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The Irish Sun
01-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
My dad was wrongly jailed so now I fight for justice – at least 30 long-term inmates are innocent, says actor Tom Conti
HE is one of our giants of stage and screen, starring in everything from Shirley Valentine to Oppenheimer. Stalwart actor 14 Tom Conti believes there may be as many as 30 long-term inmates in the UK who have committed no crime Credit: Getty 14 After starring in Twelve Angry Men, Conti started tyring to identify potential real-life miscarriages of justice Credit: Supplied 14 Tom as Albert Einstein in Oppenheimer Credit: Alamy 14 Tom with Pauline Collins in Shirley Valentine Credit: Alamy But it was a stage role in Twelve Angry Men that led the Oscar-nominated actor to discover a passion that few movie fans know about. The actor — once described as the thinking woman's crumpet after starring in 1989 romantic comedy Conti says it does not take a rocket scientist to realise there is something seriously wrong with Britain's dangerously overcrowded jails. Read More on crime And the actor blasted the notoriously slow Criminal Cases Review Commission for dragging its feet on cases such as ' Conti told The Sun: 'It's an absolutely shocking story. 'I don't know how this guy is going to manage now. He's been completely institutionalised. 'He's been told what to do every minute of the day for 38 years.' Most read in The Sun 'Damaged my father' Conti became interested in forensics while researching a book he wanted to write in 2014, and got in touch with Tracy Alexander, an expert in cold cases. As a thank you for the advice, he left her tickets for his latest play at the time, Twelve Angry Men, in London's West End. Man jailed 38yrs ago for beating florist to death CLEARED after DNA bombshell They later went for dinner, where Tracy told Conti about UK charity Inside Justice, which campaigns to resolve major miscarriages of justice. It was a conversation that struck a personal chord. Conti's father Alfonso was one of 4,000 Italians interned by Britain during World War Two. They were sent to camps on the Isle of Man in 1940 after Italy's Almost overnight, ordinary Italians were considered the enemy. Conti said: 'Winston Churchill famously said, 'Collar the lot'. 'Collar the lot' 'It must have damaged my father a bit, but he got over it and never resented the British because it was a time of war. 'So, I kind of had knowledge, second-hand, of what it was like to be locked up having committed no sin.' The actor soon found himself on Inside Justice's advisory board, giving guidance on cases to a panel of blood spatter, fingerprint, fibre and DNA experts. It might be easy to dismiss Conti as another do-gooder with too much time on his hands, but he is clearly no pushover. While he worries about the state of the UK's overcrowded jails and questions whether rehabilitation programmes might be the answer, he also says 'we need to take violent people off the streets'. A bear of a man, a charmer with twinkling eyes and an aura of mischief, the actor caused a stir in 2015 when he publicly switched political allegiance from Labour to the Tories. 14 Peter Sullivan, branded 'Beast of Birkenhead', was wrongly convicted of killing 21-year-old Diane Sindall in 1986 14 After serving 38 years, Sullivan was acquitted of killing Diane Credit: Mercury Press Agency 14 Inside Justice is also battling for Roger Kearney, whose case was featured on BBC investigation Conviction: Murder At The Station Credit: Solent News 14 Kearney remains in prison for Paula Poolton's murder Credit: Hampshire Police The Tony Award winner said that socialism was becoming 'a religion of hatred' and even considered running for London Mayor after Boris Johnson. Conti acknowledges there are a huge number of prisoners who apply to Inside Justice 'because they are bored and it gives them something to do', but insists there is a vigorous vetting process. He said: 'It's fairly easy to weed out the ones who are doing that, but there are genuine cases — maybe between 20 and 30 individuals — who are serving long sentences.' The charity is currently working on several high-profile cases, including that of killer nurse Colin Campbell, formerly known as Colin Norris, who was jailed for life for killing elderly patients in two Leeds hospitals in 2008. Originally from Glasgow, His case is currently being heard at the Court of Appeal, where his barrister argued that the evidence against Campbell, 49, was circumstantial, and medical advances could now provide other reasons for the women's deaths. 