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A man with learning disabilities who was jailed for life in 1991 for the murder of a shopkeeper in London has had his conviction quashed by the Court of Appeal.
Oliver Campbell spent 11 years in prison for murder and robbery following a fatal shooting at an off-licence in Hackney that killed Baldev Hoondle in July 1990.
He was 21 years old when convicted by an Old Bailey jury, despite evidence that another man had been named as the gunman.
Three judges have now ruled on Wednesday that his conviction was “unsafe”, with Lord Justice Holroyde telling the court: “We accept that, considered in the light of the fresh evidence, the rulings might be different.”
His case was referred to the Court of Appeal by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) which investigates potential miscarriages of justice, in 2022, with barristers telling the court in February that “compelling” new evidence proved Mr Campbell “cannot be” the killer.
Jurors were not told during the trial that Mr Campbell had suffered severe brain damage as a baby and that he had been interviewed by police without a lawyer.
Following his conviction for murder being quashed, Mr Campbell said: “The fight for justice is finally over after nearly 34 years. I can start my life an innocent man.”
His supporters said: “We are all in tears. This is the best news. Ollie’s life starts now.
“He thanks his legal team, Michael, Rose and Glyn, and his supporters, and his foster mum Jean, and especially Teresa.”
His barrister, Michael Birnbaum KC, told the court earlier this year that there were “ample” grounds to find Mr Campbell’s conviction unsafe, suggesting that he was “badgered and bullied” by police into giving a false confession over his involvement.
Mr Birnbaum said that Mr Campbell’s learning disabilities meant he made admissions which were “simply absurd”, and “nonsense”, and contained a “litany of inconsistencies” at odds with the facts of the case.
As a result of his brain damage, Mr Campbell, who is now in his fifties, continues to struggle with memory, concentration and retaining information.
Officers are believed to have “deliberately lied” to him to adduce confessions. He was interviewed 14 times but on some occasions did not have a solicitor or an appropriate adult present.
Judges heard that jurors in the original trial were told the gunman wore a British Knights baseball cap, which was found a few hundred yards from the scene.
Mr Birnbaum said Mr Campbell had purchased the cap in the days before the killing, but hairs found inside it following the shooting were not his, and he was not picked out of an identity parade by Mr Hoondle’s son, despite him having come “face to face” with the gunman.
The barrister said: “The detectives were plainly convinced that, since he was the owner of the hat and had admitted a presence at the robbery, he must have been the shooter, and they were determined to get him to admit that fact.”
He continued: “[Mr Campbell believed] his least bad option was to admit it had all been an accident, and our suggestion is that he thought he could get away with doing that.”
In their ruling, Lord Justice Holroyde said: “A jury knowing of the fresh evidence would be considering the reliability of those confessions in a materially different context.
“In those circumstances, we cannot say that the fresh evidence could not reasonably have affected the decision of the jury to convict.”
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said: “The murder of Baldev Singh Hoondle in July 1990 was fully investigated by detectives at the time with a range of evidence brought before a jury who convicted the defendant the following year.
“We are aware of today’s decision by the Court of Appeal in relation to Mr Campbell’s conviction. We await the full judgment and will review these findings.
“We will continue to provide support to Mr Hoondle’s family.”
