Barry George

[tonyh29]

What? Are you suggesting they would send someone down for murder to satisfy the lust for revenge for Dando's murder?

I wasn't suggestiong anything , i was asking peoples thoughts on the subject ... However George was convicted on what was very weak evidence , in fact the only evidence was the forensic evidence which has now been dismissed as flawed ... Yet based on a weak case George was still convicted by a jury .....

Remember , intelligence isn't a critieria for jury service selection and George was pretty much already found guilty in trial by media so it had to have been an influence on the jury at that time , or do you not think so ? ... in much the same way that the appeal court were probably influenced by CH4's program to quash his conviction this time around ....

[Gringo]

in much the same way that the appeal court were probably influenced by CH4's program to quash his conviction this time around ....

A jury of twelve gullibles (to borrow a word) may indeed be influenced by the media. To suggest three high court judges, who have the luxury of reserving their judgement and delivering it whenever they feel fit, to be under the same level of media induced peer pressure is a most undeserving comparison. I am sure they had no other option on the basis of the evidence presented - probably the same evidence displayed in the documentaries (that I haven't seen) - after all most of them don't know who gazza is, never mind how to tune to that new channel4 thingy.

[Gringo]

Well the retrial is on, and the prosecution have already provided damning evidence of his guilt:

* He's weird

* He's got lots of photos of wimmin (could get a few of us in trouble that one)

* He's very bad at chatting up (ditto)

* He makes things up (have you read the ITK thread)

* There was a photo of him holding a firing pistol proving his cold-kill potential

The prosecution did struggle a bit to make this all stick - none of the wimmin he had harrassed made complaints to police.

The prosecution then sullied their case by making some stuff up:

This was not the sort of weapon which one might normally associate with professional crimes of this type and the gunman did not wear a disguise and he had no car parked close by to drive him away," said Mr Laidlaw.

1) They don't know what the weapon was, and have struggled to match it - but have made a few guesses instead so maybe that suffices for evidence;

2) No one saw the incident or what lack of disguise the gunman (or women) wasn't wearing;

3) No one saw the incident nor if the gunman or women got into a car and drove off twenty minutes before her body was found.

If the judge doesn't throws this out by the end of the prosecution case he's been sleeping.

[tonyh29]

* He's weird

* He's got lots of photos of wimmin (could get a few of us in trouble that one)

* He's very bad at chatting up (ditto)

* He makes things up (have you read the ITK thread)

* There was a photo of him holding a firing pistol proving his cold-kill potential

Yeah heard this on the radio last night ... I reckon Sugar had them in a room and said today's task is your gonna prosecute someone and the prosecution finished with "that's what I'm talking about "

Guess taking out the original damming evidence which has now been discredited the case is almost laughable

Ludicrous as it may seem I still think he did it though

[The_Rev]

The Guardian"]

Barry George cleared of Jill Dando murder

* James Sturcke and agencies

* guardian.co.uk,

* Friday August 1 2008

* Article history

Barry George and the TV presenter Jill Dando. Composite photograph: PA/Metropolitan police/BBC

The jury at the retrial in the Old Bailey rejected the prosecution's allegations that George, described in court as "the local nutter", shot the 37-year-old Crimewatch presenter.

Dando was killed on her doorstep in Gowan Avenue, Fulham, west London, in April 1999.

Today's verdict comes after two trials and two appeals, and means no one has been brought to justice for the killing.

The prosecution alleged George, 48, of Fulham, had obsessions with celebrities and guns. The jury heard from a series of women who claim to have been approached by George.

George showed no reaction as the verdict was read out.

His sister Michelle Diskin, who was also sitting in court, punched the air and cried "yes".

George is expected to walk free from the Old Bailey this afternoon.

The jury of eight women and four men had been out for less than two days at the end of an eight-week trial.

Central to George's conviction at the first trial was a tiny speck of gunpowder residue found in his pocket. Subsequent analysis led to doubts about its importance and the court of appeal's quashing of the conviction last year.

The retrial jury was told how George claimed to be the cousin of Freddie Mercury, the lead singer of the band Queen, and to have served in the SAS.

George, who has epilepsy and a mental disability, was arrested in 2000 and found guilty of Dando's murder in July the following year.

A first appeal failed but a second appeal last November concluded fresh scientific evidence meant there was "no certainty" the jury at his original trial would have convicted him.

The judge, Mr Justice Griffith Williams, was told that the speck, although the same type found on the victim, could have come from other sources.

George, a local loner who was said to have stalked and photographed hundreds of women, always maintained his innocence.

He was supported in court by his sister, who has led the fight for his release.

She was instrumental in getting the Criminal Cases Review Commission, an independent body that investigates possible miscarriages of justice, to refer the case to the court of appeal.

George became the prime suspect after detectives reviewed the evidence and his name came up among several others put forward after appeals to the public.

