William Freeburn
Date Referred to Court:
13 September 2005
Offence:
Attempted theft
Date of Conviction:
10 September 2002
Appeal Outcome:
Successful
Date of Appeal Outcome:
17 November 2005
Judgment:
No written judgement available
SCOTTISH CRIMINAL CASES REVIEW COMMISSION
NEWS RELEASE
The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission has this month referred the following
cases to the High Court;-
1. The case of William Freeburn in respect of conviction. William Freeburn was
convicted at Greenock Sheriff Court on 10 September 2002 of attempted theft and
fined £150.
2. The case of Paul McInnes in respect of conviction. Paul McInnes was convicted
at Glasgow High Court on 15 December 2002 of attempted murder and sentenced
to 8 years.
3. The case of Nathaniel Millar in respect of sentence. Nathaniel Millar pled guilty
at Angus District Court on 17 January 2001 to a road traffic offence and was fined
£175. His license was endorsed with 3 penalty points.
Notes for Editors
The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission was established as an independent
body on 1 April 1999 to review alleged miscarriages of justice in Scottish convictions.
Under section 194 A to L of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 (as inserted by
section 25 of the Crime and Punishment (Scotland) Act 1997) the Commission can refer a
case to the High Court if it believes that a miscarriage of justice may have occurred and
that it is in the interests of justice that a reference should be made. Once a case is referred
to the High Court by the Commission, it will proceed as a normal appeal. The
Commission’s statutory function is to assess, after proper investigation, whether there
may have been a miscarriage of justice and whether it is in the interests of justice to refer
a case. The Commission cannot decide whether a convicted person is innocent or guilty.
The Commission currently operates with a Board of 7 members, one of whom is the
Chairperson, a Chief Executive, a Director of Administration, 2 Senior Legal Officers, 9
Legal Officers and admin support staff.
For any further general information about the Commission please contact Mr Gerard
Sinclair, Chief Executive, SCCRC, 5th Floor, Portland House, 17 Renfield Street,
Glasgow, G2 5AH, Tel: 0141 270 7031, email: gsinclair@sccrc.org.uk or visit the
Commission’s website at www.sccrc.org.uk
