Don Hale, a former newspaper editor, became a key figure in overturning one of Britain's most notorious miscarriages of justice. His work on the Stephen Downing case, which saw a man wrongfully imprisoned for 27 years, led to legal reforms and earned him an OBE. However, his campaign came at a great personal cost, including death threats and apparent attempts on his life.
The case began in 1973 when Wendy Sewell, 32, was found badly beaten in a Bakewell graveyard. Council gardener Stephen Downing, then 17, was arrested and questioned without a solicitor. With a reading age of 11, he was pressured into signing a confession he did not understand. When Sewell died two days later, the charge was upgraded to murder. Downing immediately retracted his confession but was convicted at Nottingham Crown Court.
After 20 years, Downing's parents approached Hale, editor of the Matlock Mercury, for help. Police claimed evidence had been destroyed, but a breakthrough came when Derby Museum staff revealed the murder weapon—a pickaxe handle—was on display. Hale helped Downing secure £13,000 from the Legal Aid Board for a forensic examination, which found no fingerprints of Downing on the weapon but a bloody palm print from an unknown person.
Hale's articles in the Mercury attracted death threats and police harassment. He was stopped and searched, and a brick was thrown through the newspaper's window. On two occasions, a vehicle was driven at him, which he believed were attempts on his life. Despite this, Hale persisted: 'If Downing had done it, why should anyone want to threaten me?'
Downing was ineligible for parole because he refused to admit guilt. Hale took the case to the European Court of Human Rights, winning in 1996. This led to a change in law allowing prisoners maintaining their innocence to apply for parole. The case also contributed to the creation of the Criminal Case Review Commission (CCRC), which recommended Downing's conviction be overturned in 2002.
Since then, Hale has helped free Barry George, convicted of Jill Dando's murder, and cleared the name of footballer Ched Evans after a controversial rape retrial. Reflecting on his journey, Hale said: 'I became a hero in Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Argentina, because I had taken on the British government and won.'
