Stephen Downing case
The Stephen Downing case involved the conviction and imprisonment in 1974 of a 17-year-old council worker, Stephen Downing, for the murder of a 32-year-old legal secretary, Wendy Sewell, in the town of Bakewell in the Peak District in central England. Following a campaign by a local newspaper, his conviction was overturned in 2002, after Downing had served 27 years in prison. The case is thought to be the longest miscarriage of justice in British legal history, and attracted worldwide media attention.
History
Assault
Wendy Sewell was attacked, in Bakewell Cemetery, at lunchtime on 12 September 1973. A witness, Charles Carman, saw her enter the cemetery at about 12.50 pm. She was beaten around the head with the handle of a pickaxe, and sexually assaulted - her trousers, pants, plimsolls and parts of her bra had been removed. She died from her injuries in Chesterfield Royal Hospital two days later.
Trial
The 17-year-old cemetery groundskeeper, Stephen Downing, was the primary suspect. He told police that he had found Sewell lying on the ground, covered in blood, and that her blood got on his clothes because she shook her head. Despite having learning difficulties and a reading age of 11, he was arrested, questioned for nine hours without a solicitor present, and signed a confession.