Sam Hallam

Sam Hallam (born 1987), from Hoxton, London,^[1] is one of the youngest victims of a UK miscarriage of justice after an appeal court quashed his murder conviction in 2012.^[2]

Background

In 2004, aged 17, Hallam had been sentenced to serve a minimum of 12 years in prison for the murder of a trainee chef, Essayas Kassahun, during a street brawl in Old Street.^[3]

Two witnesses claimed to have seen him at the scene, but their evidence was unreliable, with one witness attempting to go back on his statement in court, and another saying, "I just wanted someone to blame on the spot, really." No other evidence, forensic or otherwise, existed to link him to the scene, and Hallam always maintained he was not there, although he had no alibi to prove it.^[4]

The campaign

Friends and family of Hallam asked veteran human-rights campaigner Paul May to set up a campaign to prove his innocence.^[4] May mounted a legal appeal for Hallam and arranged numerous events and media interviews to publicise the case.^[4][5]

Actor Ray Winstone presented a TV documentary which was screened in 2010 which outlined the flaws in the case against Hallam^[6]

Playwright Tess Berry-Hart created a verbatim theatre play Someone To Blame as part of the campaign to raise awareness of the case.^[4] Directed by David Mercatali, the play used verbatim court transcripts, witness testimony and first-person interviews from the original case and ran at the King's Head Theatre Islington in February 2012.^[7][8][9]

First appeal

In 2007, there was a failed appeal with the judges holding that the evidence of the witnesses could still be relied upon. The case was then referred to the Criminal Cases Review Commission, which spent three years examining his case. Thames Valley Police was instructed on their behalf to examine the original Metropolitan Police investigation.^[10] Based on their findings, the case was sent back to the Court of Appeal.^[11]

Second appeal

In May 2012 after only three hours hearing, the Crown Prosecution Service decided not to defend the conviction, and the three judges led by Lady Justice Hallett granted temporary bail. Hallam walked out the front doors of the Court of Appeal and was drenched in champagne.^[12] The next day, Hallam attended court with his mother, Wendy Cohen, to hear his murder conviction formally overturned.^[13]

After Hallam's release, Someone To Blame was updated for a weekend run at the King's Head to celebrate his freedom.^[14][15] Hallam's father and grandmother had both died while he was imprisoned.^[16]

Later events

Hallam launched a legal challenge in January 2015 challenging the law that prevents him from receiving compensation for the years he wrongly spent in prison.^[17] The case was unsuccessful, causing a debate over whether the UK compensation system was incompatible with the presumption of innocence.^[18]

In July 2023 Hallam took his case for compensation for wrongful imprisonment to the European Court of Human Rights. The judgment is expected to be heard some time in 2024.^[19]

See also

• List of miscarriage of justice cases

References

1. "I need time to recover from the last seven years": Man Jailed for Murder has Conviction Quashed, independent.co.uk. Accessed 5 December 2022.
2. Sandra Laville (16 May 2012). "Sam Hallam released after seven years in prison". The Guardian.
3. "Sam Hallam murder conviction finally quashed after seven years in prison". The Daily Telegraph. 17 May 2012.
4. Sandra Laville (16 May 2012). "How a community's outcry led to campaign for justice for Sam Hallam". The Guardian.
5. Sam Hallam- Young. Innocent and inside GMTV. YouTube. 20 April 2011.
6. Sam Hallam Part One. YouTube. 20 April 2011.
7. "Someone to Blame". WhatsOnStage.com. 26 March 2012.
8. "News, comment and reviews from the Hackney Citizen – hackneycitizen.co.uk". Hackney Citizen. 16 March 2011.
9. "Play probes 'miscarriage of justice'". islingtonnow.co.uk. 7 March 2012.
10. Sandra Laville (16 May 2012). "Sam Hallam to appeal against murder conviction". The Guardian.
11. Duncan Campbell (3 August 2011). "Sam Hallam murder case sent back to court of appeal". The Guardian.
12. "Sam Hallam freed from murder sentence after seven years as court hears of 'serious miscarriage of justice'". The Daily Telegraph. 16 May 2012.
13. "Sam Hallam Appeal: Convicted Murderer To Hear Verdict After Insisting Innocence". The Huffington Post UK. 17 May 2012.
14. "News, comment and reviews from the Hackney Citizen – hackneycitizen.co.uk". Hackney Citizen. 1 June 2012.
15. "Someone to Blame review – Entertainment Focus". entertainment-focus.com. 4 June 2012. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
16. "Sam Hallam freed on bail in murder conviction appeal". BBC News. 16 May 2012. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
17. "Wrongly convicted men launch new case against the Justice Secretary". The Independent. 18 January 2015. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
18. Robins, Jon (31 January 2019). "Innocent, jailed and uncompensated: these are the men our system fails". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
19. Hattenstone, Simon (7 November 2023). "At 17, I was jailed for a murder I didn't commit – and spent seven life-changing years in prison". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 15 November 2023.