| Swansea Crown Court | |
|---|---|
 Swansea Crown Court | |
| Location | St Helen's Road, Swansea |
| Coordinates | 51°36′52″N3°57′27″W / 51.6145°N 3.9576°W Coordinates: 51°36′52″N3°57′27″W / 51.6145°N 3.9576°W |
| Built | 1988 |
| Architect | Sir Alex Gordon |
| Architectural style(s) | Neoclassical style |
  Shown in Swansea | |
Swansea Crown Court is a Crown Court venue which deals with criminal cases at St Helen's Road in Swansea, Wales.
Until the late 1980s, judicial hearings in Swansea were held in the west wing of Swansea Guildhall. [1] However, as the number of court cases in southwest Wales grew, it became necessary to commission a dedicated courthouse for criminal matters. The site chosen, which was close to the guildhall but on the opposite side of St Helen's Road, had been occupied by an old tramway depot. [2]
The new building was designed by the Welsh architect Sir Alex Gordon in the neoclassical style, built in concrete at a cost of £5.2 million, [3] and was completed in 1988. [4] [5] [6] The design involved a symmetrical main frontage of eleven bays facing onto St Helen's Road. The central bay featured a wide opening on the ground floor and a prominent bipartite oriel window on the first floor which was enhanced by a carved Royal coat of arms placed between the two parts. [7] The central bay was flanked by two full-height triangular piers. Internally, the building was laid out to accommodate three courtrooms. [8] The custodial area was extensively refurbished at a cost of £220,000 in August 2013. [9]
Notable cases have included the trial and wrongful conviction, now recognised as a serious miscarriage of justice, of Yusef Abdullahi, Stephen Miller and Tony Paris, in November 1990, for the murder of Lynette White. [10] [11] [12] Other cases have also included the trial and conviction of Jason Richards and Ben Hope, in February 2013, for the murder of Aamir Siddiqi, [13] and the trial and conviction of an unnamed man, in October 2019, on 36 counts of rape and one count of an assault by penetration against his own daughters. [14] [15] [16]
South Wales Police is one of the four territorial police forces in Wales. It is headquartered in Bridgend.
The Bristol Crown Court is a Crown Court venue which deals with criminal cases at Small Street in Bristol, England. The building, which was completed in 1868, was previously used as a main post office before it was converted for judicial use in the early 1990s.
The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) is the statutory body responsible for investigating alleged miscarriages of justice in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. It was established by Section 8 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1995 and began work on 31 March 1997. The commission is the only body in its area of jurisdiction with the power to send a case back to an appeals court if it concludes that there is a real possibility that the court will overturn a conviction or reduce a sentence. Since starting work in 1997, it has on average referred 33 cases a year for appeal.
The Guildhall is one of the main office buildings of the City and County of Swansea Council. The Guildhall complex, which includes the City Hall, Brangwyn Hall and the County Law Courts for Swansea, is a Grade I listed building.
The World's End Murders is the colloquial name given to the murder of two girls, Christine Eadie, 17, and Helen Scott, 17, in Edinburgh, in October 1977. The case is so named because both victims were last seen alive leaving The World's End pub in Edinburgh's Old Town. The only person to stand trial accused of the murders, Angus Sinclair, was acquitted in 2007 in controversial circumstances. Following the amendment of the law of double jeopardy, which would have prevented his retrial, Sinclair was retried in October 2014 and convicted of both murders on 14 November 2014. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 37 years, the longest sentence by a Scottish court, meaning he would have been 106 years old when he was eligible for a potential release on parole. He died at HM Prison Glenochil aged 73 on 11 March 2019. Coincidentally, he died on the same day the BBC's Crimewatch Roadshow programme profiled the murders.
Newport Crown Court is a Crown Court venue which deals with criminal cases at Faulkner Road in Newport in South Wales.
Lynette Deborah White was murdered on 14 February 1988 in Cardiff, Wales. South Wales Police issued a photofit image of a bloodstained, white male seen in the vicinity at the time of the murder but were unable to trace the man. In November 1988, the police charged five black and mixed-race men with White's murder, although none of the scientific evidence discovered at the crime scene could be linked to them. In November 1990, following what was then the longest murder trial in British history, three of the men were found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Preston Crown Court or more properly the Crown Court at Preston is a criminal court on the Ring Way in Preston, Lancashire, England. The court is based on two sites in the city; Preston Combined Court Centre on Ringway and Sessions House on Lancaster Road. As a first tier court centre, the court deals with all types of cases that are heard in the Crown Court as well as being a trial centre for civil High Court cases; it is also a venue for the County Court where smaller civil cases and family cases are dealt with.
Isleworth Crown Court is a Crown Court centre which deals with criminal cases at 36 Ridgeway Road, Isleworth, London.
Aamir Siddiqi was a boy from Cardiff, South Wales. In April 2010, at the age of 17, Siddiqi was killed in his family's home in the Roath area of Cardiff. On 1 February 2013 Jason Richards, 38, and Ben Hope, 39, were convicted of his murder; they had intended to kill a different man. Later that month they were both sentenced to life imprisonment, and ordered to serve a minimum of 40 years.
Ipswich Crown Court is a Crown Court venue which deals with criminal cases at Russell Road, Ipswich, England. It was completed in 2004.
Kingston upon Thames Crown Court is a Crown Court venue which deals with criminal cases at 6–8 Penrhyn Road, Kingston upon Thames, London.
In October, 2019, a 78-year old man from South Wales was sentenced for 33 years for serious sexual offences against three of his daughters, spanning 20 years, one of whom was also his granddaughter. He frequently raped his daughters from the ages of 12, 13, or 14, fathering six of his own grandchildren with one. He also arranged for other men to rape his daughters.
St Albans Crown Court is a Crown Court venue, which deals with criminal cases, in Bricket Road, St Albans, England.
The Wolverhampton Combined Court Centre is a Crown Court venue, which deals with criminal cases, as well as a County Court, which deals with civil cases, in Pipers Row, Wolverhampton, England.
The Maidstone Law Courts is a Crown Court venue, which deals with criminal cases, as well as a County Court venue, which deals with civil cases, in Barker Road, Maidstone, England.
Salisbury Law Courts is a Crown Court venue, which deals with criminal cases, and a County Court venue, which deals with civil cases, in Wilton Road, Salisbury, England. It also accommodates the local magistrates' court.
Plymouth Law Courts, also known as Plymouth Combined Court Centre, is a Crown Court venue which deals with criminal cases, as well as a County Court, which deals with civil cases, in Armada Way, Plymouth, England. The building is located just to the east of Plymouth Civic Centre and just to the south of Plymouth Guildhall.