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No review of William Wallace’s conviction for treason in 1305

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Danielle Marshall
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« on: April 21, 2009, 02:18:08 am »

No review of William Wallace’s conviction for treason in 1305

Two miscarriages of justice watchdogs have formally ruled that the name of Scots hero William Wallace can never be cleared.

The body that examines potential miscarriages of justice in Scotland was asked to review Wallace's 700-year-old conviction, widely regarded as trumped-up charges against the man who led the Scottish army in the Wars of Independence.

However, the Scottish Criminal Case Review Commission has decided it has no jurisdiction over the London court that found him guilty of treason.

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SCCRC chief executive Gerry Sinclair said: "I was asked whether we could consider the conviction of William Wallace. I had to point out that, as he had been tried and punished in London, it did not fall within our jurisdiction, but would be for the English Commission to consider."

Mr Sinclair said his team also decided not to refer the case to the Court of Appeal on the grounds that it would not be in the public interest to do so.

He said: "Our own statutory provisions place no time limit on the review of cases, but clearly some time limit has to be applied, as it cannot be in the interests of justice to spend public time and resources on historical miscarriages which can achieve no practical benefit today."

The SCCRC's English counterpart yesterday confirmed it would never pursue the Wallace case.

The Criminal Case Review Commission said it would not review cases such as Wallace's because of tougher appeal court rules south of the border.

Scots historians have long claimed that William Wallace was wrongly convicted of treason in London in 1305, accused of betraying an English crown he did not recognise.

Many of these experts have been keen to see a review of the case, saying the trial was designed to show that English law held sway north of the border.

Professor Tom Devine, head of the school of history, classics and archaeology at Edinburgh University, said: "The treason charge was simply a concoction based on the assumption that Scotland was a province of England and in that sense it was a mistrial.

"Scotland had been recognised as an independent nation by the Papacy and, therefore, any treason charge was just a reflection of an arrogant English monarchy."


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http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/news/display.var.2502950.0.No_review_of_William_Wallaces_conviction_for_treason_in_1305.php
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Danielle Marshall
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« Reply #1 on: April 21, 2009, 02:20:44 am »

The Scottish Criminal Case Review Commission decided this, and this man is their national hero??

Rubbish!
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