Jeremy Bamber begins challenge against his conviction just as a TV series similar to that that generated renewed interest in the conviction of the Menendez brothers is about to be aired
Jeremy Bamber may be innocent or he may be guilty. Now, alongside renewed interest in his case – not quite yet akin to that shown over the 2017 crime anthology series Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders – with the forthcoming ITV drama White House Farm comes news that this convicted killer of five’s lawyers began a challenge to the Crown Prosecution Service over withheld evidence on Friday.
Strangely little reported other than by The Guardian, the statement of facts and grounds lodged at the High Court on Friday challenge the CPS over “its failure to disclose evidence [Bamber’s lawyers] say would undermine the safety of his conviction.” Relating primarily to the matter of whether a much contested silencer contained the blood of his sister Sheila Caffell or whether other silencers had been present (and disappeared even), of the news Bamber spoke from HM Prison Wakefield and remarked:
“We are now in a position to show exactly what has been withheld, which amounts to thousands of key files and documents pertaining to, not just the forensic examination of two silencers, but also to my innocence. This repeated non–disclosure means that the truth remains unknown, as the evidence that gives my case clarity still remains hidden.”
Mark Newby, a solicitor advocate from QualitySolicitors Jordans and a representative of Bamber, added:
“It is disappointing that the CPS has not agreed to provide material that is needed by an independent expert to support the overwhelming inference that a second silencer was examined during the police and forensic science service investigations. We hope that this can quickly be resolved so that the expert can get on with his job and the case can be put back before the Court of Appeal in order to correct this very grave miscarriage of justice.”
The drama series White House Farm itself is likely to have more impact, however, with the public as this series will reintroduce the story of the 1985 slayings to the British public – a generation of whom will not have even been alive 35 years ago even. For the Menendez brothers, The Menendez Murders brought the question of whether they were victims of parental abuse rather than just monstrous murderers back to wider attention and partially impacted on them being finally allowed to spend time together for the first time in 26 years. For Jeremy Bamber, maybe, just maybe, this series will help encourage the public to question the matter of whether he was actually the perpetrator of the horrific crimes that occurred on the 7th August 1985.
As we ourselves asked in The Steeple Times in October 2013 – after points were raised about the matter by a former Conservative MP named Andrew Hunter – “Could Bamber be innocent?” Furthermore, in the House of Lords in September 2017, Baroness Jones of Moulescoomb asked questions about withheld evidence in the case. Now, finally, these very issues may now very well be quite rightly at least examined.
ITV will screen the six part true crime drama White House Farm in January. It stars Alfie Allen, Cressida Bonas, Amanda Burton and Freddie Fox amongst others.
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