Murder case to go to third appeal
The murder conviction of a former member of the Ulster Defence Regiment was today referred back to the Court of Appeal in the North for a third time.
In what was being described as a landmark decision, the Criminal Cases Review Commission confirmed it was referring the conviction of Neil Latimer back to the Court of Appeal.
It is the first time in Northern Ireland that a murder case has been referred three times for appeal.
Latimer was one of a group of four UDR members convicted of murdering the brother of a Sinn Fein councillor in Armagh in November 1983.
Adrian Carroll, who was 24, was shot dead by a loyalist gunman in an alleyway off Abbey Street in Armagh as he walked home from work.
He was struck by three bullets from a .38 calibre revolver which had no prior history of being used in loyalist shootings.
The murder was claimed by the Protestant Action Force.
The ‘‘UDR Four’’, who were part of a Land Rover patrol in the area at the time of the shooting, were convicted of the murder in 1986.
The prosecution maintained the gunman came from the patrol and was helped by his colleagues.
Latimer was also convicted of possession of a revolver with intent to endanger life.
In May 1988, convictions against the ‘‘UDR Four’’ were upheld despite concerns about the reliability of evidence given by a woman witness, Witness A.
In July 1991, the case was referred back to the Court of Appeal following the release of police interview notes which were rewritten in at least 18 instances.
His three colleagues, Jim Hagan, Noel Bell and Winston Allen, had their convictions quashed in July 1992 but Latimer’s appeal was dismissed.
Latimer was set free from prison under license two-and-a-half years ago under the Good Friday Agreement’s early release scheme.
The UDR Four’s case was championed by a number of public figures including author Robert Kee and politicians including the Democratic Unionists’ Ian Paisley Junior and Peter Robinson, and Ulster Unionist security spokesman Ken Maginnis.
The Criminal Cases Review Commission reopened the case after a portfolio of new evidence was submitted to them in 1997 by Latimer’s solicitor, Joe Rice.
Mr Rice said today: ‘‘The commission has gone through this evidence with a fine-tooth comb and has carried out its own investigations.
‘‘They have looked at the evidence of Witness A again, concerns about the availability of solicitors after Mr Latimer was charged and have carried out word analysis as well.’’
Mr Rice said his client was ‘‘very positive’’ about the decision to refer his case back to the Appeal Court.
‘‘He is looking forward to appealing his conviction after serving 14 years in jail and of maintaining his innocence.
It is expected that the appeal will take place in the new year.
