New appeal recommended to Lockerbie bomberTHE Libyan man held in Barlinnie Prison for the 1988 Lockerbie bombing should receive a second appeal against his conviction, Scotland's cases review board ruled today following a three-year investigation.
The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC) identified six points that it believed "a miscarriage of justice may have occurred".
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The SCCRC's announcement said: "The Commission is of the view, based upon our lengthy investigations, the new evidence we have found and other evidence which was not before the trial court, that the applicant may have suffered a miscarriage of justice."
The SCCRC found there was no "reasonable basis" for the original trial court's conclusion that various items of clothing were bought from a shop in Malta on 7 December 1988. Although Megrahi had been proved to have been in Malta several times that month, evidence at the trial was that 7 December was the only date on which he would have been able to make the purchase. The court's finding on the date – and its finding that Megrahi was the purchaser – were both important to the verdict against him.
New evidence not heard at the trial related to the date on which Christmas lights were lit in the area of Tony Gauci's shop. This evidence, taken with Mr Gauci's evidence at the trial and his police statement, indicated that the items were bought before 6 December – at a time when there was no evidence at the trial that Megrahi was in Malta.
Scotsman -- more at the link
Good Backgrounder:
London Review of Books - Hugh Miles's Inconvenient Truth
Alternative theories of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103wikipedia page