(DIR) Home
Auriol Grey: Woman who caused cyclist to fall into path of car has
manslaughter conviction overturned
(HTM) Source
----------------------------------------------------------------------
A woman who shouted and waved aggressively at a cyclist on the
pavement, causing her to fall into the path of a car, has had her
conviction for manslaughter overturned and walked free from court.
CCTV showed Auriol Grey shout "get off the f****** pavement" as Celia
Ward approached her in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, in October 2020.
The 77-year-old then veered off the 2.4m-wide path into the road.
Mrs Ward, a grandmother, died after she was struck by a car.
Grey, who has cerebral palsy and was described by her lawyer as
"partially blind", was **given a three-year jail sentence in March
2023** after being convicted of manslaughter.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
0:17
March 2023: Woman jailed over cyclist's manslaughter
But the Court of Appeal ruled today that the manslaughter conviction
should be overturned and she walked free from court.
Dame Victoria Sharp, sitting with Mrs Justice Yip and Mrs Justice
Farbey, said: "In our judgment, the prosecution case was insufficient
even to be left to the jury."
She added: "In all the circumstances, we have no hesitation in
concluding that the appellant's conviction for manslaughter is
unsafe."
Image: Celia Ward (right). Pic: PA
Following the ruling, Grey's family said: "Whilst we welcome the
decision of the Court of Appeal our thoughts today are also with the
Ward family and I am sure a day doesn't go by when they don't remember
their tragic loss.
"There has been unnecessary and prolonged suffering and vulnerable
people like Auriol need better support from the justice system - we
hope lessons will be learnt.
"After a tough start she has strived over decades to build a normal
life without seeking attention and we don't underestimate the
difficulties she will face rebuilding this."
It was decided earlier this year, in March, that Grey could appeal
against her sentence.
At the time, it was argued that Grey's sentence had been "excessive"
and that an autism diagnosis secured after the trial may have made a
difference in the case.
Image: Auriol Grey (centre) leaves the Royal Courts of Justice. Pic:
PA
The court had heard that Grey had been charged with unlawful act
manslaughter - which requires an unlawful action to take place that
caused death.
However, her lawyers argued to appeal judges that no such "base
offence" was ever identified during the trial.
Adrian Darbishire KC, for Grey, said: "The trial seems to have
proceeded on the basis that some kind of unlawfulness, undefined and
unspecified, was sufficient to found this offence of homicide."
Dame Victoria and her fellow appeal judges agreed, ruling that jurors
were not asked to decide "the fundamental question of whether a base
offence was established".
The senior judge continued: "The appellant's actions that day
contributed to Mrs Ward's untimely death... Had Mrs Ward not died we
regard it as inconceivable that the appellant would have been charged
with assault."
Grey's actions were described as "hostile gesticulation" during the
trial.
But this, Mr Darbishire said in the appeal, was "not a crime,
otherwise we would have 50,000 football fans each weekend being
apprehended".
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) had responded to the appeal, with
its barrister Simon Spence KC telling the court it was accepted that
"common assault as the base offence was not identified by name".
After the judges had given their ruling, Mr Spence asked for Grey's
case to be sent back to the crown court for a retrial, which was
denied.
In a separate statement, Grey's legal team said that neither Mrs
Ward's family nor Grey's "should ever have been put through this
ordeal".
They said: "As the court found, once the legal elements of the offence
were properly understood, it was clear that there was no proper basis
for Ms Grey to be convicted of manslaughter, or indeed any offence. As
a result, her conviction was quashed.
"Ms Grey simply should never have been charged."
The lawyers continued: "Mrs Ward should never have been faced with the
choice between cycling on the pavement or cycling on a busy and
dangerous ring road.
"Had a clear and well-signed cycle path been in place, safely
separating vulnerable pedestrians such as Ms Grey, this accident would
never have occurred.
"Equally, misconceived prosecutions and wrongful convictions such as
this cause untold pain to all those affected, including the family of
the deceased, as well as the person wrongly accused."
______________________________________________________________________
Served by Flask-Gopher/2.2.1