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Justice for Kevin Samuel Cole Convicted of murder on the "Fleeting Glimpse" identification evidence of one person alone. Sam Cole is serving a life sentence for murder he was convicted in 1998 for the murder of John Dookie and the attempted murder of James Thomas Handyside. Sam Cole has always vigorously protested his innocence. There is no forensic evidence to connect Sam to the murder there was no confession. Sam was convicted on the identification evidence of one person Mrs Ellis who saw a man chasing Handyside towards the Variety Public House in Preston. She describes that man as white, 5' 10" to 5' 11" wearing a striped top, which she describes in some detail and speaking with a local accent(Prestonion), Sam is of mixed race he is 6' 3", it was accepted by the prosecution that he was wearing a plain top on that day and he speaks with a distinct Liverpool accent. Mrs Ellis was later to pick Sam out in an identity parade when all the participants remained seated. Despite Sam taking part in a further eight identification parades none of those witnesses picked him out. including Handyside Mrs Ellis was later to say in court that if Sam was 6' 3" he could not have been the man chasing Handyside. Sam was convicted along with two others, Stephen Mellor and Anthony Kirk. Mellor and Kirk are now admitting to the murder and Kirk has stated that he was the man chasing Handyside, in fact he admitted this to Police when he was arrested and before Sam Cole was arrested. Kirk fits the description given by Mrs Ellis right down to the striped top, Kirk was never put on an ID parade for Mrs Ellis to see. Sam's Mother Sue has protested her son's innocence and came to Merseyside Against Injustice for help we have now found new evidence in the form of two witnesses one of whom says that he can alibi Sam. Things are looking better Sam now has the support of 28 MPs led by his own MP Louise Ellman and has started to receive some positive press coverage for his case. Now comes the down side as a result of this Sam has now been sent down the block for allegedly assaulting a prison officer, it is not being said that Sam actually touched anyone but at 6' 3" and muscular his very appearance is thought to be intimidating and so constitutes an assault. Whilst down the block a further allegation has now been made against Sam that one of his visitors tried to pass him 'something'. As a category "A" prisoner Sam is searched before and after visits, nothing has been found and no allegations were made at the time even the date when this incident is supposed to have occurred is not the date when he had the visit from the particular individual they are referring to. We anticipate more. Louise Ellman and Sam's prisoner rights solicitor are looking into it Please send messages of solidarity to Sam: Sam Cole The Case of Kevin Samuel Cole On the 18th of February 1997 Kevin Samuel Cole - known to his family and friends as 'Sam' walked into a police station in Liverpool as a free man. It was his last day of freedom. The following year at Preston Crown Court he was convicted of murder. Sam remains in prison to this day. From the outset Sam protested his innocence but his protestations of innocence fell on deaf ears. Seemingly, the police and the authorities were hell bent on obtaining a conviction. They cobbled the evidence together, which was later to prove the downfall of Sam Cole. But Sam Cole is innocent and the evidence proves it. At the time Sam was a young man of 20 years from Liverpool. He had no previous convictions for violence or drug related matters. On 14th February 1997, at about 6pm, the deceased, a man named Dookie and his friend Handyside (who was also badly assaulted) were walking along St Peters Street, Preston. It was Valentines Day. Dookie and Handyside were attacked by a large group of males and Dookie was fatally stabbed. The prosecution told the jury that there was an ongoing drug feud between Dookie and Handyside on the one part and two other men named Kirk and Mellor. Kirk and Mellor were arrested and are also serving life imprisonment for the murder of Dookie and the assault on Handyside. Witnesses say that between 8 and 20 others were involved in the attack, but other than Sam, no others were arrested in connection with the murder or the assault. There was absolutely no evidence to suggest that Sam was involved in either in the supply of drugs to Kirk and Mellor or in business of drug supplying generally. There was no evidence that Sam was involved in the attack that led to the death of Dookie and remarkably, Handyside did not identify Sam as being responsible for either the attack on him or the attack on Dookie. The evidence presented to the court was that Kirk was the person responsible for inflicting the fatal wounds, which led to Dookie's death. Handyside ran from the scene nursing his wounds. He ran into the nearby Variety Public House and was being pursued by one of the gang. The prosecution told the jury that Sam was the person chasing Handyside and he therefore must have been involved in the attack. · Sam was put on eight identification parades. Amongst others, Handyside, was unable to identify Sam but one witness named Linda Ellis picked Sam out as being the person chasing Handyside into the pub. Linda Ellis was on her way home from the shops when Handyside and her pursuer ran past. She caught a fleeting glimpse of the two men and heard the voice of the man chasing Handyside. The physical description given by Linda Ellis to the police of the man chasing Handyside does not match Sam. · Linda Ellis said the man was 5'10" tall, wearing a striped top and had a local accent. Sam is 6'3" tall and has a strong Liverpool accent. At the time he was wearing a plain coloured top, which can be proven by a shop video, which recorded his picture only 20 minutes before the incident. · Furthermore, when the police interviewed Kirk, they told him that from the evidence, they were convinced that he was the person that chased Handyside into the pub. Kirk agreed and it is therefore obvious that Linda Ellis made a dreadful mistake when she picked out Sam from the identification parade. Kirk is 5'11" and has a local accent and was wearing a striped top. Out of 122 witnesses that gave evidence at the trial, Linda Ellis is the only witness against Sam. The only connection Sam had with Kirk was that Sam's girlfriend was the sister of Kirks girlfriend. The prosecution at trial alleged that Kirk and Mellor had recruited Sam to take part in the attack. They said that phone calls were made between Kirk and Sam. But the phone calls were one way, from Sam to Kirk. Sam was trying to locate his girlfriend to make arrangements to go out that night (Valentines Day) and nothing more. Unable to locate his girlfriend by phone, Sam travelled to Preston from Liverpool. His girlfriend was out and after speaking to Kirk, Sam decided to return to Liverpool and left prior to the attack on Dookie and Handyside. Sam is adamant that he was not involved in the subsequent attack that led to Dookies death and the assault on Handyside. The time given for Sam arriving back in Liverpool is evidence that he could not have been involved. There are no witnesses, no DNA or forensic evidence to link Sam to the attack. Sam never was and never has been involved in drugs or the supplying of drugs. He is not a violent man and has been caught up in something, which had nothing to do with him. Family and friends of Sam are desperate for any information, which may help in proving Sam's innocence. His mother Sue is beside herself with grief and worry. If you can help, in any way at all, then please contact: Merseyside Against Injustice PO Box 51 |