Ipswich: Oliver Campbell able to appeal conviction 32 years later

Oliver Campbell was arrested for murder on November 30, 1990, and spent 11 years in prison after being convicted in 1991.

His conviction rested on a confession extracted from him during the course of 14 separate police interrogations, many without a lawyer being present.

He suffered a head injury as a small child, making it hard for him to make decisions or argue for himself.

Oliver Campbell suffered serious head injury when he was younger (Image: Oliver Campbell)

Mr Campbell moved to Suffolk after finishing his jail term at Hollesley Bay Prison near Woodbridge.

Now, 32 years after his arrest, the Criminal Cases Review Commission has said there is a "real possibility that the Court of Appeal will conclude that Mr Campbell's admissions are unreliable and that ultimately his convictions are unsafe."

Glyn Maddocks, Mr Campbell's lawyer, said: "Putting it very mildly, he's absolutely delighted.

"He was convicted for something he absolutely did not do, and I would argue could not have done physically."

Mr Campbell, who lives in Ipswich, said: “I am very happy and now feel like there is light at the end of the tunnel."

Speaking on BBC Newsnight in 2021, Mr Campbell said he was "put under pressure to say things I didn't want to say".

Oliver Campbell (Image: Newsquest)

Teresa Mackay has provided personal and moral support to Oliver for over 20 years.

She said: "To hear this news today is just amazing even though it has been a long time coming.

"We are all hopeful that the Court of Appeal will now overturn Oliver's conviction and he will be able to get his life back after living with this wrongful conviction for 32 years."

In 2019, then Ipswich MP Sandy Martin raised the case to a House of Commons debate, saying at the time: "There was no forensic evidence linking him to the scene of the crime."

Mr Martin has now said: "I was determined to do what I could, working with Mr Maddocks and Oliver's friends to raise his case once more and to have the fresh evidence heard.

"Having organised a debate in Parliament to consider the operations of the CCRC and of Oliver's case, in particular, I am proud of the small part I have played in reaching this point.

"This is important not just for Oliver, but for all of us who might be wrongfully convicted in the future."