Introduction
We covered the case of Nathan Matthews and Shuana Hoare who were convicted of the murder and manslaughter of Becky Watts in November 2015.
As was to be expected, both lodged appeals against conviction and sentence last December.
‘Thrown Out’?
On 15th March 2016 the BBC report “Becky Watts murder : Nathan Matthews appeal thrown out“.
This is rather dramatic. We have a fact sheet covering appeals against conviction, but in essence written grounds are sent to the High Court where a Judge looks at them. If s/he thinks that there is merit in it, then they give permission for a full hearing. If not, permission is refused, but an Applicant can renew their case before the Court of Appeal.
In fairness, the BBC do go on to give a bit more of an explanation, but they do appear to have ‘sexed up’ the headline somewhat. The application was simply refused by the Single Judge.
The Guardian on the other hand did a much better job