The case of Jason Moore, who is serving life in prison for a murder he says he did not commit, was also featured on BBC Sounds and the broadcaster’s radio news bulletins yesterday (Tuesday, November 28).
His sister Kirstie said she hoped the broadcasts would raise awareness of Newsquest’s investigative reporting on Jason’s case, which saw the prosecution’s star witness reveal that he had been “drunk” on the day in question.
The publicity boost coincided with two more sports personalities announcing their support for the Free Jason Moore campaign.
Former England cricketer Chris Cowdrey and former racehorse owner Harry Findlay have voiced concerns over the safety of Jason’s conviction.
Mr Findlay called Jason’s continuing imprisonment an “evil miscarriage of justice”.
Others backing the campaign include Sir Ian Botham, two MPs and the Bishop of Stepney Joanne Grenfell, who joined protesters outside Downing Street in October and gave a speech declaring Jason’s conviction “unsafe”.
This week’s BBC reports focused on campaigners’ bid for a fresh appeal based on new evidence undermining the case against him.
That new evidence was uncovered by Newsquest as part of a two-year investigation.
Jason, from Canary Wharf, was charged with the 2005 murder of Robert Darby after a single eyewitness picked him out of a photo line-up as the killer, seven years after the crime.
No forensic or CCTV evidence linked him to Robert’s stabbing, which occurred outside the Valentine pub in Perth Road, Gants Hill.
Jason also did not match descriptions of the killer given by witnesses, including the witness who later picked him out of a line-up.
That witness had told police on the day that the killer was 5’10”, had a shaved head and wore a blue, zip-up jacket. The description was corroborated by the only other eyewitness.
Jason is 6’4” in bare feet, had a thick mop of brown hair in curtains and was captured on CCTV both before and after Robert’s stabbing in a grey hoodie with no zip.
But in 2013, Jason was convicted at the Old Bailey and sentenced to life with a minimum of 18 years.
Since then, both Jason’s family and that of his alleged victim have been working together to try to overturn the conviction. Both families are convinced he is innocent.
Robert’s older brother Tim, from Havering, was interviewed by the BBC’s Thomas Magill, as was Jason’s sister Kirstie.
Ahead of presenting new evidence to @ccrcupdate, Kirstie Moore, sister of Jason, who was wrongly convicted of murdering Robert Darby and now serving life, tells BBC: ‘There is no violence in Jason, it’s just not there.’
#justice #prison @MoJGovUKhttps://t.co/Ix4e5myINF— Free Jason Moore (@FreeJasonMoore) November 28, 2023
In 2021, after receiving a press dossier compiled by both families, Newsquest began investigating the safety of Jason’s conviction.
In a series of reports earlier this year, we revealed that the eyewitness who picked Jason out of the line-up had previously picked out somebody else, who was not only innocent but also looked nothing like Jason.
When we tracked the eyewitness down, he admitted that he had been “drunk” when he witnessed Robert’s stabbing and might have picked out the wrong person.
Our recorded interview with the witness will form the basis of an application to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), the only body with the power to send Jason’s case back to the Court of Appeal.
On the recording, the witness claims he told police at the time that he was intoxicated. If true, that information was never disclosed to the defence.
In July, cricket star and peer Lord Botham released a statement saying: “I am 100 per cent behind the campaign to free Jason.”
Now Cowdrey, another former England cricketer, has spoken out.
“From what I have read and heard, Jason Moore has been denied a fair trial. Surely he deserves that?” he said.
Findlay, former owner of Gold Cup-winning racehorse Denman, who has known Jason for 30 years, has also publicly backed the campaign.
“His strength and courage in dealing with this evil miscarriage of justice has been truly humbling,” he said. “He needs to be set free.”
The Met Police has said that the case is closed but it will review any new evidence – although it never responded to Newsquest’s offer to share our interview with the eyewitness.
The CCRC has said it will consider any new application filed on Jason’s behalf.
Catch up on our exclusive investigation into Jason Moore’s murder conviction:
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