A BRAIN-damaged man jailed for the murder of a shopkeeper has had his conviction overturned 34 years after cops forced a false confession.
The 54-year-old was a teen when he was jailed for shooting Baldev Hoondle in the back of the head in east London in 1990.
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He was arrested over the fatal shooting during an off-licence robbery and interviewed without a lawyer.
The brain-damaged teen was pressed by cops into making a false murder confession.
He was convicted of murder and robbery, while a friend, Eric Samuels, was found guilty of just the robbery.
Campbell was freed on licence in 2002 but had to live under restrictions which meant he needed permission to get a job.
He was also blocked from travelling abroad under the restrictions, which have been overturned today.
Three judges ruled on Wednesday that Oliver Campbell’s conviction for the murder of Baldev Hoondle in Hackney in July 1990 was “unsafe”.
Mr Campbell was 21 when he was jailed following a trial at the Old Bailey, having also been convicted of conspiracy to rob.
His case was referred to the Court of Appeal by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) which investigates potential miscarriages of justice, in 2022, with barristers telling the court in February that “compelling” new evidence proved Mr Campbell “cannot be” the killer.
In their ruling, Lord Justice Holroyde, sitting with Mr Justice Bourne and Mrs Justice Stacey, said they had “concluded that the convictions are unsafe”.
He said: “We accept that, considered in the light of the fresh evidence, the rulings might be different.”
He continued: “A jury knowing of the fresh evidence would be considering the reliability of those confessions in a materially different context.
“In those circumstances, we cannot say that the fresh evidence could not reasonably have affected the decision of the jury to convict.”
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