Many messages and calls lately asking about that letter I got in Belmarsh prison after my first wrongful conviction 16 years ago. I’ve written about it in my books but here’s a more detailed description.
My mailbag was enormous. If you weren’t around then you won’t know how much publicity my case got; simply massive coverage; predominantly negative, as expected.

The governor at Belmarsh told me, one day, my mailbag that day was equal to the entire prison’s mail in a week.
It was split 50-50, much as my letters had been in the 80s when I had dared to criticise Band Aid as well intended but stupid, predicting it would lead to more deaths not fewer. As it did - with most of the money ending up in the pockets of corrupt officials and the better run charities suffering enormously.
That time I got over 18,000 letters in a day to me at The Sun; poor David, the sub editor in charge of answering them, found it split almost exactly 50-50 - I think that is the way of the world, no matter what the topic.

Most of my prison letters were anonymous and I decided to chuck away all those not signed, but I’ve always regretted not keeping one of them.

It was on vellum, parchment; beautifully hand written - looking almost like by a quill pen and ink. For no reason I felt it was by a woman.
She told me not to worry; I was a good man and would find this incident had very little negative effect on me (she was right). But she said the Karma would affect others involved in negative ways.

Three jurors had already died, she said. A quarter of my jury? I found that unbelievable and impossible to check.
She detailed horrendous problems for my false accusers; divorces, tragedies, strokes, bad health.
She said “someone not directly involved but who had encouraged others would suffer badly with a close relative becoming seriously ill”. A few weeks later it was announced that Max Clifford, who had encouraged my first false accuser, had found his wife diagnosed with terminal cancer. That made me remember the letter, which I’d by then thrown away.

But the oddest thing was that she said two of the the judges involved in my case, one of whom I’d known for years, would die prematurely. Now I had only one Judge at my trial - Paget, who I had not known previously. But, a couple of years later, the Recorder of London, Michael Hyam, who had allocated my trial to Paget during legal hearings (which I’d forgotten about) died of a surprise heart attack - aged only 66; and then the lead Judge from my appeal, John Kay, died aged 60 and, reading his obituary, I realised I’d known him intimately at Cambridge University when we were both young undergraduates.
Weird!

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1466647/...-dies-at-dinner.html
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1466350/Sir-John-Kay.html

How odd. But if it is true about the jurors, could it be that some of them not being in the best of health affected their decision making?
And maybe the judge rememberedyou?

This made me think of a handout (in therapy work)that is called "The rules of being human".

Number 4 is ...
"A lesson is repeated until learned. A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. When you have learned it, you can then go on to the next"

I think Judge John Kay certainly did remember me and our encounter; remember Honey, in those days, any kind of homosexuality was illegal and criminal and the older person was held responsible.

One of the jurors on my trial, a young Asian woman, resigned during deliberation and I saw her getting into the lift as I went into the Old Bailey restaurant/cafe. She raised her eyes in despair as if to say to me "I'm afraid I refuse to contribute to this; there are others there who will not see the truth". The slightly sympathetic smile on her face indicated this to me. She did, indeed, claim ill health as the reason for quitting the jury but she looked perfectly healthy to me (I bet she is still alive and well).

The letter was quite specific about problems that would be faced by some of my false accusers. One, regarding a series of near terminal strokes, is reflected in my film Vile Pervert; The Musical. Whether accurate or not I cannot tell.

I found this strangely uplifting. Difficult times but karma - or god - may rule.

Raymond wrote:
I found this strangely uplifting. Difficult times but karma - or god - may rule.

I wouldn't wish harm on anyone, but I am confident that the truth will come out.
It is time.

I hope you're right Honey; there have been many false dawns; for every Gambo or Cliff or Corrie Star or Tarby or Davidson there are dozens of wrongful convictions (often not celebrities; ordinary people can't afford to pay for competent legal representation). Who knows whether the Midlands couple were guilty or innocent but I see that delightful phrase "bravely waived their anonymity" has been resurrected for the poor victims who now, thank heavens, are quite rich. Thanks to media conspiring to revert the course of their profit margins.

