A former RAF serviceman who was convicted of murdering a woman in Northern Ireland in 1953 is to have his case re-examined, the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) announced yesterday.
Mr Iain Hay Gordon (67), who is retired and now lives in Glasgow, was found guilty but insane following the murder of Ms Patricia Curran, the daughter of Sir Lancelot Curran, a prominent unionist and judge on the Belfast High Court bench.
Ms Curran was discovered in the grounds of her family home in north Belfast with 37 stab wounds. Mr Gordon was released from a psychiatric hospital in 1960.
In a statement on the case, the CCRC's chief executive, Ms Glenys Stacey, said resources had been allocated to investigate the circumstances of Mr Gordon's conviction. "Our job is to decide whether there is a real possibility that the Court of Appeal would find the decision unsafe."
The CCRC can refer the case to appeal judges in Belfast who may decide to quash Mr Gordon's conviction; or they could find that it is safe or order a retrial.
Mr Gordon was confident of his chances of acquittal, claiming yesterday that he was bullied into making a confession after three days of interrogation by detectives. "I feel optimistic about this although I don't want to get overconfident," Mr Gordon said. "There is still a long way to go but we are finally on our way.
"I was confused and exhausted in a small room with five or six policemen shouting `You did it, if you don't confess you will hang.' I wasn't very streetwise and I think they took me for a mug who would fit the frame. It was an emotive case and I don't think they knew where to start or where to look for the real killer."
The CCRC has already sent a retired senior police officer to Belfast to discuss the case with the RUC. A spokesman for the RUC said the force would assist the CCRC in its investigation of Mr Gordon's case. "We have provided documents to the commission and that is the total of our assistance at the moment. But we will assist the commission in every way we can," a spokesman said. He declined to comment on Mr Gordon's claims of intimidation.