Winston Silcott
Winston Silcott(born 1959),[1]a British citizen born toCaribbean(Montserrat) parents, was wrongfully convicted in March 1987, as one of the "Tottenham Three", for themurder of PC Keith Blakelockon the night of 6 October 1985 during theBroadwater Farm riotin north London – despite not having been near the scene. The convictions of all three individuals were quashed on 25 November 1991 after scientific tests suggested the men's confessions had been fabricated.
Silcott received compensation of £17,000 for his wrongful conviction. Two of the investigating police officers were prosecuted for fabricating evidence but were acquitted in 1994. Silcott received a further £50,000 in compensation from theMetropolitan Policein an out-of-court settlement which ended a civil action against the force for malicious prosecution.[2]
Silcott was convicted in 1979 and sent to prison for six months for his part in a nightclub brawl.[1]His other convictions include murder, burglary, malicious wounding and possession of an offensive weapon.[citation needed]In 1979 he was tried for and acquitted of murder.[citation needed]
In 1989, theLondon School of EconomicsStudents' Union elected Silcott as Honorary President, as a protest against miscarriages of justice.
Silcott served 18 years' imprisonment for the murder ofboxerand nightclub bouncer Tony Smith, for which he was on bail when Blakelock was killed. Silcott claimed that he killed Smith inself-defenceafter an altercation in which he feared for his life and felt he had no choice but to attack, but was disbelieved by the jury.[3]He was released fromBlantyre House Prisonin October 2003. Silcott had also served a six-month prison sentence for assault in a nightclub prior to his conviction for the murder of Smith.[1]
In 2005, the police recruited Silcott to run a youth centre on theBroadwater Farm Estate,in a bid to reduce youth crime in the area.
In March 2007, he was found guilty of theft from shops for a second time since his release from prison.[citation needed]
References
[edit]- ^abcWinston Silcott: An infamous past(BBC News,20 October 2003)
- ^Silcott police pay-out 'disgraceful'BBC News
- ^David Rose meets Winston SilcottThe Observer
External links
[edit]- Interview(The Observer,18 January 2004)
- Silcott in bid to cut youth crime(BBC News, 16 August 2005)
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
- 1959 births
- 20th-century English criminals
- 21st-century English criminals
- British people convicted of burglary
- British people convicted of theft
- British people of Montserratian descent
- Criminals from London
- English people convicted of assault
- English people convicted of murder
- Living people
- Overturned convictions in England
- British people acquitted of murder
- People convicted of murder by England and Wales