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The Criminal Cases Review Commission has referred the joint enterprise murder conviction of Kyrone Daley to the Court of Appeal.

On 16 April 2013, at the Central Criminal Court, Mr Daley and his co-defendant were convicted of the murder of Mr Umar Tufail. Mr Daley was sentenced to custody for life, with a minimum term of 22 years.

On Sunday 15 July 2012, Umar Tufail was sitting alone in the driver’s seat of his car parked outside his home.  A second car drew alongside.  It was driven by Mr Daley’s co-defendant. Mr Daley was the front seat passenger.  A shot was fired through the open front passenger window of the second car, hitting Mr Tufail in the head.  The emergency services attended and Mr Tufail was taken to hospital, where he died the following day.

The prosecution alleged that the defendants had followed the victim’s car and that the shooting was an execution, carried out in furtherance of an ongoing dispute between two rival gangs.

At trial Mr Daley denied any knowledge of the gun, or of his co-defendant’s intention. In convicting Mr Daley of murder, the jury must have been sure that Mr Daley knew of the gun and, at least, foresaw that his co-defendant might commit murder by firing the gun.

Mr Daley appealed against his conviction, but the appeal was dismissed by the Court of Appeal on 16 July 2015.

Mr Daley applied to the CCRC in November 2015. Shortly after Mr Daley applied to the CCRC, the Supreme Court delivered its decision in the cases of R-v-Jogee; Ruddock v The Queen  [2016] UKSC 8 (Jogee), which changed the law in relation to joint enterprise convictions involving the liability of secondary parties.

Having considered the case in the light of Jogee, and the subsequent Court of Appeal decision in the case of R-v-Johnson & others [2016] EWCA Crim 1613 (Johnson) the CCRC has decided to refer Mr Daley’s murder conviction to the Court of Appeal because it considers there is a real possibility that the Court will quash the conviction.

The CCRC’s referral is based on the change in the law in relation to the liability of secondary parties brought about by the judgment in Jogee and elaborated in Johnson, and on the basis that the Court of Appeal could conclude that to uphold Mr Daley’s conviction for murder would amount to a ‘substantial injustice’.

Mr Daley was represented in his application to the CCRC by LLM Solicitors, 410a Brixton Road , London, SW9 7AW.

This press release was issued by the Criminal Cases Review Commission. For further enquires call 0121 233 1473 or e-mail press@ccrc.gov.uk

Notes for editors

1. The Commission is an independent body set up under the Criminal Appeal Act 1995. It is responsible for reviewing suspected and alleged miscarriages of criminal justice in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It is based in Birmingham and is funded by the Ministry of Justice.
2. There are currently 12 Commissioners who bring to the Commission considerable experience from a wide variety of backgrounds. Commissioners are appointed by the Queen on the recommendation of the Prime Minister in accordance with the Office for the Commissioner for Public Appointments’ Code of Practice.
3. The Commission usually receives around 1,500 applications for reviews (convictions and/or sentences) each year.  Typically, around 3.5%, or one in 29, of all applications are referred to the appeal courts.
4. The Commission considers whether, as a result of new evidence or argument, there is a real possibility that the conviction would not be upheld were a reference to be made.  New evidence or argument is argument or evidence which has not been raised during the trial or on appeal.  Applicants should usually have appealed first. A case can be referred in the absence of new evidence or argument or an earlier appeal only if there are “exceptional circumstances”.
5. If a case is referred, it is then for the appeal court to decide whether the conviction is unsafe or the sentence unfair.
6. More details about the role and work of the Criminal Cases Review Commission can be found at www.ccrc.gov.uk. The Commission can be found on Twitter using @ccrcupdate and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/criminalcasesreview/