A Welsh man who spent 11 years in prison after being wrongly convicted of murder is raising money to restore the grave of the victim he was accused of killing, saying the man has been “largely forgotten” nearly four decades after the crime.Michael O’Brien, one of the Cardiff Newsagent Three, has launched the fundraising effort after visiting the grave of Philip Saunders, a Cardiff newsagent murdered in 1987, BBC reports.“It just sort of hit home that one, the killer was still at large, and two, this man has largely been forgotten about,” O’Brien said.Saunders was fatally attacked with a shovel outside his home after returning from work carrying the day’s takings. Investigators believed the assault was linked to a robbery.
Convictions overturned after 11 years
O’Brien, along with Darren Hall and Ellis Sherwood, was convicted of Saunders’ murder in 1988 and sentenced to life imprisonment.The convictions were quashed by the Court of Appeal in 1999, after the case became one of Wales’ most significant miscarriages of justice. During the appeal, Hall’s confession, which had been central to the prosecution’s case, was found to be unreliable.Despite their release, Saunders’ killer has never been identified.
Police reopen investigation
In June, South Wales Police announced a fresh review of the case, saying advances in forensic science could help identify the person responsible.O’Brien welcomed the decision.“I cannot fault them for the efforts they’re putting in to rectify, not only the wrongful conviction but also to find the real killer for Philip Saunders,” he said.“This should have been a long time ago. Now, there’s a real possibility we can find who did this.”
Campaign to honour the victim
O’Brien said meeting Saunders’ relatives while filming a television documentary in 2022 had a lasting impact on him. After recently leaving flowers at the grave, he decided to raise funds for a new headstone for the family.“I really feel for them, for the pain they’ve gone through,” he said.Although he never knew Saunders personally, O’Brien said he wanted to help preserve the victim’s memory.“I just want to do whatever I can, not only to catch the real killer, but also to remember Philip Saunders, because I think he deserves to be remembered,” he said.“He was a good guy. Nobody’s got a bad word to say about Mr Saunders. He was a hardworking man.”Since his release, O’Brien has campaigned on behalf of victims of miscarriages of justice. In 2002, he received £692,900 in compensation, although £37,500 was deducted to cover living expenses while he was in prison. The policy allowing those deductions was abolished in 2023, but the UK government said the change would not apply retrospectively.