by a third party, who remains at liberty.
I feel that this really is a grave miscarriage of justice.
Unfortunately, this is not a high profile case, merely the case of an ordinary citizen who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. A person who nearly lost his life, but who ended up in prison himself, for something the forensic evidence suggests that he didn’t commit.
A group of us are trying to raise awareness of this case, and I am asking you to please make this video a ‘favourite’ and please forward a link to any of your subscribers who might be interested.
Gary Critchley – Prisoner number: B39969 (A1473AK)
Rowan House
Buxton
Norwich
Norfolk
NR10 5RH
Websites: http://www.justiceforgarycritchley.org/
http://www.b39969.org.uk/gallery.html
More artwork:http://s208.photobucket.com/albums/bb227/killyourpetpuppy/Gary%20Critchley/?start=0
Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/group.php?gid=112712122094405&v=wall
Any thoughts?
luggy
April 21, 2010 at 10:05 amThe Private Eye article link isn’t working at the moment.
Penguin
April 21, 2010 at 10:11 amI was told to delink the article until Private Eye give permission for it to be used.
alistairliv • Post Author •
April 21, 2010 at 10:12 amThis is all great work. Doing a Google search for Gary Critchley the b39969 website comes out top …above the Gary Critchley who works for Marks and Spencer… If we can get enough links in, justiceforgarycritchley and the facebook group should soon be up there as well.
One thing to watch out for and be prepared for/ have answers ready will be negative reactions. For example, the Guardian might run a positive/ favourable story… but the Daily Mail/ Sun/ Telegraph could run some knocking copy, playing up to their readers’ hang’em/flog’em attitudes.
So we need to be aware of any weak points or grey areas which a hostile journalist could pick up and exaggerate/exploit/ highlight. Even friendly journos/interviewers can ask awkward questions to ensure ‘balanced reporting’.
This is especially a problem when doing radio/tv when only the soundbites survive editing. A tricky (or trick) question may need a long answer to explain a complicated situation… but long answers either sound like waffling/evading the question or get cut back to one sentence out of many.
The answer is rehearse, rehearse, rehearse until its automatic. It is tedious to say the same things over and over again but it works. For the difficult questions the process is essential.
Right now these are not problems, but the media/ newscycle works very very fast. We have to use this space before anything has happened to be ready for when it all happens at once. And then for all the interest and attention to vanish again just as quickly.
baronvonzubb
April 21, 2010 at 11:00 amgreat justice website.
brilliant work everyone.
Julie
April 21, 2010 at 11:21 amRegards Private Eye article. Please DELINK as Penguin says above. We are seeking permission to keep using it, in the meantime can refer to article in ‘Private Eye July 24 2009’
Thanks Alistairliv for your comments regards the press.
Anymore advice would be much appreciated on this matter.
alistairliv • Post Author •
April 21, 2010 at 3:25 pmNick H.’s excellent vid now up on youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuIjKZbGpaU
Julie
April 21, 2010 at 3:47 pmNick, the video is superb! great to have ended it with that image, I’m sure Gary will be chuffed to bits! Thanks so much for all your time! Really does Gary’s art work (at least) justice!!!
Tom D
April 21, 2010 at 5:52 pmNick,
I think it makes more sense for comments to be directed to the website too. You can always link youtube video to the Facebook group page & Gary’s website.
CC
April 21, 2010 at 6:06 pmGreat video Nick! ( typo re Critchley to be amended to make it perfect!) This is great- Gary will be able to watch it, so I’m sure we’ll have his thoughts asap- he’ll no doubt love it too
Re the press: good points- main thing is to be clear we are seeking justice for Gary, not anything else.
Justice = freedom, retrial and support to live a safe and fulfilling life, sustainable outside an institution.
As the UK prides itself on being an exemplar of justice to the rest of the world (!), this is a completely appropriate request, and shouldn’t be affected by baiting, or right wing views, as the Right would feel that justice is one of the nationals principles worth fighting for..
I’ve no doubt we’ll’ represent Gary’s cause well: do you fancy being one of the spokespeople (still hoping for other volunteers who have experience and a confidence in their keeping on point).
jock b
April 22, 2010 at 4:22 amnick and gerard.great job on you tube vid and the website.great to see such dedication and hard work for a good cause in this day and age.ive got a feeling we`ll see some results of all this in the not too distant future.heres hoping.gary`s being done proud.as an old friend,im truly grateful,thankyou.
CC
April 22, 2010 at 10:06 amPLEASE GO TO http://emailyourcandidates.heroku.com (Thanks Jaki B) and mail your parliamentary candidate TODAY- it takes 30 seconds
Here are the facts, and a template should you wish to do so quickly (thanks Poll)
Dear Parliamentary candidate for (your area)
I’d like to bring this issue to your attention, and request an early response to hear how you may become involved in securing http://www.justiceforgarycritchley.org/
Gary Critchley, from Birmingham, was convicted in 1981, when he was 17 years of age, on what appears to be an unsafe conviction. He is still imprisoned today.
