Appeal against conviction and sentence arising from the death of Grace Millane

Member Yvonne Wang was the junior counsel to Rachael Reed QC in the recent appeal against conviction and sentence brought by the defendant (name suppressed) found guilty of murdering British backpacker Grace Millane.  The hearing took place before the Permanent Court of Appeal (comprising of President Kós, Justice Cooper and Justice Courtney) on 6 August 2020.  The appeal against conviction was advanced on the following grounds:  
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• Failure by the learned trial judge to direct on the issues of unlawful act and consent;
• Misdirection and improper use of expert evidence on the issue of timing between strangulation, unconsciousness and death;
• Insufficient direction on exculpatory propensity evidence; and
• Improper use of probability evidence and a lack of corrective direction.
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Ms Wang made submissions on the propensity evidence ground of appeal at the hearing.  The decision of the Court is reserved.  Read article.  

The publicity surrounding this case in the United Kingdom has contributed towards the introduction of a new Domestic Abuse Bill in England and Wales. Read article.