Very disappointing news yesterday, with Justice Secretary Jack Straw denying a pardon to jailed Liverpool fan Michael Shields.
For those who don't know, Shields was jailed for 10 years in Bulgaria following an attack on a barman there in 2005. But he has always maintained his innocence.
Despite the fact that another man has admitted carrying out the attack, but won't testify to that effect, Straw has concluded that he has to be sure that Shields is both morally and technically innocent before granting a pardon and that he can't give one where he doesn't have that certainty.
This is a disgrace. When someone else has confessed to a crime, the morally and technically correct course of action is to make redress to anyone wrongly convicted of involvement in that crime.
With this decision, Jack Straw is colluding in a miscarriage of justice. He would be more correct to call himself the Injustice Secretary.
UPDATE: If you wish to show your support for Michael Shields, you can do so here.
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