Gary was convicted of murder in 1981.
The Judge at his original trial recommended that he serve no more than 9 years.
Gary has been in custody for thirty years.
There are a number of factors that appear to make the original conviction unsafe:
• Errors in the handling and processing of material evidence
• Flaws in circumstantial evidence
• Failure to include evidence that may have been used in his defence
• Errors in documentary, and in documenting, evidence
• Discrepancies in the statements of prosecution witnesses
This is unfortunately neither an exhaustive, nor a comprehensive, list.
According to the article published by Private Eye, Gary Critchley’s case is “…one of the worst miscarriages of justice Britain has ever seen”.
Gary was convicted of murder in 1981. He was charged, tried and convicted of the murder after it was alleged that he had fatally attacked the victim with a hammer.
In the early hours of Saturday 28th June 1980, Gary had been found lying seriously injured, and covered in blood, on the pavement outside his squat. He had sustained serious injury, including frontal lobe damage to his brain (caused by hammer blows to his head,) a broken back, arm, and ankle. Analysis of his blood at the time indicated the presence of alcohol and sleeping tablets. The murder victim was found in an upper-floor room of the same squat building.
Circumstantial evidence, and physical forensic evidence obtained at the time, suggested that both Gary, and the victim, were attacked by a third party.
Analysis of the blood found on Gary proved that it had come from his injuries exclusively.
None of the victim’s blood was found on Gary.
The evidence that was used to link Gary to the crime scene consisted of an un-tied training shoe, found on his left foot when was discovered lying in the street. The Prosecution alleged that prints matching the training shoe were found at the crime scene. This training shoe was two to three sizes too small for him, and was not in accordance with his usual type of footwear. He was found wearing a black, laced-up work boot on his right foot (this fitted him correctly and was identified as being his usual footwear).
The case for the prosecution suggested the following improbable sequence of events: That Gary had attacked the victim, changed one of his shoes, self-inflicted a serious head-wound with the hammer (a wound of sufficient severity to cause brain damage) – after he’d turned it around to ensure it was consistent with the blows to the victims head- and jumped from the upper floor window of the fourth storey squat onto the pavement below.
Witness statements for the prosecution were contradictory, inconsistent and contained discrepancies. Statements given to police by the other squatters had initially said that two to three hours after Gary and the victim had been seen entering the squat, three men had arrived in a car. At least one witness described two of the men going upstairs to the squat, while one man kept watch downstairs. This account was subsequently changed when presented as prosecution evidence in court. The defence counsel failed to challenge the witnesses about the discrepancies between their statements and the evidence given in court and relied upon by the prosecution.
In the 30 years since his conviction, Gary has twice been released on licence, and subsequently recalled. He was recalled, following his initial release, after he was alleged to have had a relationship (in contravention to his conditions of licence) and had absconded from a rehabilitation unit. He was recalled following his second release when he failed to attend an appointment with his probation officer.
Though Gary had technically contravened his licencing conditions on both occasions, it seems like a rather hard and disproportionately punitive response to recall him to prison, considering the relatively minor nature of his non-compliance , the amount of time he had spent in custody and the fact that he wasn’t considered to be a risk to the community.
We are deeply concerned that Gary Critchley has been the victim of a grave miscarriage of justice.
We feel that he has been let-down and badly-served on many levels, and by many agencies from which he had the fundamental right to expect recourse.
It’s really difficult for us to understand how this could have happened in a civilized democracy: it’s just so fundamentally at odds with what we would expect from a humane society and from our judicial system.’
PLEASE let me know, asap, how you will be involved, at this mail address, and also http://www.justiceforgarycritchley.org/ or via ‘Crown Punks Birmingham’ facebook page
alistairliv • Post Author •
April 22, 2010 at 2:34 pmThe personal is political.
I still dream about the city. Awake, I am surrounded by green fields and brown moors rising up to distant mountains still (just) dusted with snow. But then night falls and beyond the wall of sleep the city waits. Not every night, not in every dream, but often enough for patterns to emerge. In one I am still living within the red brick maze of a Hackney council estate, still living with my dead wife. Sometimes I say ‘I thought you died’… ‘ I never died’ says she.
My wife was Pinki. In 1978, as soon as she was 16 (so she could no longer be picked up by the police as underage and sent home) she ran away from Gloucester to be a punk in London. She lived at Derby Lodge in Kings Cross first and then at Campbell Buildings in 1979.
