View source for Simon Hall (murderer)

{{short description|British murderer who falsely claimed innocence}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Simon Hall
| nationality        = [[British people|British]]
| birth_date         = 1977 or 1978
| criminal_charge    = Murder
| criminal_penalty   = [[Life imprisonment in England and Wales|Life imprisonment]] with a [[minimum term|minimum tariff]] of 15 years imprisonment
| criminal_status    = Deceased
| death_date         = 23 February 2014 (age 36)<ref name="Suicide">{{cite news |title=Appeal-campaign killer found dead |url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/uk/appeal-campaign-killer-found-dead-30034511.html |access-date=24 September 2022 |work=Belfast Telegraph |date=23 February 2014}}</ref>
| death_place        = [[HM Prison Wayland]]
| death_cause        = [[Suicide by hanging]]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-36576113.amp | title=Hanged killer took own life in cell | date=20 June 2016 }}</ref>
| known_for          = Confessing to murder after miscarriage of justice activists had campaigned for him
}}
'''Simon Hall''' (1977 or 1978 – 23 February 2014) was a British murderer who was the subject of a lengthy campaign by [[miscarriage of justice]] activists to overturn his conviction, only for him to go on to confess to the murder he was convicted of. Hall stabbed 79-year-old pensioner Joan Albert to death in her home in [[Capel St Mary]], [[Suffolk]] in 2001, and was convicted of her murder two years later. Subsequently, the high-profile miscarriage of justice programme ''[[Rough Justice (UK TV programme)|Rough Justice]]'' took up his case and aired a programme campaigning for him. Several [[Members of Parliament (UK)|MP]]s, [[Bristol University]]'s 'Innocence Project' campaign group, his mother and his girlfriend Stephanie Hall were also involved in campaigning for him, and the [[Criminal Cases Review Commission]] (which had itself been set up in response to ''Rough Justice'' in 1997) referred his case to the [[Court of Appeal of England and Wales|Court of Appeal]] in 2009. However, the appeal court dismissed the appeal and he subsequently confessed his crime to prison authorities in 2013, before [[committing suicide]] in prison in 2014. His case was said to have gravely undermined the claims of many prisoners who claim their innocence and embarrassed miscarriage of justice activists, having proved that they had campaigned for a guilty man.
The family of victim Joan Albert released a statement following Hall's confession saying: "During the last 10 years the publicity surrounding the appeals has been very distressing for our family, making moving on impossible...  we are also grateful to those who have helped us throughout this difficult ordeal".
==Murder==
Hall was a [[burglar]] and had previous convictions for violence.<ref name="BBC" /><ref name="Independent" /> He murdered Joan Albert, 79, in her home in [[Capel St Mary]], [[Suffolk]] on 16 December 2001 in a burglary attempt gone wrong, stabbing her five times with a carving knife from her kitchen and leaving her to be found in her hallway.<ref name="Guardian" /><ref name="ITV">{{cite news |title=Suffolk killer Simon Hall admits guilt after a decade of denial |url=https://www.itv.com/news/anglia/2013-08-08/suffolk-killer-simon-hall-admits-guilt-after-a-decade-of-denial |access-date=24 September 2022 |work=ITV News |date=8 August 2013}}</ref><ref name="BBC">{{cite news |title=Simon Hall confesses to Joan Albert murder 12 years on |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-23611821 |access-date=24 September 2022 |work=BBC News |date=8 August 2013}}</ref> Hall had been out drinking with friends in [[Ipswich]] the night before the murder and had an [[alibi]] for most of the night and into the early hours of the following morning, except for between 5:30am and 6:15am, which was believed to be the time when the murder was committed.<ref name="Independent" /> He was convicted of her murder in 2003 and sentenced to a minimum term of 15 years imprisonment, with the jury finding him guilty by a unanimous decision.<ref name="Guardian">{{cite news |title=Man confesses to woman's murder after decade trying to clear name |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/aug/08/man-confesses-murder-decade-clear-name |access-date=24 September 2022 |work=The Guardian |date=8 August 2013}}</ref><ref name="Independent">{{cite news |title=Simon Hall admits he murdered 79-year-old Joan Albert despite decade campaigning for 'miscarriage of justice' |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/simon-hall-admits-he-murdered-79yearold-joan-albert-despite-decade-campaigning-for-miscarriage-of-justice-8751610.html |access-date=24 September 2022 |work=The Independent |date=8 August 2013}}</ref>
==Claims of innocence and assistance==
{{quote box|align=right|width=40%|quote="There was never a shadow of a doubt that they had the wrong guy, he didn't have it in him – he's too sensitive and kind."|source=—Hall's wife Stephanie, who he married in prison, declaring that he was innocent in 2009.}}
[[File:Michael Mansfield QC 04.jpg|thumb|right|[[Michael Mansfield]] [[Queen's Counsel|QC]], who represented other miscarriage of justice victims such as [[Barry George]] and [[Murder of Marie Wilks|Eddie Browning]], agreed to defend Hall and attempted to get him freed]]
