Barry George 11 years of struggle from Jill Dando's death to compensation claim
Barry George was released from prison 15 years ago after his conviction for the murder of Jill Dando was overturned.
He's never received compensation after spending eight years behind bars and Metropolitan Police have yet to find the real killer. Barry, now 63, has told the Mirror about why he's participated in the upcoming Netflix documentary Who Killed Jill Dando? Barry, 63, told the Mirror: “The end game is I want to show, publicly, that there’s no way I could have done this.”
Asked if he felt free, he paused, and said: “Not when I feel like I’m having to look over my shoulder all the time in case there are people following me about, or police forces potentially trying to fit me up for something else. In that sense, I don’t feel free. To be outside a prison wall, yes I feel free, to a certain degree.
Barry George spent eight years in prison for a crime he did not commit (PA)
Jill Dando was shot outside her home in West London in April 1999 (PA)"I’ve got some liberty back, but not my full liberty. I’ve been found unanimously not guilty through appeal, and I’ve been released. I rise to the challenge, because if I don’t then there are many people out there who would walk over me.”
Barry and his family are still haunted by what they insist was a police witch hunt against the “local strange person” – he has Asperger’s, frontal lobe brain damage, ADHD, learning difficulties, epilepsy and is diabetic. Barry said: “I have my difficulties, but I don’t let that get in the way of defending myself.” Popular TV presenter Jill was 37 when she was killed on her doorstep in Fulham, west London, in April 1999.
Netflix announces Jill Dando documentary 20 years after tragic shooting
Barry George received no compensation (Philip Coburn)At Barry’s original trial, the jury heard that the assailant held Jill with his right arm and forced her to the ground, then, with his left hand, fired a single shot, killing her instantly. Barry, who lived close to Jill, was convicted by a 10-1 majority in 2001 largely due to a particle of gunpowder found in his pocket. In the 2008 re-trial, that particle was found to be so small that it was inadmissible as evidence. Now living in Ireland, Barry says he was followed by police in London after his release in 2008 and is still taunted over his wrongful conviction.
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said: " The investigation into the murder of Ms Dando was moved to an inactive phase in 2014. The decision was taken by a case closure panel. While the case has not been formally reopened and is therefore not subject to routine reviews, detectives would consider any new information provided to the Met to determine whether it represented a new and realistic line of enquiry."
Below we've outlined how Barry's life has been impacted since Jill's murder.
Timeline
April 26 1999: Jill Dando is shot dead at around 11.35am on her doorstep.
May 25, 2000: Police arrest Barry George following surveillance of his home.
May 29, 2000: Police charge George with murdering Dando.
July 2, 2001: A jury finds George guilty of murder. He is later sentenced to life imprisonment.
July 29, 2002: George loses an appeal against his conviction at the Court of Appeal in London. Three judges rejected his claim that his conviction was ‘unsafe’.
December 16, 2002: The House of Lords refuses permission for George to mount a further challenge to his conviction. The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) continues to look at the case.
March 25, 2006: It emerges that lawyers for George have submitted new evidence to the CCRC which they believe undermines the safety of his conviction.
Jill Dando's brother hopes Netflix series will find killer after years of pain
They say they have new medical evidence which suggests George’s mental problems would have made him incapable of carrying out the crime, and that new witnesses who were not heard at the original trial may provide an explanation for why a particle of gunshot residue was found on his coat.
August 1, 2008: He receives a unanimous acquittal by a jury after being granted a retrial.
May 2009: Barry threatened with a gun to his head and told to “watch your back” while living in East London. Claims he was harassed by police after acquittal.
2009: He leaves the UK to live in Ireland, where he remains.
January 2010: His claim for compensation for lost earnings and wrongful imprisonment is rejected. Judges who said that “there was a case upon where a reasonable jury, properly directed, could have convicted the claimant”.
- Who Killed Jill Dando? will be released on Netflix on September 26.
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