On New Years Eve 1980 she had a moment of clarity and realised that if she did not get out of the city she was going to die there. So she went home, went to college in Stroud, got some A levels and did a work placement with Stroud CND. She went with them to Greenham Common in late 1981 and decided to stay. She stayed at Greenham on and off for the next three years. When she wasn’t Greenham she was at other peace camps or on anti-nuclear/ anti-war protests and marches. Along with Dave Morris, she helped ‘organise’ the first Stop the City protest.
By then, 1984, she was back in London, in Hackney, where she lived until her death in 1996. In 1986/7 she went to Hackney College to get more A levels and then in 1987 she became a student at the (prestigious) London School of Oriental and African Studies where she studied Public International Law, the Legal Systems of Asia and Africa, Islamic Law and Law and the Environment. ( She was still an occasional student at SOAS when she died).
At the same time she carried on campaigning – for Stonehenge Free Festival 1985-87, against the 1988 Criminal Justice Act , against the M11 extension in 1993 and at Bath in 1994. She was arrested at Bath in 1994 (her 26th arrest for protesting) and used her knowledge of international environmental law to make the case for her defence. [The trial was never heard].
She once went to a graduate fair for law students. Her knowledge of Islamic Law impressed one of the law firms their and she was asked ‘Have you ever thought of becoming a barrister?’… had she lived, she would have been (or become) qualified enough to do so, but her dodgy past would have ruled it out. She even sat a ‘high flyers’ exam for the Civil Service and got top marks followed by a positive interview (her Latin O level impressed the interviewers) …then silence. No doubt a background security check had revealed her Greenham and more recent road protest arrests. And she was rather keen to work for the Department of Transport …
So when I read Julie’s first posting about Gary Critchley and Campbell Buildings last year it evoked a lot of still painful memories. Here was a very dark piece of the past which was not over, even after thirty (can it really be that long?) years. A piece of the past which is very much of the present. A piece of the past which puts in sharp perspective any indulgence in nostalgia for that era.
If Pinki was still here, she would have been getting stuck into Gary’s case. Not just campaigning and publicising but looking up her law books and researching case histories. No justice, no peace.
Enough. Here is Paul Robeson singing Joe Hill
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8Kxq9uFDes
I dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night,
Alive as you or me
Says I, “But Joe, you’re ten years dead,”
“I never died,” says he.
“I never died,” says he.
“In Salt Lake, Joe,” says I to him,
Him standing by my bed,
“They framed you on a murder charge,”
Says Joe, “But I ain’t dead,”
Says Joe, “But I ain’t dead.”
baron von zubb
April 22, 2010 at 5:55 pmalways very moving to hear about pinky al. forgot, i never knew that you two were married.
Nick Hydra
April 22, 2010 at 10:09 pmI have set up a you tube channel linked to the http://www.justiceforgarycritchley.org/ website – justice4gcritchley – and have uploaded the video to that channel here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_FzWWzc3b0
I will be deleting the original video from my own channel (eyesaw77) in the next few days so it doesn’t get confusing.
I have put as many tags as I could think of, but if anyone has any suggestions to add, I’ll be happy to do so – the more people see it the better.
Please go and watch the video at the new channel, even if you’ve seen it before.
If we get enough ‘viewings’ you tube will give us money to put adverts on it, which can then be put into the campaign.
Nick Hydra
April 22, 2010 at 10:16 pmSorry, I forgot –
I emailed a friend (Hi Naoko) who has previously done work with prisoners and arranged an exhibition of ‘Insider Art’ to see if she had any suggestions about how to set up an exhibit of Gary’s art. this is her reply;
“I think you would have to set it up independantly. It will be quite expensive to hire an art gallery for this but there are a few art galleries that exhibit exclusively disadvantaged artists.
The novas/scarman group (a social enterprise) has two galleries, one at their Conteporary Urban Centre in Southwark and a stand alone gallery in Camden. The Camden gallery was closed for refurbishment and it is not clear from their website whether it has been re-opened or not. It is worth giving them a call though and finding out (this is where the exhibition I organised took place- it is a beautiful gallery).
The other one I know of is Our Space. As far as I know they only deal with mental health but since Gary is in a secure hospital now you could make a case for it.
The Other Side Gallery is also a very good space.
I think that all of these galleries will let you exhibit for free and they will probably take commission from sales. Therefore I am not sure if they will agree to a no sale exhibition but you can discuss this with them directly. They all have different policies anyway.
Failing this you can always hire a space (not a gallery as they are really expensive) such as a church hall or something similar.
Some of the galleries may have a curator who will hang the exhibition but it may be something that you will need to do yourselves. You can always ask at Goldsmiths or other Unis if any of their fine arts students would like to volunteer to do it or even contact the Koestler Trust and ask them if they know anyone who has some experience and would be interested in working as a volunteer curator. A lot of them will be former or serving prisoners who may enjoy the project.