During three weeks of undercover surveillance, he was seen to approach 38 women in the area to try to make conversation with them.

His home in nearby Crookham Road was searched and officers found 2,248 photographs taken of unsuspecting women. The pictures, on 100 rolls of undeveloped film, also had shots of a number of female television presenters, including Anthea Turner.

They found a gun holster and lists of guns, military magazines and a picture of George wearing a gas mask and holding a starting pistol.

The prosecution said it was the sort of weapon that, if converted, could have fired the fatal shot. But there was no direct evidence of him at the scene of the crime when the murder took place.

Jonathan Laidlaw QC, prosecuting, said George was a celebrity and gun-obsessed stalker with a grudge against the BBC.

William Clegg QC, defending, said the prosecution case was circumstantial and there was no direct evidence that George was the killer.

He said the prosecution could not prove that the killer, seen by two witnesses shortly after the shooting at just after 11.30am, was George.

The case hinged on the killer being the same man other witnesses had described as being of Mediterranean appearance.

Clegg said: "There is insufficient evidence and a fatal weakness in the Crown's case."

During police interviews, George said he didn't know Dando or where she lived before her death was in the news. "I have never seen Jill Dando in the flesh in any shape or form," he said.

George worked for a short time as a messenger at the BBC, but he frequently called in there to collect copies of the staff newspaper.

Police arrested him in 1983 hiding in bushes outside Kensington Palace in an attempt to see Diana, Princess of Wales. He was dressed in combat gear, was carrying a length of rope and had a knife in his belt. He was not charged.

[rjw63]

Didnt he change his surname to Bulsara?

[stuart_75]

i wonder how much cash he will get for this. Gotta be worth half a mil

[Amsterdam_Neil_D]

I suppose the big question is, if not him who and was Crimewatch to blame then as Crimewatch pisses a lot of Criminals off i would think...

[A.J.Rimmer]

I suppose the big question is, if not him who and was Crimewatch to blame then as Crimewatch pisses a lot of Criminals off i would think...

I was very unhappy about the original verdict. The prosecution's case was extremely flimsy and I'm delighted Barry George was aquitted today.

At the time of Dando's death, I knew one or two Serbs who were very proud of having settled their account with Dando.

Given the support she expressed at Nato's missile attack on the TV station in Belgrade and the consequent loss of life amongst local jornalists, I find it difficult to shed any tears for her.

[rjw63]

Bloody hell Arnold Judas........have you been in prison???? :-)

[A.J.Rimmer]

Bloody hell Arnold Judas........have you been in prison???? :-)

Nope. I've been sulking because our pc moderators do not believe in freedom of speech.... apparently something they had in common with Ms Dando.

Goodbye... Auf Wiedersehen... Au Revoir... Arrivedechi... Adeus... Adios... before they say it for me.

[bickster]

looks like a discussion for pm not the forum peeps (thats Rob and the hologram specifically), as for the content, pah, the internet isn't a democracy and freedom of speech doesn't exist - Bicks

[bickster]

Can we get on with prosecuting Barry george for his real crime now please

[Gringo]

Bloody hell Arnold Judas........have you been in prison???? :-)

Cor blimey, AJ rises from the dead - must set a record for longest time between posts.

i wonder how much cash he will get for this. Gotta be worth half a mil

For 8 years of his life locked up - it's worth more than that. For the rest of his life persecuted by the daily heil and the murdoch press it's worth a lot more.

So if we take the concept of his innocence at face value - how did that residue of gun fire get into his jacket - are the police going to hold an inquiry into the veracity of the evidence they gathered? As they expressed discomfort at his acquittal do they really think he was the man who did it - in the face of the evidence of his inabaility to carry out such an adventure?

They had poor forensic evidence and really really shoddy circunstancial evidence to back it up - and they got a conviction.

Yet some here would have "known" he was guilty and probably supported some anonymous evidence to put the nails in.

When the process of law is already so weak, adding further inequities isn't going to help

Well done Barry - hope you get absolutely plastered and get a couple of million out of the system that fkd you.

[bickster]

I hope he gets locked up again, he should be

[The_Rev]

I hope he discovered a talent for darts while he was in chokey, and sensationally goes on to beat Bobby George in the 2009 BDO championship final.

[Gringo]

Pelle isn't going to be happy with your accusations.

[bickster]

Pelle isn't going to be happy with your accusations.

No need to explain then

[The_Rev]

Oh, and i quite like how this poll was 16 innocent and 14 guilty before it got bumped today (i made a note of it)

Now we are 22 innocent and 16 guilty. Why so many people have voted after the result came in is beyond me.

[drat01]

Now we are 22 innocent and 16 guilty. Why so many people have voted after the result came in is beyond me.

Keiron Fallon is a VT member??