14 Colin Campbell was jailed for life for killing elderly patients in two Leeds hospitals in 2008 Credit: PA:Press Association 14 Ethel Hall, 86, was one of Campbell's victims Credit: Handout 14 Bridget Bourke, 88, was another of his victims Credit: Ross Parry 14 Doris Ludlam, 80, was also murdered by Campbell Credit: Collect 14 Irene Crookes, 79, was also a victim of killer nurse Campbell 14 Forensics expert Tracy Alexander Credit: Inside Justice is also battling for Roger Kearney, whose case was featured on 2016 BBC investigation Conviction: Murder At The Station, which later streamed on Netflix in 2023. Viewers were left 'flabbergasted' after Hampshire police destroyed evidence that Kearney, 67, hoped would prove his innocence after lover Paula's family remain convinced the cops got the right man, while police claim an officer destroyed the items without first consulting his senior. Conti said: 'Our fibre expert went to get the exhibits but, when she arrived, the police said they had been destroyed. I find that jaw-dropping. 'This was this man's last hope of getting a conviction overturned and this is what happened.' The actor is hugely frustrated at the pace of the Criminal Cases Review Commission which, he says, does not act quickly enough to refer cases to the Court of Appeal — or force the police to hand over exhibits. Conti revealed that Inside Justice has even offered to loan its experts to the CCRC to speed things up, but were rebuffed. He said: 'The CCRC is just not fit for purpose. Most of them work from home when they really should be in the office to discuss cases face to face. 'A real travesty' 'They resolutely refuse to pass cases to the Court of Appeal. They decide whether or not there's a chance of success. 'They don't have any scientists examining evidence and our experts have offered their services for nothing. 'Our scientists have said, 'If you want to send us exhibits, our people will examine them free of charge'. Instead they send them to a lab for 'presumptive' substance tests, whereas we would test for everything.' The CCRC refers around 3.5 per cent of its cases to the Court of Appeal — and around seven in ten of those cases succeed. In 2008, Peter Sullivan, now 68, asked the CCRC to look for DNA evidence that could exonerate him from the murder of 21-year-old barmaid The technique that ended Peter's ordeal this year was available back then — but the CCRC says it was told by forensic scientists that they were unlikely to uncover any useful DNA. There have been absolutely massive advances in science that can reveal new things... the Criminal Cases Review Commission is not fit for purpose Conti says: 'It's a real travesty. There have been huge advances in science over the past ten or 15 years, absolutely massive, that can reveal new things about cases. 'We need the CCRC to move quicker.' Conti might be earnest about the issues close to his heart, but he is also entertaining and fun, with a sharp sense of humour. He's very proud of his daughter Nina, a comic ventriloquist, who he calls a genius for going on stage without a script, and his actor grandson Arthur, who starred in last year's hit Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Conti, who lives in Hampstead, also retains a sense of childlike wonder, talking about how excited he was when he got the chance to sit in He avoided early starts on set by insisting the make-up artist left his wild He said: 'The first morning, I was in the make-up chair at about 5am because the hair had to be done and the moustache curled properly. 'Later that day, I went back into make-up and they said, 'Right okay, we'll get you cleaned up'. 'I said, 'Wait, we're doing four days of shooting, so why don't we just leave it?'.' Conti laughs: 'There were definitely double-takes when I went out for supper those nights.' The star might not be the real Einstein, but he is hoping that, with a handful of clever experts, he can make a genuine difference.