You will need a budget for transporting the artwork (here and back), frames and labels (for the walls) as well as marketing (flyers, posters) and volunteer expenses (travel and substinance).”
Julie
April 22, 2010 at 10:47 pmNick, this is excellent information for us to start exploring, thanks so much. Excuse my ignorance but by whom is the music on the video?
Nick Hydra
April 22, 2010 at 11:13 pmIt’s ‘Prison’ by The Mob, from their fantastic LP ‘Let The Tribe Increase’ – there’s loads of Mob stuff on this site.
Basically that song was used because a quote from the lyrics is the title for this thread: – “(Raised in a prison) with iron bars and walls too high too be climbed, raised in a four cornered corridor, allways kept silent, kept blind…
It seems to go with the images as well.
Tom D
April 22, 2010 at 11:47 pmRegarding Gary’s artwork and an exhibition. I’m not sure pursuing a mental health exhibition is an avenue that Gary or anyone representing him would want to pursue. This might bite him in the proverbial ass and could possibly be used against him and/or his representatives as an admission of a mental health problem, which as far as I’m aware is not the issue in Gary’s case. I’m not a lawyer but such an admission, wether passive or active, could give someone, somewhere ammunition in the future.
Just thought I’d throw that caveat out there. Not knocking Nick’s hard work or anything.
Nick Hydra
April 22, 2010 at 11:53 pmHi Tom,
That’s fine – I’m just exploring possibilities – I’m not really a planner, I tend to go with my gut, so I’m just suggesting stuff, and I’m more than happy for people to point out potential problems…
Wendy
April 23, 2010 at 1:27 pmNick
The video is great, thanks for doing it, I hope Gary will be allowed to see it.
Nick Hydra
April 23, 2010 at 5:52 pmMy friend (Hi again Naoko) also lent me a book called ‘No Smoke Without Fire” by Jill Morell, which has some very handy tips. The full text is availanble online here: http://www.unitedagainstinjustice.org.uk/advice/advice.html
I have copied the ‘Campaign’ chapter below as it’s the most immediatly relevant, but the whole book is well worth a read.
CAMPAIGN
Your new solicitor is up and running and you’re working towards a submission to the CCRC, but progress is painfully slow and s/he has a million other cases to look after. You need to concentrate his/her mind and that of anyone else who can help, on this case. You start a campaign.
Your aim is to get the prisoner’s name better known, to encourage/pressurise people who can help you inside and outside of the legal profession to do so, and to get the case back to the Court of Appeal. You may have only one or two people you can turn to at first who can do very little, but support will grow. It’s important not to burn yourself out -you should pace yourself.
Acknowledge the potential hostility you may face. All you can ask people to do is give you a hearing or read to the end of your letter.
The campaign’s relationship with the solicitor
Don’t let him/her off the hook; But don’t get up his/her nose either; s/he won’t have all the answers; Try to get on with him/her.
Most appeals are about finding new witnesses. Solicitors will always warn you not to do this. But if no one is going around seeing witnesses, do it yourself
Go in two’s, be honest about who you are and what you’re doing
Tell the solicitor what you’re doing. Unless you’re convinced s/he is right, then ignore their warnings. However, if you are visiting witnesses less than a year after the conviction, it could be seen as witness intimidation, so follow your solicitor’s advice on this (see previous “appeal” section about visiting witnesses)
the campaign should obtain a set of case papers for reference
Getting started
gather friends and family around you
nominate someone who will be a figurehead and speak to the press -it’s less
confusing if they have only one name to remember apart from the convicted person’s
meet in someone’s house to decide your strategy. Don’t let the meetings become a talking shop and nothing else. Nominate someone to take notes and someone to keep track of what action was agreed
hold regular monthly meetings, say the first Wednesday of the month, but try not to get bogged down with formalities
nominate someone’s phone to be the campaign phone number. It’s vital that you get an answermachine
start a campaign address book, and a small mailing list
keep a copy of everything you write
it’s vital to keep the convicted person, his/her family and solicitor in constant touch with what’s going on, particularly when it comes to publicity which might affect any ongoing negotiations with the CCRC.
