Mark Alexander

Legal academic who was wrongly convicted and imprisoned for more than 16 years

[Mark Alexander @PatientCaptive]

Mark has written to @CPSuk today asking for any information they may have in relation to the new information that has emerged in his case thanks to the efforts of investigative journalist @Robin_Eveleigh and disclosure received from a raft of UK banks

https://t.co/252yV40Kfo

[The Justice Gap @justicegap.bsky.social @JusticeGap]

Police accused of 'tunnel vision' by campaigners for prisoner claiming to be wrongly convicted for murder of father. Supporters of @PatientCaptive say police should have investigated list of father's ‘enemies’ which happened to include lottery conman https://t.co/myCjMfLdEA

[Robin Eveleigh @Robin_Eveleigh]

Why does that matter? Mark's defence was that Samuel must have been killed by someone else, but what was missing from his narrative was evidence of the kind of people in Samuel's circle.

[Mark Alexander @PatientCaptive]

"Did the police not investigate because they thought that might undermine their narrative and jeopardise their case, or was it erroneous?" asks Dr Naughton @EmpowerInnocent "Either way, it could have a major impact on the safety of Mark’s conviction"

https://t.co/YAxZIHDoJq

[Mark Alexander @PatientCaptive]

A builder who once rented an apartment from Sami Alexander and served time in prison has never been questioned in relation to his former landlord’s murder, despite appearing on a list of 'enemies' drawn up by Sami. The pair shared an interest in fraud https://t.co/1eTva2VYJb

[Mark Alexander @PatientCaptive]

Legal expert Dr Michael Naughton from @EmpowerInnocent argues this latest lead "could have a major impact on the safety of Mark’s conviction. All of these 'enemies' should have been properly investigated. They should have been interviewed under police caution"

[Mark Alexander @PatientCaptive]

The suspect fits the profile of the kind of person we have been looking for, a professional builder with criminal connections and a link to the world of fraud that Sami was immersed in, but was he involved? Establishing his movements between September and November 2009 is key.

[Mark Alexander @PatientCaptive]

The first exhibit handed to police when they came to speak to Mark in his flat was Sami's address book, yet no attempt was made to trace Eddie Putman, a builder with a string of criminal convictions including stabbing a neighbour and fraud, reveals @DailyMailUK today

[Mark Alexander @PatientCaptive]

In an extraordinary piece of investigative work, journalist @Robin_Eveleigh has identified a new suspect in Mark's case who was never interviewed by police, in spite of the fact that he appeared on a list of 'enemies' in Sami's address book

[Daily Mail @DailyMail]

'There was a lot more going on. They've made a mistake' @tomreporter

🔗 https://t.co/BkeA3BlwLl

[Mark Alexander @PatientCaptive]

Those calling for the protection of our jury system ought to be calling for its reform as well: reasoned verdicts to improve transparency, the abolition of majority verdicts (introduced under the Criminal Justice Act 1967), and allowing jurors to put questions to expert witnesses

[Mark Alexander @PatientCaptive]

"Jury defenders inflate the jury's importance... In heaping unquestioning praise on the jury, the commentators deceive themselves and the public"
- Penny Darbyshire, 'The lamp that shows that freedom lives - is it worth the candle?' https://t.co/5DyVvuNPDg

[The Longford Trust @LongfordTrust]

Dame Rachel De Souza makes a huge demand - “We have to close all youth prisons now”

[Mark Alexander @PatientCaptive]

Congratulations to @libertychoiruk for winning this year’s @LongfordTrust prize!

“volunteers are drawn from a wide variety of backgrounds, united by a belief in the power of music to humanise a shunned and often brutalised community”

https://t.co/m9YUpHbdcL

[Mark Alexander @PatientCaptive]

"Look at the lessons of Youth Justice, which is about tackling the causes [of crime]. If you are going to use custody, make it a place where you are likely to be supported to change rather than just held" - Dame Anne Owers

https://t.co/goZtPbYOs5

[Mark Alexander @PatientCaptive]

This @PrisonsWeek marks 50 years of church outreach projects, supporting prisoners to break the chains of their past and set out on a new path towards a better future

https://t.co/23S0osqFoz

[Mark Alexander @PatientCaptive]

Lord Mance's (2013) reflections that "the objective of promoting civic responsibility and respect for the law might be undermined, rather than enhanced, by denying serving prisoners the right to vote" highlights the importance of universal franchise in a stable democracy

[Mark Alexander @PatientCaptive]

"It is a personal injustice to withhold from any one… the privilege of having his voice reckoned. There ought to be no pariahs in a full-grown and civilised nation" - John Stuart Mill @unlockcharity #UnlocktheVote

[Mark Alexander @PatientCaptive]

J. S. Mill argues political engagement is essential to fostering a sense of belonging:
"Whoever has no vote will either be a permanent malcontent, or will feel as one whom the general affairs of society do not concern, for whom they are to be managed by others" #UnlocktheVote

[Mark Alexander @PatientCaptive]

"Why raise barriers to democracy for those who most need to re-join it? Successful reintroduction into society depends on civic engagement. While prisoners lose liberty, they shouldn't lose citizenship" @unlockcharity @paula_harriott

Unlock the Vote: https://t.co/CyhG3yDOLI

[Mark Alexander @PatientCaptive]

New @ccrcupdate Chair @VeraBaird aims to inspire staff to “look at each application believing it is a miscarriage of justice… and not stop investigating until we are sure it is not. We must believe the applicant, look at the whole case and see it through” https://t.co/hhAJ4E5UOU

[Mark Alexander @PatientCaptive]

The transcendental and transformative potential of music in prisons is remarkable. In these often bleak and insipid spaces where all might seem lost, music nourishes and heals, reconnecting us with our humanity @libertychoiruk @MusicMagazine https://t.co/PO3C8215GE