The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has come under fire from a Court of Appeal judge after a plea agreement with a man arrested in connection with the murder of a drug dealer. Lady Justice Andrews expressed her concern over the “failings” of the CPS regarding the death of Mihai Dobre in Peterborough in April 2022. This came after the conviction of Lewis Hutchinson, who was found guilty of murder and conspiracy to rob following a trial at Peterborough Crown Court. Lawyers for Hutchinson had claimed that his conviction was unsafe due to prosecutors causing “unfairness” by granting immunity to accomplice Christopher Pycroft on a “nod and a wink”.
Mr Dobre was shot dead in the Paston area of Peterborough in April 2022. Hutchinson received a mandatory life sentence with a minimum jail term of nearly thirty years for his part in the murder of Mr Dobre. Pycroft, in contrast, had only received a five year, three month jail term after admitting conspiracy to rob. Lady Justice Andrews explained how Hutchinson’s lawyers had not seen the agreement between Pycroft and the CPS until his trial had begun in January 2023.
She said that jurors had been “reminded” that, “until after the trial began”, Pycroft “was uncertain” as to whether he would be prosecuted for murder and that he had an “incentive to please those who would make that decision”. Hutchinson’s lawyers claimed that prosecutors had postponed deciding what to do about a murder charge against Pycroft until after he had given evidence at Hutchinson’s trial. Lady Justice Andrews said a barrister instructed by the CPS had realistically accepted that a catalogue of errors was made by the prosecution for which there was no excuse. Nevertheless, Lady Justice Andrews said the trial judge had made jurors “well aware” of the incentives Pycroft “had to lie” and they could assess his “credibility”.
Despite these concerns, the appeal judges concluded that Hutchinson’s conviction was “undoubtedly safe”. Lady Justice Andrews ruled that “the decision to discontinue the prosecution (and to give the undertaking) appears more pragmatic than principled” and it was “wholly impermissible” for prosecutors to adopt a “wait and see” position
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