We felt that this was a very interesting legal and sociological moment and were interested straight away. With Naughton's help we have spoken with the organiser Professor Mark Godsey and after negotiation received permission to go and record the event. This negotiation took sometime because the privacy of the exonorees is something that has to be protected at all times. Previous experiences with "the media" led Godsey to be highly sensitive about our approach.
However, we were able to not only convince him but demonstrate two things, one, that we are not a "media/journalistic organisation" but historians documenting moment, and two, that we have worked with vulnerable people and victims of miscarriage of justice extensively whilst placing their rights before our own perceived needs. In addition we would be working with the two exonorees who will be attending from this country, Paul Blackburn and Gerry Conlon.
Our intention is to document the journey of these two men as they meet others from different cultures and jurisdictions who have suffered the same fate in life, to be wrongly imprisoned for a crime they did not commit. During the course of this journey Paul and Gerry will share their conversations and discuss how even when released the sentence still remains; who do they turn to for support, only their peers understand their issues.
We need financial support and quickly to make this film happen. We were notified very late in the day regarding this project and now need to raise an amount close to £10,000 to make this happen. That's 1000 people giving £10 or a law firm or a barrister sharing some of their earnings in the belief that miscarriage of justice needs to be addressed and the process of contesting a conviction requires detailed examination.
If you can help us make this important film then we will all be grateful for any support we receive. You can donate on the button on this page or you can contact us at info@humanrightstv.com requesting any further information or ways of paying.
Dr Michael Naughton after the rejection by the Court of Appeal of the recent Simon Hall appeal. Here, Dr Naughton speaks plainly about what appears to be a shocking case of miscarriage of justice where one man is in prison on the most tenuous and discredited of evidence whilst other more compelling evidence remains undisclosed. The issues behind this film are not just of academic or legal interest, they are an issue for a democratic society and the need to create as much material as possible about this issue is pressing.
Jack Adams.
For this journey not to be documented as record
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