UK man denied payout over false murder conviction

January 25, 2013 @ 8:28 am

LONDON (AP) - A British court has rejected a compensation claim by a man wrongly convicted of murdering a prominent television personality.

Two High Court judges ruled that Barry George failed to meet the threshold for compensation because a "reasonable jury" could have found him guilty.

George was convicted in 2001 of shooting BBC presenter Jill Dando through the head on the steps of her London home. He was acquitted in 2008 after a retrial that saw controversial forensic evidence excluded.

George's lawyer said he would appeal.

In a separate case Friday, the judges ordered the government to reconsider denying compensation to Ian Lawless, who spent eight years in jail after confessing to murder. He was released after new evidence revealed Lawless had a "pathological need for attention" and made frequent unreliable confessions.


(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
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