Simon Hall Confesses To Murder Of Joan Albert

[tyler]

Third party may have been Mrs.Hall?

[Michaela]

Tyler it could very well be. Who knows? I am sure it will all come out in the wash or if it was Stephanie, some media deal would be made.

[nugnug]

its funny thats what i thought as well.

[killingeve]

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.

Morning Miss Bridget 

Whoa you're back!  Is it for good or just a fleeting visit? 

I agree entirely with your post but anyone supporting a potential MoJ should appreciate that it's high risk.  The prisoner claiming innocence has been found guilty in a court of law and in the case of SH and JB found guilty of the most horrific crimes.  If true then can we really expect much by way of moral conscience ie if they are capable of carrying out the acts convicted of are they really going to have hang ups about duping others etc?

[nugnug]

i wonder whose decision is it to drop the ccrc review is it his as the appellant or stephs as the power of atorney.

[Michaela]

from the article yesterday it says they asked him. I don't know for sure though but surely he has to be asked by them even though she had power of attorney?

[nugnug]

i would of thought so as well.

[killingeve]

Just been in Waitrose.  Thumbed the dailies cldn't see one word re SH.  Was half listening to the late eve news on BBC and ITV yesterday and again I saw no ref to SH! 

[nugnug]

in read in the paper she was unavailable for comment and not answering the phone.

[killingeve]

in read in the paper she was unavailable for comment and not answering the phone.

Hi Nugnug

Sorry my post is confusing I meant Simon Hall ie the admission and case in general. 

[Michaela]

Joan Albert murder: Simon Hall supporters respond to confession

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-23630287

Dr Michael Naughton told how he received a letter last week from Hall's wife Stephanie telling him her husband had admitted the murder and asking him to close the case down.

"We are not shocked - we are alive to the possibility that a lot of people who say they are innocent are not.

"We are looking for needles in haystacks in our project.

"It is quite sad in terms of the waste of resources and the distress to (Mrs Albert's) family members when it turns out like this."

And the "thousands of hours" Bristol law students have spent on the Hall case, said Dr Naughton, could easily have been spent on "somebody else's case".

[nugnug]

are so ray still cant belive it etere he must be gutted.

[Patti]

are so ray still cant belive it etere he must be gutted.

Was it not him that was writing a book about the case Nugs...

[nugnug]

yes he was.

[Patti]

yes he was.

Bang goes the pennies there then...