A CORRUPT former Scottish Police Officer, Detective Inspector Richard Munro (53) has been jailed for FIVE YEARS after a trial found he had changed key witness statements in an investigation over a murder which took place 17 years ago.
Unusually there was no elaborate press release from the Crown Office, who usually publish lengthy media releases when their prosecutors secure such a lengthy sentence (no doubt due to the fact COPFS must be facing some questions for their handling of the prosecution and failure to detect Munro’s evidence tampering – Ed)
The Daily Record reports :
Police officer jailed for five years after helping convict two men for crime they didn't commit
Jul 25 2012 By Charlotte Thomson
A SENIOR policeman whose deceit led to two innocent men being jailed for murder was yesterday locked up for five years. Detective Inspector Richard Munro, 53, changed key witness statements as he investigated the murder of Andrew Forsyth 17 years ago. He concealed evidence and withheld statements to suit his theory about who killed Andrew.
But it led to Steven Johnston and Billy Allison spending 10 years behind bars. They were freed after a judge quashed their dodgy convictions – and now Munro is behind bars instead.
After sentencing yesterday at the High Court in Aberdeen, prosecutors said they had ordered a review of evidence gathered in connection with the murder. A Crown Office spokesman said: “Now that the Munro trial has concluded, the Crown have instructed a review of the evidence relating to the death.”
Johnston, 48, of Oakley, said: “I’d welcome any move to look into it. I know that there’s somebody out there who’s done it. “It’s more for Drew’s mother. I spoke to her during Munro’s trial and she’s not happy.”
Munro led the investigation after Andrew’s body was found in his home in East Wemyss, Fife, on November 5, 1995.
The Fife Constabulary officer had just been promoted and was in charge of his first murder case. But having made up his own mind about the case, he rejected information from witnesses that went against his own belief. Officers were instructed not to make further inquiries of witnesses claiming to have seen the murder victim alive in the days after November 3. The deception began to collapse when defence lawyers requested missing witness statements from the Crown Office.
Senior police questioned Munro about the missing evidence and he claimed not all of the information from door-to-door inquiries had been kept. He also discredited information given by the witnesses in question as unreliable.
Last month, Munro was found guilty of withholding information from prosecutors that could have helped the defence case.
11 comments:
Poetic Justice, I know a number of Police Officers and I believe them to be of the highest integrity. God help the public if the Police start doing what Richard Munro has done.
I am no expert in law by any means but this guy deserved prison. Framing innocent people is shocking for someone in his position. A foolish man who has ruined himself and his career.
For once I think lawyers have done a good job, because without requesting the additional information these men would have stayed in prison. The crooked cop should have been made to serve the same length of sentence as these two men.
Richard Munro did not frame anyone - he was paid to do a job and part of that job was filtering through statements and deciding which witnesses were credible and which were not. Allison and Johnston have not been acquitted of this murder. It seems that there has been a miscarriage of justice and that it has been against Richard Munro.
Surpising that former Detective nspector Munro did not take the usual escape route and retire on the grounds of 'ill-health' so avoiding prosecution - as has ben done many times before.
This also begs the question, what about those other 'officers' who colluded with him to secure the convictions of two innoncent men?
I hope they sue the Scottish 'justice' system for millions, it won't give them back ten years of their lives but it might just discourage some others from doing the same thing again.
I'm looking at the comment claiming there has been a miscarriage of justice against Richard Munro.
Fine.If this is the case then publish your claims in more detail and tell us all why you feel Mr Munro is innocent.
a, He had no access to HOLMES computer system.
b, Not all witness statements were entered into HOLMES computer.
c, HOLMES office manager was same rank as Munro.
d, HOLMES office manager has break down on next case and has to go on sick leave, he does not return.
e, Full disclosure not required in 95 under ECHR.
f, Munro gave PF date of murder as between 1st-9th, not the 3rd.
At the appeal the judge said " I am making no comment on the guilt or innocence of these two men"
Look at the evidence!
The only book in one of their flats was titled " The Butchers Handbook" open at a page describing how to dispose of a human body.
INNOCENT NO, SHAMEFUL YES with 250k in their bloody pockets.
I wouldn't trust any of them as far as I could throw them.
Charlie
open your eyes folks... there is corruption happening all over the uk... including in fife!!
who is there to trust?.. certainly NOT the government! So what makes the police special?
its just a uniform at the end of the day and they let power get the better of them, they speed they tailgate they don't pay full attention to the roads they are driving on either! afterall they are just humans during and after their shift. yet we have to bow to their every command?
Happy days eh? :)
Corruption is happening as we breathe right now in Tayside i can assure you of this, it appears the officers of the Tayside Police have a price if they are to be involved in a disgraceful "frame" of an innocent man because the true drug pushers have the money to buy the police, so to speak and this ill-healthed innocent man has nowhere to turn and right now has been turned even far more ill-healthed as he knows this is happening but does not know what to do as practically everyone he knows has been turned against him not knowing how or why this is being done but knows there is a certain Mr Holmes at the heart of this disgrace to humanity. Help would be much obliged by this man who's life has been tore apart.
Drew lived in Dunfermline, not East Wemyss.
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