Justin Plummer, who spent 28 years in prison for a murder he did not commit, has spoken out about his wrongful conviction in a new true crime documentary. The episode airs tonight (Monday, October 19) at 9pm on Crime+Investigation as part of the series Convictions Gone Bad with Will Mellor, hosted by former Hollyoaks star Will Mellor.
Case Background
The synopsis explains: "Following the murder of a woman during a violent attack, detectives identify local burglar Justin Plummer as their prime suspect. Although eyewitnesses place someone matching his description near the scene, there is no direct evidence connecting him to the crime."
It continues: "Maintaining his innocence, he begins a decades-long fight to overturn the verdict, spending 28 years sleeping on the floor of his cell in protest. Even after the forensic evidence is discredited, the battle continues. Having spent nearly 30 years in prison, Justin faces one final struggle to secure his freedom."
Justin's Account
In the episode, Justin tells Will: "Back in the day in '97 I weren't exactly an angel and basically I was committing burglaries." He recalled hearing about the crime before his arrest: "I had actually, yeah. It was on national TV, that a woman of I think it was 38, had been murdered in a ferocious, vicious attack in a caravan."
Describing his reaction to the accusation, Justin said it "devastated me, gutted. Wounded." He added: "It's like, you know when something really bad happens to you, and you get that really cold feeling inside you? Yeah. So I had that, and then I went downstairs and puked up. I was in shock. All right. I'm not an angel, yeah. I am doing burglaries, I admit that, yeah, but I ain't going around murdering women. Do you know what I mean? Definitely not."
Life in Prison and Release
Justin revealed that being in prison means "you've got no control over your life." He said: "All I can say to you, yeah, right, is it was really stressful. Made me feel suicidal, yeah, many a times. And I just dealt with it the best I could."
After 28 years, Justin was released, admitting the first thing he did was "laugh" before seeing his son. Janice Cartwright-Gilbert was 38 when she was killed in 1998, viciously attacked before the caravan she was living in was set alight. The real killer has not been found. Convictions Gone Bad with Will Mellor airs every Monday at 9pm on Crime+Investigation.