Getting support
contact the pressure groups JUSTICE and LIBERTY (contact details at end of booklet) and the smaller pressure groups connected with miscarriages of justice. Justice and Liberty have stopped working on individual cases, but you should alert them to your case by sending them campaign literature (see page 24)
contact local churches, send them your campaign literature and ask for their support
contact any trade union with which you have links. Again, send them your campaign literature and ask for support. Offer to speak at their meetings
write to student unions all over the country, (contact details from National Union of Students, 461 Holloway Road, London N7) send them your literature and ask if you can come and be a speaker at an event, particularly to law students. Ask them to organise their own support group and petitions
contact your local Labour Party, Liberal Democrat Party, Conservative Party and Amnesty International Group (contact details in phone book or local library) and offer to speak at their meetings.
all of the above usually welcome outside speakers. And even if only two people turn up to listen, that’s two more people you may be able to add to your list of supporters
if you do go along to speak at a meeting, don’t ramble on. People want to hear a good story that’s easy to follow. Make yourself notes beforehand listing the main headings of points you want to cover; tell your audience the main points of your story and why you are fighting the conviction, and summarise the evidence. Speak slowly, don’t go into long-winded detail and don’t get sidetracked. Finish by telling people what they can do to help and have campaign literature available for people to take away. Take along a tape recorder and tape yourself to find out how you sounded
try to enlist the support of your MP. Find out who they are, their address and surgery times from the local library, then write to them and attend the surgery. If s/he supports you, put that on your campaign literature. (See later section on “Lobbying in
the UK and Europe” )
every single righting of injustice has involved some form of journalistic campaigning. Contact journalists with a track record of campaigning on miscarriages of justice cases, such as Duncan Campbell at The Guardian, Nick Cohen at The Observer, Paul Foot at Private Eye, Nick Fielding at The Mail on Sunday and Cathy Marks at The Independent (see contact numbers at end of booklet)
contact the television programmes Rough Justice and Trial and Error (contact details at end of booklet) and send them your campaign literature. They have a 50% success rate
ask people to write to their MP’s
ask people to write to the prisoner and send Christmas/birthday cards .ask people to write to their local papers and express concern
set up a website. Someone who understands HTML (the programme language for web sites) should be able to set up a basic website, but to create anything more sophisticated you need someone sympathetic to the campaign who knows how to do it professionally (or at least to a high standard). Make sure you find a service provider who will give you 5 -10 Mb of space for free so you don’t have the ongoing costs of hiring the site space. You will need to update the information on your site if anything new happens.
Campaign materials
Get your campaign literature in order -ie headed notepaper, flyers, leaflets and press releases
anyone who’s got access to a computer can design simple headed notepaper with the name of the campaign at the top and address and telephone number at the bottom, print it out, then photocopy it onto better quality paper. As you get some campaign funds, you can get your literature printed professionally
make headed notepaper, flyers, leaflets and any other campaign literature look as if they belong to the same “family” stylistically i.e. they all carry the same letter-head
as you gather support, add the names of any prominent supporters to the headed notepaper, flyers, and leaflets
type out a one-page flier remembering the following points:
most flyers, leaflets and letters to solicitors are unclear, badly laid out, too longwinded and lacking in essential information
stick to five facts on one side of A4 or A5 if possible which explain who the person is, what they were convicted of and why they are innocent eg: Witness A lied at trial, convicted person has an alibi, etc
make sure the person’s name is prominent, as should be the word “Innocent”
don’t be abrasive or offensive, stick to the facts
if you accuse a prosecution witness of lying, then you could leave yourselves open to a libel action with substantial damages awarded against you. No legal aid is available for cases like this
type out a leaflet in which you flesh out the case for people who show an interest in finding out more. This could run to a few sides of A4, but keep the above points in mind.
don’t confuse people – avoid too many names and details
put a tear-off slip at the bottom of the leaflet asking people to a) return it if they want to go on the mailing list (see below) or b) make a donation, or both
when funds permit, campaign compliment slips (to enclose with leaflets, receipts for campaign donations, etc) look professional and it reassures people that you are a bona fide group.
type a regular newsletter to send to supporters. They don’t have to be fancy, just clear and concise, containing an update of the case, any current fund-raising events and ideas, useful addresses, ie the campaign headquarters address with telephone number and/or fax, and the address of the person in prison
keep receipt books and send receipts to everyone who donates money, stamped “with thanks” or accompanied by a compliment slip
type out a press release template. It should have the letterhead and contact address and telephone numbers for the campaign at the top, then PRESS RELEASE in big bold letters underneath
when funds permit, have t-shirts printed bearing your campaign logo. Your Yellow Pages will list addresses for t-shirt printing -ring around for competitive prices
Campaign mailing list
keep a database of supporters names and addresses to whom you send newsletters/invitations to attend campaign events/requests for donations
make sure it’s all correctly spelt and keep it up to date
buy sheets of office labels in bulk
for big mailings, you need computer software that allows you to ‘mail merge’. You can keep the database divided into various ‘fields’ (eg media, MP’s). Make sure the title, name and surname are on the first line, followed by separate lines for the address, then the town, etc. It may take a few goes to get the spacing right so that everything is correctly placed on the labels
AS, self seal envelopes need just one fold of an A4 sheet.
