NEWS

William Hughes QC appears for Respondent in Appeal against conviction of Emma Jayne Magson
Emma Magson was convicted of the murder of her partner at Leicester Crown Court in November 2016 and sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 17 years. On 10th December 2019, the Court of Appeal heard Miss Magson's Appeal against conviction on the basis that new evidence supporting the partial defence to murder of Diminished Responsibility, which was not relied upon at her original trial, meant that her conviction was unsafe. The Appellant seeks to rely on a diagnosis of Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder and Pervasive Development Disorder.
William Hughes QC, who did not appear in the original trial, appeared for the Respondent. Among the issues argued at the hearing was whether the "new" evidence being sought to be relied upon by the Appellant pursuant to s23 (2) Criminal Appeal Act 1968, could and should have been led at the original trial. During the hearing before Fulford LJ VP, Davis J and Johnson J, two psychiatrists who reported on the Appellant at the time of her original trial, gave evidence and were cross-examined.
The case has attracted a great deal of publicity, in part due to the support for the Appellant by the campaign group Women For Justice. The Court has reserved judgment.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-45733551