First Murder Conviction Since Double Jeopardy Rule Scrapped (September 11, 2006)
Billy Dunlop's conviction for murder marks a historic turnaround for British law.
For more than 800 years it was enshrined in law that if someone was acquitted by a jury they could not be retried for the same offence.
However, this double jeopardy rule was scrapped in England and Wales in April 2005.
Dunlop, who had confessed to murder but could not be tried because of an earlier acquittal, was the first case to be referred to the Court of Appeal.
For the full story click HERE
To see the video of this news story click HEREClick here to return to the News Archive page
|