Hall refused to acknowledge his guilt and his legal team attempted to discredit the fibre evidence against him.<ref name="BBC" /><ref name="Gazette">{{cite news |title=Capel St Mary: My Simon is innocent |url=https://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/4715790.capel-st-mary-my-simon-is-innocent/ |access-date=24 September 2022 |work=Daily Gazette and Essex County Standard |date=9 November 2009}}</ref> In 2007 his case was promoted by ''[[Rough Justice (UK TV programme)|Rough Justice]]''.<ref name="BBC" /> His case was also taken up by the [[University of Bristol]] Innocence Project (UoBIP), and they helped his case get referred to the [[Court of Appeal of England and Wales]] in 2009 via the [[Criminal Cases Review Commission]].<ref name="Gazette" /><ref name="InnocenceProject">{{cite web |title=UoBIP: Why the conviction of Simon Hall cannot stand |url=http://www.bris.ac.uk/law/news/2010/195.html |website=University of Bristol |publisher=University of Bristol Innocence Project |access-date=24 September 2022}}</ref> Hall's wife Stephanie, who he had married in prison in 2005, was convinced of his claims of innocence, saying: "There was never a shadow of a doubt that they had the wrong guy, he didn't have it in him – he's too sensitive and kind."<ref name="Gazette" /> For many years she ran a campaign called "Justice 4 Simon" in an attempt to free him from prison, and Hall regularly sent online messages to his supporters.<ref name="BBC" /> Friends and family of Hall also backed him, setting up a website to highlight what they believed were the weaknesses in the prosecution case against him, and wrongly claiming that he had no motive for killing Albert, a friend of his mother's.<ref name="Gazette" /> His campaign also won the backing of a number of [[Member of Parliament (UK)|MP]]s, and his case also featured in the book ''No Smoke: The Shocking Truth about British Justice'' by Sandra Lean.<ref name="Gazette" /><ref name="Telegraph" /><ref name="BBC" /> Famous lawyer [[Michael Mansfield]] agreed to represent him legally and lead his campaign to be freed.<ref name="Guardian" />
==Appeal==
[[File:University of bristol tower after cleaning arp.jpg|thumb|The [[University of Bristol]]'s Innocence Project group helped promote Hall's claims of innocence, even after his appeal was rejected in 2011.]]
In 2011 the Court of Appeal upheld his conviction, concluding that the conviction was correct and saying: "The scientific support for the assertion that the appellant was the source of the fibres found at the crime scene is compelling. We have no reason to doubt the safety of the jury's verdict and the appeal is dismissed."<ref name="UOBIP2">{{cite web |title=University of Bristol Innocence Project response to Simon Hall judgment by the Court of Appeal |url=https://www.bristol.ac.uk/news/2010/7432.html |website=University of Bristol News and Features |publisher=University of Bristol Innocence Project |access-date=24 September 2022}}</ref> Even after this appeal was rejected the Bristol Innocence Project continued to promote his claims of innocence, complaining that the Court of Appeal had not taken his claims of innocence "seriously" and saying that they didn't seek "the truth of whether alleged victims of wrongful convictions are innocent or not".<ref name="UOBIP2" /> However, by this time Hall had already confessed to the crime to his wife Stephanie, revealing details including his motive for the crime.<ref name="NickRoss">{{cite web |title=Who killed Jill Dando? |url=https://www.nickross.com/who-killed-jill-dando/ |website=Nick Ross |access-date=24 September 2022 |date=April 2019}}</ref> Despite this, Stephanie Hall continued to protest his innocence to national prisoners' newspaper ''[[Inside Time]]''.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hall |first1=Stephanie |title=Justice isn't blind; it has tunnel vision |url=https://insidetime.org/justice-isnt-blind-it-has-tunnel-vision/ |website=Inside Time |date=1 October 2011}}</ref>
==Confession==
In 2013, following the rejection of his appeal, Hall formally admitted his guilt to prison authorities after ten years of claiming his innocence, leading to outrage in the national media.<ref name="ITV" /><ref name="BBC" /><ref name="BBC2" />  ''[[The Telegraph (UK)|The Telegraph]]'' reported that his trial and appeal had cost the [[taxpayer]] between £400,000 and £500,000.<ref name="ITV" /><ref name="Telegraph">{{cite news |title=Killer admits murder 12 years on - costing taxpayers £500000 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/10230506/Killer-admits-murder-12-years-on-costing-taxpayers-500000.html |access-date=24 August 2022 |work=The Telegraph |date=7 August 2013}}</ref> Thousands of hours of legal research had been wasted on attempting to clear Hall's name, including many hours of work conducted by unpaid volunteers of the University of Bristol Innocence Project.<ref name="BBC2">{{cite news |title=Joan Albert murder: Simon Hall supporters respond to confession |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-23630287 |access-date=25 September 2022 |work=BBC News |date=9 August 2013}}</ref> In January earlier in the year the CCRC had also been examining a new claim by Hall that he was carrying out a burglary elsewhere on the day Albert's body was found, but Hall dropped this appeal after he finally admitted his guilt.<ref name="BBC" /><ref name="BBC2" /> Campaigner Ray Hollingsworth, who had claimed that he had gathered evidence that showed two other people were responsible for the murder, said: "If I'm wrong about this, I'm wrong. I will hold my hands up. I'm not going to hide from anyone. I believed in his innocence".<ref name="BBC2" />