Scottish Sun
01-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
My dad was wrongly jailed so now I fight for justice – at least 30 long-term inmates are innocent, says actor Tom Conti
Conti privately spends hours pouring over legal documents to try to identify potential real-life miscarriages of justice MISSION FOR JUSTICE My dad was wrongly jailed so now I fight for justice – at least 30 long-term inmates are innocent, says actor Tom Conti Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) HE is one of our giants of stage and screen, starring in everything from Shirley Valentine to Oppenheimer. Stalwart actor Tom Conti has spent decades at the top of his game, most recently playing Einstein in Christopher Nolan's epic about the birth of the atomic bomb. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 14 Tom Conti believes there may be as many as 30 long-term inmates in the UK who have committed no crime Credit: Getty 14 After starring in Twelve Angry Men, Conti started tyring to identify potential real-life miscarriages of justice Credit: Supplied 14 Tom as Albert Einstein in Oppenheimer Credit: Alamy 14 Tom with Pauline Collins in Shirley Valentine Credit: Alamy But it was a stage role in Twelve Angry Men that led the Oscar-nominated actor to discover a passion that few movie fans know about. Conti privately spends hours poring over legal documents and court transcripts to try to identify potential real-life miscarriages of justice, with the hope of freeing those wrongly imprisoned. The actor — once described as the thinking woman's crumpet after starring in 1989 romantic comedy Shirley Valentine — believes there may be as many as 30 long-term inmates in the UK who have committed no crime. Conti says it does not take a rocket scientist to realise there is something seriously wrong with Britain's dangerously overcrowded jails. Read More on crime WOKE & BROKE Cops demand more taxpayer cash & spend millions on 'woke' ideas as crime soars And the actor blasted the notoriously slow Criminal Cases Review Commission for dragging its feet on cases such as 'Beast Of Birkenhead' Peter Sullivan, who spent 38 years protesting his innocence before his conviction was overturned earlier this month. Conti told The Sun: 'It's an absolutely shocking story. 'I don't know how this guy is going to manage now. He's been completely institutionalised. 'He's been told what to do every minute of the day for 38 years.' 'Damaged my father' Conti became interested in forensics while researching a book he wanted to write in 2014, and got in touch with Tracy Alexander, an expert in cold cases. As a thank you for the advice, he left her tickets for his latest play at the time, Twelve Angry Men, in London's West End. Man jailed 38yrs ago for beating florist to death CLEARED after DNA bombshell They later went for dinner, where Tracy told Conti about UK charity Inside Justice, which campaigns to resolve major miscarriages of justice. It was a conversation that struck a personal chord. Conti's father Alfonso was one of 4,000 Italians interned by Britain during World War Two. They were sent to camps on the Isle of Man in 1940 after Italy's Benito Mussolini declared war on Britain and France. Almost overnight, ordinary Italians were considered the enemy. Conti said: 'Winston Churchill famously said, 'Collar the lot'. 'Collar the lot' 'It must have damaged my father a bit, but he got over it and never resented the British because it was a time of war. 'So, I kind of had knowledge, second-hand, of what it was like to be locked up having committed no sin.' The actor soon found himself on Inside Justice's advisory board, giving guidance on cases to a panel of blood spatter, fingerprint, fibre and DNA experts. It might be easy to dismiss Conti as another do-gooder with too much time on his hands, but he is clearly no pushover. While he worries about the state of the UK's overcrowded jails and questions whether rehabilitation programmes might be the answer, he also says 'we need to take violent people off the streets'. A bear of a man, a charmer with twinkling eyes and an aura of mischief, the actor caused a stir in 2015 when he publicly switched political allegiance from Labour to the Tories. 14 Peter Sullivan, branded 'Beast of Birkenhead', was wrongly convicted of killing 21-year-old Diane Sindall in 1986 14 After serving 38 years, Sullivan was acquitted of killing Diane Credit: Mercury Press Agency 14 Inside Justice is also battling for Roger Kearney, whose case was featured on BBC investigation Conviction: Murder At The Station Credit: Solent News 14 Kearney remains in prison for Paula Poolton's murder Credit: Hampshire Police The Tony Award winner said that socialism was becoming 'a religion of hatred' and even considered running for London Mayor after Boris Johnson. Conti acknowledges there are a huge number of prisoners who apply to Inside Justice 'because they are bored and it gives them something to do', but insists there is a vigorous vetting process. He said: 'It's fairly easy to weed out the ones who are doing that, but there are genuine cases — maybe between 20 and 30 individuals — who are serving long sentences.' The charity is currently working on several high-profile cases, including that of killer nurse Colin Campbell, formerly known as Colin Norris, who was jailed for life for killing elderly patients in two Leeds hospitals in 2008. Originally from Glasgow, Campbell was convicted of murdering Doris Ludlam, 80, Bridget Bourke, 88, Irene Crookes, 79, and 86-year-old Ethel Hall. His case is currently being heard at the Court of Appeal, where his barrister argued that the evidence against Campbell, 49, was circumstantial, and medical advances could now provide other reasons for the women's deaths. 