Bail refused for Marine during murder appeal bid
A ROYAL Marine serving life after being found guilty of murdering an injured Afghan fighter has been refused bail pending a new challenge against his conviction.
Sergeant Alexander Blackman, 42, of Taunton, Somerset, failed to persuade two judges at the Court Martial Appeal Court in London to free him from prison.
There was a loud sigh of disappointment from supporters in the gallery as the decision was announced by Lord Chief Justice Lord Thomas, sitting with Mr Justice Sweeney.
The bail move followed the announcement by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), the independent body that investigates possible miscarriages of justice, of its decision to refer Blackman’s conviction and sentence to the court for review.
Blackman watched the proceedings via video link from jail.
He was convicted in November 2013 by a court and sentenced to life with a minimum term of 10 years. This was later cut to eight years on appeal because of the combat stress he was suffering from at the time of the incident.
He shot the insurgent in Helmand province in 2011 while serving with Plymouth-based 42 Commando.
The CCRC referred the case for review following an 11-month “in-depth” investigation.
It announced it had concluded a number of new issues, including fresh evidence relating to Blackman’s mental state, “raise a real possibility” the Court Martial Appeal Court “will now quash Mr Blackman’s murder conviction”.
Blackman shot the insurgent, who had been seriously injured in an attack by an Apache helicopter, in the chest at close range with a 9mm pistol before quoting a phrase from Shakespeare as the man convulsed and died in front of him.
Blackman’s wife Claire said: “We are obviously disappointed by the judges’ decision not to grant bail this afternoon.
“However we must remember that earlier this month the Criminal Cases Review Commission decided to refer the case back to the Appeal Courts and this is the most important step towards getting Al’s conviction and sentence overturned.
“We are grateful to the courts for expediting the appeal process.”