Retired detective Roy Lambert, who led the original inquiry, said in response to the confession: "I've always been satisfied that he was responsible for killing Joan. Lots and lots of people were supporting him, MPs were supporting him and now he's deceived all of them because all along he's known that he's done it".<ref name="BBC" /> [[Suffolk Constabulary|Suffolk Police]] released a statement saying: "Over the 10 years since Hall's conviction there have been a number of appeals and campaigns which have asserted that Simon Hall was wrongfully convicted of Mrs Albert's murder. These events and the related uncertainty have undoubtedly exacerbated the suffering Mrs Albert's family have had to endure since Joan was murdered. We sincerely hope that Simon Hall's admissions to having committed this brutal crime will in some way enable the family to move on with their lives."<ref name="BBC" /><ref name="Independent" /> The family of victim Joan Albert, who had had to endure years of claims that Hall was innocent, released a statement saying: "During the last 10 years the publicity surrounding the appeals has been very distressing for our family, making moving on impossible, but we would like to thank Suffolk Police, including Roy Lambert and his team, who carried out the original investigation, to present day officers who continue to support us. We are also grateful to those who have helped us throughout this difficult ordeal".<ref name="ITV" />
==Suicide==
Only one year after he finally confessed, Hall was found unresponsive in his cell at [[HM Prison Wayland]] in [[Norfolk]], and was later pronounced dead,<ref name="Suicide" /> having committed [[suicide by hanging]].<ref name="NickRoss" /><ref name="NewStatesman">{{cite news |last1=Campbell |first1=Duncan |title=Rough justice: who is looking out for the wrongfully convicted? How internet sleuths - and secret courts - have changed the reporting of miscarriages of justice |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2017/02/rough-justice-who-looking-out-wrongfully-convicted |access-date=24 September 2022 |work=New Statesman |date=28 February 2017}}</ref> <ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-36576113.amp | title=Hanged killer took own life in cell | date=20 June 2016 }}</ref> Stephanie Hall accepted that she had wrongly believed in his innocence.<ref name="Thelaststepisacceptance">{{cite news |title=Murderer Simon Hall 'was found hanged after confession' |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-36517291 |access-date=24 September 2022 |work=BBC News |date=13 June 2016}}</ref><ref name="NickRoss" />
==Impact==
The Hall case was described as an embarrassment to miscarriage of justice activists and an example of a case that they "quietly bury" as they do not wish to appear to have wrongly defended a guilty person.<ref name="NickRoss" /> The ''[[New Statesman]]'' said that the Hall case had "gravely undermined the claims of many of the genuinely innocent".<ref name="NewStatesman" />
==See also==
*[[Stephen Downing case|Stephen Downing]] – British man who was cleared of murder on appeal after a campaign by [[Don Hale]], only to allegedly go on to confess to the murder
*[[Ernest Barrie]] – British man released on appeal after another ''[[Rough Justice (UK TV programme)|Rough Justice]]'' campaign, only to go on to kill a man
*[[Michael Weir (murderer)|Michael Weir]] – British man released on appeal for murder but later convicted at retrial
*[[James Hanratty]] – British murderer who was the subject of a 'miscarriage of justice' campaign led by [[Bob Woffinden]], but later proven to be guilty
*[[Colin Norris]]
*[[Jessie McTavish]]
*[[Murder of Billie-Jo Jenkins|Siôn Jenkins]]
*[[M25 Three]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Simon}}
[[Category:1970s births]]
[[Category:2014 suicides]]
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[[Category:2001 crimes in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:2001 in England]]
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[[Category:BBC television documentaries]]
[[Category:British crime television series]]
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[[Category:Crime in Suffolk]]
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[[Category:Criminals from Suffolk]]
[[Category:People convicted of murder by England and Wales]]
[[Category:People from Ipswich]]
[[Category:British male criminals]]
[[Category:English criminal law]]
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[[Category:Court of Appeal (England and Wales)]]
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[[Category:Suicides by hanging in England]]
[[Category:Murderers who died by suicide in prison custody]]
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[[Category:Prisoners who died in England and Wales detention]]