So many people gave so much to support Simon Hall and this is what they get in return. Some even laid their professional reputations on the line.
Correna Platt, the solicitor who was so unceremoniously sacked (lucky escape) was, I believe, working pro bono.
Dr Michael Naughton and the UoBIP tirelessly and publically worked on Simon’s case and were involved in securing the 2011 appeal. They even agreed to work on it again after the split with Correna, despite Stephanie’s appalling behaviour towards them.
Expert Tiernan Coyle tried his very hardest to differentiate between the fibres found at the crime scene and those found in locations connected with Simon, but was told by the court of appeal that he was looking too hard for differences. I guess they were right. Good luck to him (and the defendant) next time he appears before them.
And then there were those of us who had little to offer in the way of expertise, but did what we could to examine every minute aspect of the case in order to try to find anything at all that may have been missed by the professionals. And those like Steffie Bon who did what she could to publicise Simon’s case and keep it moving forward. The internet is littered by such folk who have received nothing but abuse in return, but who still maintained a belief that at the very least Simon Hall’s conviction was unsafe.
No doubt the professionals will brush themselves off, put it down to experience and do whatever they can in the way of damage limitation, but the real victims of this deceit are of course Mrs Albert’s family, who at least, thank heavens, have closure now, and Simon’s family (and of course Steffie Bon) who are now having to deal with the reality that this confession will bring. They have always had the comfort of belief in Simon’s innocence and have not previously had to face the fact that their son / brother / friend is a murderer. For them a new nightmare is just beginning just at the time when it should have been coming to an end.
Let’s also not forget the huge amount of damage this will have done to those who are actually innocent miscarriages of justice. Apart from the amount of court and CCRC time, money and resources Simon Hall has wasted, public support and perception are an important factor. Simon Hall’s 12 years of lies will without doubt cause the public to be far more sceptical in the cases of others claiming innocence, even if it has little affect on the justice system.
So why did he do it and why now? Good questions. I think Paris was probably the nearest to the answer when she said:
Maybe he felt unable/and under too much pressure to confess previously, due to all the attention and efforts of SH..
However, unlike Paris I am not convinced as to the motives behind Stephanie’s attention and efforts. On the one hand her belief in Simon’s innocence may have been total, in which case she must be devastated and deserving of support. On the other, I see a woman who has worked at least as hard on isolating Simon from his family friends as she has on his case. It seems entirely possible to me that Simon has wanted to confess for some time, but has been prevented from doing so by the only person he has left in the outside world. This would explain both his apparent breakdown and overdose, and also Stephanie’s senseless attacks on anyone who got too close.
Any sympathy I might have for Simon if the latter is true is tempered by the fact of the appalling nature of his crime. Let’s not forget that some of Mrs Albert’s wounds were said to have been inflicted some 30 minutes after her death. As for Stephanie, the jury is out for me. If she was truly unaware of Simon’s guilt until his confession I hope she gets all the help she will surely need.
Rest finally in peace Mrs Albert.
