The First Miscarriage of Justice

'I would have been the firsta - a Then there [were] the Birmingham Six, the Bridgewater Four and the Cardiff Three. Eacha - a another nail in my coffin': Tony Stock, 2008. The story of Tony Stock is astonishing: deeply disturbing it sent out ripples of disquiet when he was sentenced to ten years for robbery at Leeds Assizes in 1970. Over the next 40 years the case went to the Court of Appeal four times and has the distinction of being the first to have been referred to that court twice by the Criminal Cases Review Commission. Tony Stock died in 2012 still fighting to clear his name: spending from his meagre savings to hire private investigators and hoping beyond hope to see justice. Jon Robins takes up where Stock left off undertaking new research with the support of Glyn Maddocks, Stock's lawyer, and Ralph Barrington, formerly the CCRC's investigations adviser. Previously head of Essex CID, Barrington was so shocked at how the Court of Appeal treated Stock that he pursued it after he retired. 'If anyone seriously believes the Court of Appeal has reformed itself since the dark days of the Birmingham Six and Guildford Four, they should study the unreported and amazing case of Tony Stock': Private Eye. 'One of the most outrageous miscarriages of justice of modern times': Barry Sheerman, Labour MP for Huddersfield. 'I would have thought that the injustice done to Tony [Stock] was fairly self-evident and yet his conviction still stands. I find this very difficult to accept': Ralph Barrington, investigations adviser at the Criminal Cases Review Commission. 'The fight for justice that will not die': Yorkshire Post.