brown envelopes are cheaper. Buy them from Viking Direct or compare prices with wholesale or office suppliers
buy sticky rollers or sponges for sticking stamps (always use second class unless the mailing is very urgent)
a mailing of 1800 takes three people six hours each approximately, so don’t leave it for just one person
the mailing may (hopefully) generate replies, so someone will be needed to respond. It’s very important to do this to maintain goodwill and to appear efficient
see section on Campaign Finances for advice on how to deal with donations
Campaign events
What you can do:
candlelit vigils on birthday or anniversary day outside prison or police station where the convicted person was taken to on arrest -you are within your rights to do so and anyway the police will be loath to move you on
set up stalls in town centres and collect signatures for a petition to the Home Secretary. You don’t need permission to do this as long as you’re on public property and you’re not obstructing the pavement.ask anyone and everyone to write to their MPi provide a sample letter if you can so they know the strongest points to raise.lobby the House of Commons (see Lobbying in the UK and Europe)
release doves and balloons on relevant dates such as anniversaries and birthdays, the delivery of submissions to the CCRC or petitions
deliver a big birthday card to the prison/police station
Bike rides from prison to prison (cycling for justice) .all night candlelit vigils
organise letter-writing campaigns to the CCRC/Home Secretary/MP but tell people what to write -different stages of the case require different approaches
organise as many members of the campaign as possible to bombard the CCRC/Home Secretary’s fax machines with campaign messages to mark a particular anniversary or protest against a government statement, etc. These numbers can be found through Directory Enquiries, or MP’s individual offices via the main number at the House of Commons
at Christmas, send as many cards as possible to the person in prison
try to get a personalised Campaign Christmas card (by approaching cartoonists, sympathetic designers, etc) and sell them on behalf of the campaign. They should include the campaign address. This is a good way to publicise the campaign beyond the immediate support group
write to the main political parties and ask if you can set up a fringe meeting at their annual party conferences
REMEMBER, if you’re holding a public event, always invite relevant media.
Fundraising
After people join your mailing list, ask for donations
Attend a car boot sale. You might make £40 or so to start the campaign funds
On all campaign materials insert tear-off section at the bottom which asks people if they would like to a/ be put on the mailing list, and b/ to make a donation to the campaign
Ask supporters to do a sponsored swim/walk/bike ride
Organise a pub quiz, hold a car boot sale/jumble sale
Organise supporters to hold collecting tins at appropriate events and always have campaign leaflets ready to hand out. Never forget that as well as raising money, these events also raise consciousness
Organise a fund-raising concert or benefit (see below)
Organising a benefit
The campaign’s off the ground, you’ve got £146 in the bank account -what do you do next? Organise a benefit
Planning the event
decide what your evening’s entertainment is going to be -singer, performer, magician, comedian, story teller and build the event around them. Everyone knows someone who can perform in one way or another
get a benefit organising committee together to share the job .you need at least six weeks to organise a fairly basic benefit
find a suitable venue. If it is a more amateur evening, a venue such as a church hall, community centre, labour club, student unions, colleges, municipal halls will be more suitable. Theatres can be expensive to hire and are often only available on a Sunday. Wherever it is, try to borrow/hire a good sound system, (for the performers and the speeches) even if it is a small room. It is very important to get your message across, otherwise the event is a waste of time
check the number of seats so you can work out how much you can make on the door
sort out a deal with the venue. Remember they can charge VAT, and they often want a deposit and a percentage of the takings. It’s worth searching around for a sympathetic venue which won’t demand a percentage
always ask people for advice and favours -they can only say no
keep the evening short, so you can get to the bar/pub afterwards to talk things through and chat to new supporters and members of the audience
it’s useful to have someone to link the acts, like a compere
make sure the event is not too gloomy; better to have an evening of fun with one serious moment
MAKE LISTS AND DELEGATE TASKS
local, free publicity is best, ie radio and local papers
print up simple posters (black and white can be very effective) with the campaign name, the title of the evening, the date, the address of the venue, the time, the people appearing, the price of the tickets and the number of the box office. Flypost in places of work, libraries, pubs, shops, amateur dramatic venues, schools, community centres, the HQ’s of supportive organisations -any noticeboard you pass. Fax/post posters to local radio stations with your campaign literature
make a running order of all the acts and put a firm time on them so the evening doesn’t overrun
if you can afford to have a programme printed, ask local businesses to sponsor it. It should have a list of performers and thanks to local supporters. Put the campaign address in it and information about the case. Sell the programmes, but use it to ask for a donation above the cost. Ask volunteers to sell programmes and hold collecting buckets/tins at the event
