I was sentenced to life behind bars for a murder I didn’t commit 34 years ago…but the true killer is still out there
A MAN wrongly jailed for murder before having his conviction overturned after 34 years says he won’t have justice until the true killer is caught.
Oliver Campbell, 54, was a teen when he was jailed for shooting Baldev Hoondle in the back of the head in Hackney, east London in 1990.
He was arrested over the fatal shooting, which happened during an off-licence robbery, and interviewed without a lawyer.
The teen – who had suffered a severe brain injury as an eight-month-old baby – was pressed by cops into making a false murder confession.
Aged just 19, Mr Cambell was jailed for life in 1991 after he was convicted of murder and robbery.
His friend Eric Samuels was found guilty of only the robbery following a trial at the Old Bailey.
He had even told police his accomplice was called Harvey and that Mr Campbell was not involved.
Judges finally ruled earlier this month his conviction was “unsafe” putting an end to one of Britain’s longest miscarriages of justice.
He told the MailOnline: “It’s disgusting what certain people said and did in 1991, knowing they stitched up an innocent person…
“I knew from day one it wasn’t me… It should not have gone this far. I’ve lost faith in the whole criminal justice system.”
Campbell added that authorities have “egg on their face, but it’s not my problem” and said his conscience has “always been clear”.
“I know I can go to bed smiling, it hasn’t ground me down, it’s made me stronger.”
However, he said he will never truly feel “free” until the real murderer is captured, adding that he feels for the family of the victim who must continue to wait for justice.
LIFE UNDER RESTRICTIONS
Campbell was freed on licence in 2002 but had to live under restrictions which meant he needed permission to get a job.
He was also blocked from travelling abroad and lived with the threat of being hauled back to prison at any time.
But the Court of Appeal on September 11 overturned his conviction on the basis that it was “unsafe”.
Speaking outside court, Campbell said: “The fight for justice is finally over after nearly 34 years. I can start my life an innocent man.”
Campbell’s case was referred to judges by the Criminal Cases Review Commission in 2022.
He had lost his first appeal and had a previous application for appeal turned down by the Criminal Cases Review Commission.
Barristers told the court in February that “compelling” new evidence proved Campbell “cannot be” the killer.
In their ruling, the three judges presiding said they had “concluded that the convictions are unsafe”.
They said: “We accept that, considered in the light of the fresh evidence, the rulings might be different.
“A jury knowing of the fresh evidence would be considering the reliability of those confessions in a materially different context.
“In those circumstances, we cannot say that the fresh evidence could not reasonably have affected the decision of the jury to convict.”
‘PRISONER OF THE SYSTEM’
Campbell’s lawyers said his trial jury was not told the full extent of his mental health issues.
The jury did not hear evidence that another man had been named as the gunman.
Cops found a hat belonging to Campbell at the scene of the murder in Hackney.
Campbell admitted the hat was his – but said it had been taken off him several days before the robbery.
The hat contained hairs, but none of them was a DNA match for Campbell.
The gunman was said to be right-handed, while Campbell is left-handed.
Campbell was pressed into confessing without a lawyer or appropriate adult present.
Before the decision, he told Sky News: “I was under police pressure, under duress.
“It was like someone putting you in a room and there’s no way out of it. I felt vulnerable, 100%.
“If they had done their homework they would have realised I was wrongly arrested, wrongly convicted and wrongly jailed.”