14 Colin Campbell was jailed for life for killing elderly patients in two Leeds hospitals in 2008 Credit: PA:Press Association 14 Ethel Hall, 86, was one of Campbell's victims Credit: Handout 14 Bridget Bourke, 88, was another of his victims Credit: Ross Parry 14 Doris Ludlam, 80, was also murdered by Campbell Credit: Collect 14 Irene Crookes, 79, was also a victim of killer nurse Campbell 14 Forensics expert Tracy Alexander Credit: Inside Justice is also battling for Roger Kearney, whose case was featured on 2016 BBC investigation Conviction: Murder At The Station, which later streamed on Netflix in 2023. Viewers were left 'flabbergasted' after Hampshire police destroyed evidence that Kearney, 67, hoped would prove his innocence after lover Paula Poolton, 40, was found stabbed to death in the boot of her car. The case against him was mainly circumstantial. Paula's family remain convinced the cops got the right man, while police claim an officer destroyed the items without first consulting his senior. Conti said: 'Our fibre expert went to get the exhibits but, when she arrived, the police said they had been destroyed. I find that jaw-dropping. 'This was this man's last hope of getting a conviction overturned and this is what happened.' The actor is hugely frustrated at the pace of the Criminal Cases Review Commission which, he says, does not act quickly enough to refer cases to the Court of Appeal — or force the police to hand over exhibits. Conti revealed that Inside Justice has even offered to loan its experts to the CCRC to speed things up, but were rebuffed. He said: 'The CCRC is just not fit for purpose. Most of them work from home when they really should be in the office to discuss cases face to face. 'A real travesty' 'They resolutely refuse to pass cases to the Court of Appeal. They decide whether or not there's a chance of success. 'They don't have any scientists examining evidence and our experts have offered their services for nothing. 'Our scientists have said, 'If you want to send us exhibits, our people will examine them free of charge'. Instead they send them to a lab for 'presumptive' substance tests, whereas we would test for everything.' The CCRC refers around 3.5 per cent of its cases to the Court of Appeal — and around seven in ten of those cases succeed. In 2008, Peter Sullivan, now 68, asked the CCRC to look for DNA evidence that could exonerate him from the murder of 21-year-old barmaid Diane Sindall in 1986 — evidence that eventually pointed to an another suspect. The technique that ended Peter's ordeal this year was available back then — but the CCRC says it was told by forensic scientists that they were unlikely to uncover any useful DNA. There have been absolutely massive advances in science that can reveal new things... the Criminal Cases Review Commission is not fit for purpose Conti says: 'It's a real travesty. There have been huge advances in science over the past ten or 15 years, absolutely massive, that can reveal new things about cases. 'We need the CCRC to move quicker.' Conti might be earnest about the issues close to his heart, but he is also entertaining and fun, with a sharp sense of humour. He's very proud of his daughter Nina, a comic ventriloquist, who he calls a genius for going on stage without a script, and his actor grandson Arthur, who starred in last year's hit Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Conti, who lives in Hampstead, also retains a sense of childlike wonder, talking about how excited he was when he got the chance to sit in Einstein's actual chair while filming Oppenheimer at Princeton University. He avoided early starts on set by insisting the make-up artist left his wild Einstein hair on for the duration of filming, shocking locals. He said: 'The first morning, I was in the make-up chair at about 5am because the hair had to be done and the moustache curled properly. 'Later that day, I went back into make-up and they said, 'Right okay, we'll get you cleaned up'. 'I said, 'Wait, we're doing four days of shooting, so why don't we just leave it?'.' Conti laughs: 'There were definitely double-takes when I went out for supper those nights.' The star might not be the real Einstein, but he is hoping that, with a handful of clever experts, he can make a genuine difference.
