George Davis (robber)
| George Davis | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1941 (age 75–76) Ireland, Dublin |
| Occupation | Driver |
| Criminal penalty | 20 years (released under Prerogative of Mercy) 15 years 18 months |
| Spouse(s) | Rose (div.1976) Second wife, Jennifer |
| Children | Rick Davis Deanna Davis (d.2001) |
| Conviction(s) | Armed robbery (three times) |
George Davis (born 1941) is a former armed robber, born in the Republic of Ireland and active in England, who became widely known through a very successful campaign by friends and supporters to free him from prison after his wrongful conviction in March 1975 for an armed payroll robbery at the London Electricity Board (LEB) offices in Ilford, Essex on 4 April 1974. The conviction was based solely on the unreliable use of identification evidence, in the absence of any other evidence connecting him with the crime. Following his release Davis went on to be jailed for two other cases of armed robbery.
The robbery for which Davis was convicted involved a long chase with a number of vehicles commandeered and other robbers injured. Unusually, the initial payroll attack was photographed by undercover police officers and this evidence together with eye witness descriptions and alleged identifications of individual robbery 'roles' further complicated and confounded the subsequent identification evidence on which the criminal prosecution relied.
A number of blood samples (matching different blood groups) were recovered and formed part of the prosecution case. Of four accused, only Davis was convicted. At a number of very specific locations Davis was identified but the blood obtained from the location did not match his blood; neither did the blood match any of his co-accused.
A further complication turned on the fact that Davis might never have been committed for trial from the lower courts had blood test results been disclosed at the committal stage. Although it subsequently became clear that the evidence had by then become available to police, it was suppressed and this abuse of due process became one of the core allegations heavily relied upon by those campaigning for the release of Davis.
"The blood samples taken from ... Davis ... at Walthamstow on 18 May 1974 were passed on to the Yard's Senior Scientific Officer, Peter Martin, on 21 May and he reported his negative findings to the police officer in charge of the case on 20 June. At as late as November 1974 on a third bail application, this time before a judge in chambers, and after committals had been completed (28 October) the police were saying that they still awaited the blood results from forensic."
On 19 August 1975, while Davis was serving a 20-year prison sentence for the Ilford LEB robbery, the pitch at the Headingley cricket ground was dug up by his supporters, preventing further play in the Test Match between England and Australia. This dramatic direct action protest by relatives and friends of George Davis was accompanied by typical Davis Campaign graffiti proclaiming "FREE GEORGE DAVIS ... JUSTICE FOR GEORGE DAVIS ... GEORGE DAVIS IS INNOCENT ... SORRY IT HAD TO [BE] DONE". Three men and one woman went on trial in relation to this incident, and one, Peter Chappell, was eventually jailed for eighteen months. The Davis campaigners who were remanded to prison to await trial for the Headingley sabotage continued their campaigning in support of one another within the prison system. Geraldine Hughes, the female accused, refused to accept bail until it had also been granted to all of her co-accused.
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