‘We are going to fight on... Jordan is not a murderer’
ASHLEIGH STEPS UP BID TO HAVE BROTHER FREED
THE sister of a convicted murderer has vowed to fight on to clear her brother’s name.
Jordan Towers of Sunderland was one of three people found guilty of murdering young dad Kevin Johnson in 2007 and was jailed for life.
Mr Johnson, 22, was assaulted and stabbed outside his home in Partick Road, Pennywell, after confronting Towers and two of his friends about their rowdy behaviour in the street.
While Towers, who was 16 at the time, did not inflict the fatal wound he was convicted under joint enterprise – a rule which means someone can be charged if they encouraged, assisted or could have foreseen a crime even if another person carried out the act.
Ever since then, his sister Ashleigh has been campaigning to clear her brother’s name. She believes his conviction was a miscarriage of justice.
However, this week Towers failed to convince top judges of that.
At the Court of Appeal, his lawyers argued he was wrongly convicted on the basis of joint enterprise.
Barrister Henry Blaxland QC said Towers, now 28, had never intended to cause Mr Johnson serious harm and was up to 20ft away when the fatal blow was struck.
He added: “Towers’ own actions amounted to an unarmed scuffle and drunkenly throwing a brick, which missed.
“At the time of the fatal attack he was standing some feet away, just watching.”
The case was referred to the Appeal Court by the Criminal Cases Review Commission, the body which investigates suspected miscarriages of justice.
Throwing out his challenge on Wednesday, Sir Brian Leveson said Towers had confessed to police after the killing he had been carrying a knife.
Although he was not the one who stabbed Mr Johnson, he had thrown a brick or paving slab at the victim, the judge added.
Jordan and his friends were out “clearly looking for trouble” and had goaded the victim into leaving his home and confronting them on the street.
He knew full well he and at least one of the other youths were armed and “foresaw the possibility of the infliction of really serious harm”, it was said.
Following the hearing, Towers’ sister said she was going to carry on with her fght.
Ashleigh, 38, added: “We are going to fight on 100%. We are going to look at the Supreme Court and then The European Court of Human Rights.
“Jordan is not a murderer. I know he was stupid, I am not going to deny that, but he did not kill anyone.
“He did not even realise Mr Johnson had been stabbed.
“We do not believe Jordan was part of a joint enterprise. This has 100% been a miscarriage of justice. I cannot believe he was convicted.”
She said Jordan had been a “model prisoner” over the past decade.
Last year, he was told by a top judge he could apply for parole a year earlier due to the “exceptional progress” he had made in prison.
It was said Towers had helped to save his cellmate’s life after a drug overdose and prevented another from hanging himself.
He had also completed a demanding ‘Challenge to Change’ course.
Ashleigh said: “Jordan has done everything that was asked off him.
“He was just a 16-year-old child when he went in. He is now a 28-year-old man and has changed a lot.”