The Guardian
25-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
The play that changed my life: Sing Sing's Clarence Maclin on lessons from Sophocles in prison
When I came to the Rehabilitation Through the Arts (RTA) theatre at Sing Sing Correctional Facility in 1995, I'd been sentenced to 17 years for robbery. It was not my intention to watch a play. They were doing One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. I saw my brother Dino who was playing Big Chief, the Native American guy. I knew Dino from elsewhere in the jail, but not for this. I got involved. I found a fascination for Shakespeare that I really didn't expect. I didn't think I'd understand the language. And I didn't at first. But it fascinated me enough to research and study it: I loved becoming able to translate that so that others could feel the intensity of it. After being restricted to just watching for a year, I went on to play so many roles. I played a nobleman's ghost who comes back to haunt Richard III. That was a fun role; minimal lines, but a ton of expression. Twelve Angry Men was another good one. The most poignant role in my life, though, would be Oedipus Rex. Because Oedipus ran from a prediction and then right into the consequences of that prediction. That was kind of parallel to my life, because I realised that I had been running away from and straight back into the same issues. I learned that about myself while doing Sophocles. There's a freedom that comes with being on stage. As a prisoner locked in a six-by-nine, or a Black man in society, your liberty is limited to certain things. The connection that I got from the stage came from not only playing those characters but also researching how they lived. Those were the times that I realised that I wasn't even in prison any more. I was freer than the guards. I went to Greece in my imagination. I went everywhere. I was freer than most men on the planet because I was able to go anywhere I wanted to, become anyone I wanted. All of these lives that might parallel some things in my own life – or might not. Maybe something completely different, you know? Most nights, it was my peers, my brothers, coming to see me. But on the last night of every production, we invited playwrights, directors, producers from Broadway. Politicians would come, and Harry Belafonte came, which thrilled my mother. Something that related to a current event or issue was always laid down somewhere in the play. So we began working on the messages that we wanted to send to the other side of the wall through art – including our own play Breakin' the Mummy's Code, which provides the structure for the movie Sing Sing and in which I play a version of myself. The RTA company changed as new people came and others went home or got transferred to other prisons. But the core stayed the same and we created a steering committee who were elected by the group and were charged with the day-to-day functions and keeping the integrity of the programme up to standard. Fortunately, I never got transferred. When I came home in 2012, I had six more classes to get my bachelor's. I was working and I was going to school at night to complete my degree in behavioural science. All while I was still on parole. Then I had to either graduate with the guys that I was going to college with on the outside or return to Sing Sing and walk the stage with RTA. I chose to go back. The six classes weren't really the struggle. That's the moral root – we want to keep brothers hopeful on the inside that change is possible. The Oscar stuff [Sing Sing is nominated for three Academy Awards) is hopeful on a personal level, of course, and people inside get to see that we can reach the highest echelons if we so choose. But it's easy to just treat it as this trendy thing, to be the 'ex-offender turned good'. It's not as easy as that. Now after the Oscars I've got another movie I'm going to start shooting in April. But the stage is where you go to get replenished. This is where you go to sharpen your sword as an actor and get the tool right. And get that feeling of an ensemble sharing the pressure of the next scene. You don't get that with the screen, you can't get it. That little camera lens is really not big enough. As told to Lindesay Irvine Sing Sing is in cinemas worldwide and Clarence Maclin is nominated for best adapted screenplay at the 2025 Academy Awards on 3 March.
