Stuart Gair

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Stuart Gair was convicted of murdering Peter Smith. According to the terms of the charge, he struck Smith on the chest with a knife or similar instrument. The victim sustained injuries and later died. The prosecution case at trial had been heavily reliant on eyewitness identifications. The principal witness for the Crown was the former co-accused, McLeod. He changed his position a number of times in the course of giving evidence. His final position was that he and Gair had planned to rob the victim but then Gair produced a knife. When McLeod saw that he said he ran away, and has he did so heard a moan behind him. The trial judge described McLeod as an appauling witness and said that without supporting evidence no rational jury could accept him as credible or reliable. Another witness, Morrison, was therefore important in corroborating his account. On appeal, it turned out that Morrison had made statements to the police that showed he was prepared to tell lies, to fantisise and to change his account when it suited him. He had also been admitted to a psychiatric hospital. If the evidence had been available to the jury it would have painted a completely different picture of Morrison and would have dramatically undermined the credibility and reliability of his evidence. The court said that “it is no exaggeration to say that with that information the defence could have destroyed his testimony.” The court found that non disclosure of this information to the defence resulted in a miscarriage of justice and the conviction was quashed.

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