Catching Britain’s Killers: The Crimes that Changed Us TV - Evidence-Based Justice Lab online -
‘The police were absolutely hostile to begin with.’ Catching Britain’s Killers: The Crimes that Changed Us III ***** Justice lady, BBC 2019
Radio Times: After the body of Maxwell Confait was found in his south London bedsit in April 1972, three boys were quickly arrested and questioned. Confait had been strangled, and the trio – Colin Lattimore (18) who had learning difficulties, Ronnie Leighton, 15, and Ahmet Salih, 14 – confessed their supposed involvement to police. ibid.
In the early 1970s the questioning of a suspect often took place in a cellblock, and with no independent witness, the only version of what was said came from the police themselves. The three boys were taken to Lewisham police station. ibid.
All three boys were being tried for arson, but Colin and Ronnie were also standing trial for the murder. They all pleaded their not guilty and protested their innocence. ibid.
‘The confession had been obtained under threats, duress without strong evidence … The police behaved badly.’ ibid. brief
‘Colin’s alibi was absolutely superb.’ ibid.
Life sentences with no time limit. ibid.
Colin Lattimore, Robbie Leighton, and Ahmet Salih were convicted of the murder of Maxwell Confait. They came to the attention of the police after being connected to a series of small fires in the area of the murder. All thee falsely confessed and signed false confessions after hours of police interrogation without legal representation or advice. Two of the men were illiterate and of very low intelligence and the third spoke English as a second language. On appeal, new forensic evidence was introduced relating to time of death that challenged the time of death evidence given at trial, and alibi evidence suggested the boys could not have committed the murder at that time. The Court of Appeal quashed all charges. The case was important in bringing about the 1984 Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) which safeguards suspects during police interviews. Evidence-Based Justice Lab online article