A bishop will “stand in solidarity” with demonstrators outside Downing Street as they protest the continuing imprisonment of a man who insists he was wrongly convicted of murder.
The Rt Revd Dr Joanne Grenfell, Bishop of Stepney, will join the Free Jason Moore campaign at a picket on Wednesday lunchtime.
She told Newsquest: “The evidence just doesn’t stack up, as far as I can see. It has to be looked at again, for everybody’s sakes.”
Jason, from Canary Wharf, is almost ten years into a life sentence, having been found guilty at the Old Bailey in 2013 of stabbing Robert Darby, from the Isle of Dogs, outside the Valentine pub in Ilford.
He was never forensically linked to the crime and was charged because a single eyewitness picked him out of a photo line-up as the stabber.
However, a Newsquest investigation this year revealed that Jason did not match the description of Robert’s assailant given by the witness hours after the 2005 stabbing.
He rejected Jason in a photo line-up weeks later and instead identified another man as the killer, who looked nothing like Jason.
The witness only picked Jason out seven years later, having already been shown his photo.
When Newsquest found the witness, he claimed he was “drunk” when he saw the stabbing and was not sure he had identified the right person.
Our revelations sparked two protests outside the Royal Courts of Justice. Another is planned at Downing Street at midday on Wednesday, October 11, which Bishop Joanne will attend.
Her support for the Free Jason Moore campaign was informed by Newsquest’s reporting, she said.
The campaign to overturn Jason’s conviction is led by his own family and that of his alleged victim, Robert, as even they are convinced he is innocent.
Catch up on our exclusive investigation into Jason Moore's murder conviction:
-Part 1 - East End Killing: Is a man doing life for a murder he didn't commit?
-Part 4 - East End Killing: 'I was drunk', confesses star prosecution witness
-Part 5 - East End Killing: Pathologist's pattern of 'serious misconduct' was hidden from jury
-Update: Fury as 'innocent' killer is sent to the back of appeal queue
The two families held a meeting with Bishop Joanne in September.
“I get all sorts of requests to get involved in different things and I don’t generally do it, but this looked significant to me – especially following the Andrew Malkinson case,” said Bishop Joanne.
Mr Malkinson served 17 years for rape in the absence of any forensic evidence linking him to the crime.
His conviction was quashed this year after problems emerged with eyewitnesses and it emerged that another man’s DNA had been found on the victim.
Speaking of Jason’s case, Bishop Joanne said: “I found it incredible that two families had come together, one having lost their brother to murder and one having lost their brother to potentially wrongful imprisonment.
“You might have thought that they would have hated each other as families, but actually they’ve come together and that’s incredibly powerful.
“When they explained the whole story, I could see just how significant it was and I could see such strong reasons for requesting a review of the evidence.
“This is a tragedy for both families, but it also raises wider questions about justice for all of us if there’s a wrongful conviction and if nobody is listening when the evidence is so flawed.
“It’s a combination of the evidence not being sound and a sense of nobody looking at it properly and not giving them what they’re owed in terms of clear evidence… Those two things together feel really concerning to me.”
Bishop Joanne, whose patch covers Hackney, Islington and Tower Hamlets, is the latest high profile figure to back the campaign. Others have included Labour MP Apsana Begum, Conservative MP Giles Watling, justice campaigner Lord Nicholas Monson and cricket legend Sir Ian Botham.
Jason’s sister Kirstie Moore said: “After reviewing Jason’s case, Bishop Joanne echoed what we and other prominent campaigners have been asserting: there are serious, undeniable flaws in how Jason has been treated.
“With the backing of the Church of England, our plea for justice is not just amplified, it’s undeniable. If such a respected institution stands with us in spotlighting this injustice, who can ignore it?
“Jason deserves better from our justice system and we implore the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) to give his case the rigorous attention it warrants.
“After all, if the Church of England can’t amplify a call for justice, who can?
“If you stand for justice, please join us at the gates of Number 10 on Wednesday.”
The CCRC has said it will consider any new application submitted about Jason's case.
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