Jan Christofides

Years in prison:
9
Year of crime:
1992
Year conviction was overturned:
2001

Jan Christofides was convicted of the murder of Peter Maffey who died as a result of a brain injury after getting hit over the head with a pool cue by him. He admitted hitting Maffey once but claimed it was in self defence. A co-defendant had charges against him dropped during the original trial. On appeal, the court noted that the case against the appellant was dependent on the use of the pool cue causing the death and this would have been negatived if the jury thought the co-defendant contributed to the death. The defence was influenced by the unexpected dismissal of the case against a co-defendant. The Court of Appeal quashed the conviction due to a sense of unease that the prosecution witnesses had not been fully tested in light of the dramatic change in the course of the trial.

View Press (justice.org.uk)

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  • Offence: Murder
  • Jurisdiction: England & Wales
  • County: London 
  • Ethnicity: Unknown
  • Gender: M
  • Years in prison: 9
  • Offence convicted of: Murder
  • Year of crime: 1992
  • Year of initial conviction: 1992
  • Year conviction was overturned: 2001
  • Age when imprisoned: Unknown
  • CCRC Referral: Y
  • Tried with others: Y
  • Link to full case: https://www.casemine.com/judgement/uk/5a8ff8c360d03e7f57eccd08
  • Compensation: Unknown
  • Crown argued case at CofA: Yes
  • Retrial: No
  • Previous appeals: Unsuccessful appeals in 1994 and 1997, unsuccessful certification of question for the House of Lords in 1999

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