On the night
Set up early (three to four hours before the event starts) and arrange a “get-in” time with the venue
if you are using the venue’s staff, check when overtime starts because you might be charged extra for it
have names on the doors of any dressing rooms and copies of the running orders in each. Have running orders at the side of the stage, particularly if there has been no rehearsal
have someone (armed with a running order) to meet and look after artists. .dress the stage with campaign banners/photos of the imprisoned person .make sure there are complimentary tickets for the family of the imprisoned person
put campaign leaflets on all the seats
hold a raffle and ask local businesses to donate prizes
have a tray of sandwiches and drinks backstage for people giving goodwill services
try to video the event for the person in prison
maintain goodwill with the venue by tidying up afterwards
Campaign finances
Open a campaign bank account; you’ll probably need three signatories with two needed to sign cheques
when donations arrive, make a note of them and keep with campaign records
send the cheque/Postal Order/money to the campaign treasurer or put immediately into the campaign bank account
send a receipt to the giver “with thanks” stamped on it -it is worth buying a “with thanks” stamp, or when the campaign funds stretch to it have some compliment slips printed
Remember who you’re doing this for
try to inform and involve the person in prison as much as possible in the campaign by sending them copies of press releases, leaflets etc
send Christmas and birthday cards to the person in prison
organise vigils outside the prison
send them copies of relevant newspaper articles
video any campaign events and send them a copy of the tape .remember the families involved and consider whether any help can be given to them
Julie
April 23, 2010 at 6:01 pmNick, this is absolutlely brilliant stuff! Will take awhile to go through it all carefully but WONDERFULL!!!!
Thanks also for telling me about the ‘Mob’ and once again the fab video!
We will look into the exhibtion ideas, taking on board of course Tom’s comments. An exhibiton of any kind, even in a local church costs money so we will need to fund raise first but with so much positive energy that has surged recently it will certainly happen.
I would like to add here that we do not have all the paintings that are on the video and in the photobucket. Gary has given many of them away. I hope to photograph the ones we do have this weekend as a catalogue for the near future……….
Gary, if you are reading this and I do not get through to you in awhile on the blower, just to say we are really disappointed we cannot visit tomorrow, but understandably it is important that the residents get a trip out. We’ll rearrange it for very soon. There’s a hell of a lot of very useful information to take in right now from Nick’s latest message above. Take care. Julie
CC
April 23, 2010 at 9:04 pmHI all
I’ve just been on the phone to Gary for a few hours, and we’ve not stopped laughing – he’s In excellent form, helped along hugely by seeing Ronnie Bishton’s name on here – Gary would love to see you if that’s possible, and if you could drop him a line he’d be really happy.
He’s asked me to pass on sincere thanks to Nick – a cd player has arrived for him from you – and even more lovely, with a note on the dispatch slip. He didn’t know you could do that (neither did I ) and it was a lovely surprise. He’ll get the player tomorrow, as it’s had to be checked over first.
He’s told me all about how cool and funky Wendy and Julie are – St Patrick’s Day parades, gorgeous Brazilian children, photography and the like – you two seriously undersell yourselves!
Ask him about the kiwi when you speak to him..
Jah Pork Pie
April 24, 2010 at 3:49 am@TomD-> As somebody who suffers with mental health problems, I take your inference badly. Where do you you think Gary *is* now?
Gary has mental health problems. That is not the issue. It never was.
@Nick-> there must be another forum for talking tactics, surely? We don’t wan’t to alert the Old Bill or the CPS to what we’re planning, do we? Let’s knock up a mailing list of trusted people or something, eh?
Jah Pork Pie
April 24, 2010 at 3:53 amBtw, me and the missus are completely skint. Seriously, if you need anything potentially libellous said, we are the people to say it.
I’ve never been a great fan of the legal system.
In the gutter and looking at the stars, we are.
Nick Hydra
April 24, 2010 at 8:10 amCC – Good news that Gary’s got the CD player, no need for thanks – it is (almost literally) the least I could do.
Any news on the ‘wish list’? I had an email from a friend I hadn’t had contact from in about three years (She’s in NZ) who found the myspace group and wants to send him some CDs, so the message is getting out there.
I’d seriously recommend setting one up on Amazon or similar, as it will ensure that people don’t buy something he’s already got, and he will (assuming computer access) be able to add stuff himself.
Jah Pork Pie – I didn’t read TomD’s comment as a reflection of any prejudice he personally has around mental health issues or that he think’s Gary’s health (or otherwise) is the issue, but a point that the prejudice that very clearly exists in ‘normal’ society could be manipulated to become the issue and be used against Gary and the campaign.
I take your point about this not being the best place to discuss detailed tactics, but at this point it’s more at the “What do you think about this idea” stage than anything more definite.