Nice phrase Jonathan.

Thanks Alan; the Cosby result is interesting; even Americans seem to have cottoned on to the fact that false allegations are easy to make and may be exaggerations or inflations. Even Cosby seems to have admitted to having had a relationship with the woman but jurors are spotting that doesn't mean she didn't want it at the time. Describing foolish consent (and even using recreational drugs) in a different way years later is no longer evidence of criminal behaviour and often indicates faulty memories - whether intentional or unintentional. But returning to the theme of the thread - Of course it's far more useful if the accused is dead. Then they can't deny - let alone prove - their innocence but, most important, it's just as good a story and if the false accusers are lucky can still obtain that crucial factor - compensation. Very soon Judges in trials will start making witnesses forgo compensation if there are guilty verdicts but, of course, that won't affect dead people. Including Judges themselves (usually very wealthy) whose estates will begin to have to pay out to false accusers who spot that potential goldmine. Accuse a dead Judge and grab cash from mourning children.

Did you not recognise the judge at your appeal? I know it was years ago but surely you would have known him and him you.

I didn't attend my appeal. I'd decided by then that the entire system was broken and that my appeal would wrongly be rejected, as it was. My lawyers went, as did friends and relatives, but I stayed in prison relaxing. Nigel Sweeney QC represented me (at great, wasted expense). He is now a top Judge himself; sat on the Rolf Harris trial. Had I attended I'm sure I would indeed have recognised him, and he me.

JK2006 wrote:
I didn't attend my appeal. I'd decided by then that the entire system was broken and that my appeal would wrongly be rejected, as it was. My lawyers went, as did friends and relatives, but I stayed in prison relaxing. Nigel Sweeney QC represented me (at great, wasted expense). He is now a top Judge himself; sat on the Rolf Harris trial. Had I attended I'm sure I would indeed have recognised him, and he me.

How could he possibly not have known who you were? It is easy to forget people at university or school that you have fumbled with, but considering that you had been on television, radio, and newspapers for forty odd years, he must have known fine well who you were, and should have said so.
Surely you are not allowed to have it off with the defendant?

Oh I'm sure he was aware Honey; mind you, I had been Kenneth then, before I became Jonathan. But I was, of course, in court as Kenneth. I do feel he should at least have mentioned acquaintance, which I'm sure he didn't. Judges lie by omission just as much as the rest of us.

I live abroad now and just became aware of your problems through online coverage. I've bought your E-books now and have read hundreds of these threads (what a fascinating site you have and incredible it has run for 21 years). Explain why you destroyed this letter. Surely it was worth keeping?

These days our computers can be set to erase Spam and Trolls and so on but back then it was letters and even though they take up less space than E Mails they cluttered like mad, especially when talking about thousands. As I've said, I regret not keeping that one. I did keep and still have many signed ones - from amazing people including celebrities and top politicians, some of whom have become friends since and some of whom have helped me in my campaign to change the law, police behaviour, crooked lawyers and the False Allegations Industry. But I still get upset for those others who didn't take it as much in their stride as I have - especially the non-celebs like Dave Bryant, Geoff Long...

an amazing letter..good post.

re: Cosby..I was amazed at the number of well known people who screamed foul at the spit-decision' and the judge's dismissal.

their fulminating was quite disturbing and an indication that they expected nothing else but a guilty verdict.
A few Wimmin's group did likewise.

I think it's fair to say there were real elements of the early 20s when black men could be lynched for having the temerity to even talk to a white woman.

It was though the trial was a mere formality and a hanging inevitable. Scary.

hedda, your post reminded me of this case: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmett_Till

Mark Williams-Thomas seems to think Bill Cosby was guilty.

twitter.com/mwilliamsthomas/status/878170706789318656

Yet I'm sure MWT would consider himself a very liberal-minded and right-thinking person.

twitter.com/mwilliamsthomas/status/796253648485576708
twitter.com/mwilliamsthomas/status/769794018217758720