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A man by the name of Paul Richards has recently been sentenced to four months in prison for his actions that led to the collapse of a murder trial. Richards, a 65-year-old resident of Pentrebane Drive in St Fagans, Cardiff, was chosen to serve as a juror in a trial involving three individuals accused of a man’s murder in Treforest, near Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, in December 2023. Despite being instructed by the trial judge not to conduct any independent research on the case, Richards took it upon himself to explore the topic.
During the trial, Richards was overheard in the jury room discussing joint enterprise murder with other jurors. This led to the dismissal of the jury and the selection of a new set of jurors, causing significant delays in the legal proceedings. Subsequently, Richards’ phone was confiscated and examined, revealing that he had accessed a newspaper article from The Guardian related to the case.
In September 2024, Kieran Carter, a 23-year-old individual from Birmingham, was convicted of the murder of Daniel Rae, 30, in connection to a drug debt, following the selection of a new jury for a trial at Cardiff Crown Court. Other individuals involved in the case received suspended sentences for their roles. Richards, who had already pleaded guilty to unauthorized research and disclosing information to other jurors, expressed remorse for his actions. His lawyer, Ruth Smith, highlighted his dedication to jury duty but noted that he struggled with certain legal concepts during the trial.
Despite Richards’ remorse and the acknowledgment of his lack of malicious intent, Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke condemned his actions as a blatant disregard for the court’s instructions. She emphasized the importance of jurors adhering to guidelines and not pursuing their own investigations. The judge also pointed out the potential consequences of Richards’ actions, stating that the jury’s verdicts could have been based on misunderstandings or improper considerations if his actions had not been discovered
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