Conviction Of Michael Shields
The conviction of Liverpool F.C. supporter Michael Shields resulted from the attempted murder of Bulgarian citizen, Martin Georgiev on 30 May 2005 with a stone in the Black Sea resort of Golden Sands, Bulgaria, following Liverpool F.C.'s 2005 UEFA Champions League win. Shields was arrested and subsequently convicted for the attack. Shields launched two appeals against his conviction amid a high profile campaign, in 2005 and 2006, but they both failed and the original verdict was affirmed. His prison term was reduced from 15 to 10 years after the second appeal – but with an increase in fine. With parole, he would have been due for release in 2010.
On 9 September 2009 Justice Secretary Jack Straw granted Shields a full Royal Pardon, citing evidence that had only recently been brought to his attention. However, Straw refused to announce details about the new evidence. Shields became the first British citizen to be granted such a pardon after being convicted overseas. The Ministry of Justice of Bulgaria has requested the official documents for the Pardon and the evidence, on which it is based, from the British government. Criticism was levelled against Jack Straw from many quarters alleging that the release of Shields was cynical ploy to buy votes in the upcoming General Election in the city of Liverpool.
Read more about Conviction Of Michael Shields: The Incident, Justice Campaign, Appeals, Return To Britain, Police and MoJ Memoranda, Release, Controversy
Famous quotes containing the words conviction of, conviction, michael and/or shields:
“Too much traffic with a quotation book begets a conviction of ignorance in a sensitive reader. Not only is there a mass of quotable stuff he never quotes, but an even vaster realm of which he has never heard.”
—Robertson Davies (b. 1913)
“... the truth is hidden from us. Even if a mere piece of luck brings us straight to it, we shall have no grounded conviction of our success; there are so many similar objects, all claiming to be the real thing.”
—Lucian (c. 120–c. 180)
“To tell you the truth, I’m relieved that the Van Ripers are not coming. He’s telling the same jokes he told twenty years ago and she dyes her hair. I think it’s a shrimp pink now.”
—Adele Comandini, and Edward Sutherland. Michael O’Brien (Charles Winninger)
“No other man-made device since the shields and lances of the ancient knights fulfills a man’s ego like an automobile.”
—Sir William Rootes (1894–1964)