No doubt as the campaign takes shape people will take responsibility for organising stuff and will have detailed discussions amongst themselves. Like I said before, I’m not a planner so the tactical stuff isn’t really my strong point.
I’m lucky enough to live in a housing co-op with cheap rent and have a decent job which means that I’m able to contribute funds, but don’t have a lot of time, as I do a lot of work for the co-op as well as my day job.
John no last name
April 24, 2010 at 8:18 amJust as a suggestion Pork (and everyone else) I recommend Google wave, it’s basically a way that anyone who has a gmail account can contribute to an e-mail chain that is essentially a document that everyone can contribute to, almost like an ongoing conversation that you can invite people to join in on.
luggy
April 24, 2010 at 8:38 amDropbox could be useful as well:
https://www.dropbox.com/tour#1
alistairliv • Post Author •
April 24, 2010 at 11:37 amFor JPP here is an update of progress.
I have just checked. Penguin posted a letter from Julie about Gary’s case on the Campbell Buildings/ Trash can thread on 30 November last year. Yourself (JPP), Sam, Dave and the Baron then discussed the case and on 18 December I wrote a separate post (Raised in a prison) to flag up Gary‘s situation…
Jumping forward to April -Carol C. (who knew Gary from Birmingham but did not realise he was still in prison) posted about Gary on the Crown Punks Birmingham Facebook page and Tom D. then set up a Gary Critchley Justice Project which currently has 468 members…
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=112712122094405
Numerous emails and letters to prospective members of parliament plus the press have been sent out as a result. Most of this activity has only taken place within the past week or so as more and more people have found the Facebook page. There is also Nick’s video now on You tube, the dedicated Justice for Gary Critchley site and the original http://www.b39969.org.uk/index.html site set up by Julie and Wendy.
So from a small beginning – Julie and Wendy’s interest in Gary’s case, through KYPP and on to the Birmingham Crown punks, knowledge of Gary’s case has grown to a critical mass and will keep growing.
The more difficult step is to create an equivalent progress on the legal/ justice system side. There are two aspects to this.
Firstly for Gary to be released on licence again – but this time with the strongest possible support so he is not left to deal with adjusting to life outside of prison on his own. This will mean turning generalised goodwill towards Gary into firm commitments to provide practical, day to day help and support.
This will have to be done through official channels – Prison Service, Parole Board, social services etc.
Secondly to get the original conviction overturned or get a retrial. Again this means engaging with the legal/ justice system – but at much higher level, as in the Court of Appeal, men in wigs, huge files of evidence, case histories. It is possible that individually or collectively former residents of Campbell Buildings could make a real difference on this one. Either by providing fresh evidence (evidence not used at original trial) or by supporting a ‘not a fair trial’ case
e.g. that residents of Campbell Buildings/ punk sub-culture were so consistently discriminated against within the criminal justice system of the time to the extent that (in the case of Gary Critchely) he did not receive a fair trial.
cc
April 24, 2010 at 11:53 amHi all
Great update. Thanks Alistair.
JPP- ‘in the gutter, looking at the stars’- this is how my kids were brought up ,and we’ve all done okay- I liked it better there, most of the time, as, as you say, it does have its advantages.
Tom, myself etc (the Brum Punks) began by saying that we would immediately raise any concerns we had, or anything that may come back and bite Gary. I still think this is the right thing to do- if none if us raise it someone else will, and far better for us- his ‘team’- to have considered it to begin with. (Besides which Tom is as mad as a badger, like the rest of us)
Out of this debate, great tactical ideas have come up for how to manage these ‘internal’ conversations, which has to be a win. If poss, can I ask that the methods are as idiot proof (for me, not you lot) as possible? And if the simple ones are not good, please go with the best method and I’ll have to learn. I may just be v slow (no comments, thaks, the Brum lot).
Best
C
cc
April 24, 2010 at 11:58 amps- Nick- G said (when I asked him a the same, re cds/books we could get him) – ‘surprise me’
he said he doesn’t need anything- 3 square meals and all that- so anything anyone sends him. cd or book wise, is really appreciated, and a nice lift to the routine of his day. (and how lovely of your friend, v btw)
so- Black Lace and Abba all round, then..
Nick Hydra
April 24, 2010 at 3:18 pmJust so no one gets him the same thing…
These are on the way to Gary;
Book: England’s Dreaming Jon Savage
CD: England’s Dreaming [compiled by Jon Savage]
CD: Punky Reggae Party: New Wave Jamaica 1975-1980
Amazon also do art supplies, which may be better as there’s no chance of duplication (or rather it won’t matter as much).
Any one know Gary’s preferred medium Oils, Watercolour etc what type of brush he prefers?