A bestselling crime author was among the speakers at a special church service held for convicted killer Jason Moore, after he submitted a fresh application to clear his name.
Linda Calvey joined relatives of Jason Moore and his supposed victim Robert Darby at All Saints Church, Poplar, on the tenth anniversary of Jason's sentencing hearing.
He was sentenced to life, with a minimum of 18 years, for stabbing Robert to death outside the Valentine pub in Perth Road, Gants Hill.
But both families believe he is innocent and are jointly campaigning to overturn his conviction.
Jason’s sister Kirstie told attendees that the anniversary was “a bleak reminder of a decade’s struggle”.
“Wrongfully convicted individuals endure the solitude of prison cells not only at Christmas but year-round,” she said.
“Their loneliness and despair are felt by their families, who face a different kind of hardship – convincing the British justice system, an unbreakable fortress, that mistakes have been made.”
Jason, from Canary Wharf, was convicted in 2013 of stabbing Robert, from the Isle of Dogs, to death.
He was charged after a single eyewitness picked him out of a photo line-up as the stabber, seven years after the 2005 killing.
But Newsquest revealed last year that the same witness had previously identified another man as the stabber, who was innocent, and only picked Jason after having already been shown his photo.
When Newsquest interviewed the witness, he claimed he was “drunk” on the day of the stabbing and was not certain he had identified the right person.
The revelation sparked a series of protests and saw high-profile figures join the justice campaign, including Bishop of Stepney Joanne Grenfell.
An application has been submitted to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), based on the new evidence uncovered by Newsquest, seeking a new appeal.
Robert’s older brother Tim, from Havering, attended the All Saints service on December 22, alongside Jason's friends and family.
The ceremony was led by Reverend Phil Williams, the vicar at All Saints and at St Paul’s in Shadwell, who grew up in Romford.
“Thank you so much to all of you who have come here tonight in support of the Free Jason Moore campaign,” he said, kicking off a service which included several hymns performed by a choir.
He asked the audience to “pray for justice”.
Reverend Calebmark Onyemaobi also delivered a sermon.
“We pray that justice and truth will prevail,” he said.
“We pray that you look down from heaven and that you touch the heart of those in authority and those with the power to make decisions… we make a demand of justice.”
Other speakers included crime writer Linda Calvey, dubbed “the Black Widow” by tabloids after being convicted of murdering her husband in 1991 – a crime she insists she did not commit.
“The injustice that befell Jason and me could befall anyone,” she said. “It could befall you.”
Jason’s uncle Thomas Shaw told attendees: “To prove a miscarriage of justice has occurred is very difficult and takes a long, long time.
“You are fighting a system much bigger, stronger and richer and a system determined not to be proven wrong.”
He paid tribute to organisations which have reinvestigated Jason’s case, including Newsquest.
“A well-known firm of private investigators, TM Eye, all retired senior policemen, carried out a comprehensive study of the case and concluded that a serious miscarriage of justice had occurred,” he said.
“A young investigative journalist, Charles Thomson of Newsquest, picked up the story and published a series of articles uncovering massive flaws in the case against Jason – flaws that we believe will eventually lead to the exoneration of Jason Moore.”
Steve Hobbs, the TM Eye detective who led the firm's reinvestigation, died weeks before the service.
Bishop Joanne said from the pulpit: “I know many of you feel let down. By the police. By the legal system. By politicians. By the people who are meant to review cases that are obviously wrong and who don’t seem to be listening. And I know you’ve been waiting, living with that sense of being let down, for a very long time.”
But, she told them: “God knows that we are faithful… I believe that God is in this for the long haul with us too.”
The CCRC previously confirmed receipt of the application but said it could not comment on it.
Catch up on our exclusive investigation into Jason Moore's murder conviction:
- Part 1 - East End Killing: Is a man doing life for a murder he didn't commit?
- Part 2 - East End Killing: 'My brother is doing life thanks to an ID parade which should never have happened'
- Part 3 - East End Killing: Witness and CCTV evidence never presented in court casts doubt on the case against Jason
- Part 4 - East End Killing: 'I was drunk', confesses star prosecution witness
- Part 5 - East End Killing: Pathologist's pattern of 'serious misconduct' was hidden from jury
- Update: Fury as 'innocent' killer is sent to the back of appeal queue
- Update: Jason Moore lawyers file papers in murder case appeal
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