Barbara Gayle, Staff Reporter
DEATH ROW inmate, 27-year-old Kevin Mayne, who was convicted of the murder of taxi driver Valerie Williams, of Christiana, Manchester, is applying to the Court of Appeal to call fresh evidence in an attempt to be set free.
Mayne is relying on a report this year from psychiatrist consultant Dr. Carol McDaniel, that because of his mental retardation from a head injury when he was 11 years old, he was not responsible for his acts in being a party to the murder.
NOT AVAILABLE AT TRIAL
The hearing began yesterday in the Court of Appeal in which Dennis Morrison, Q.C., argued that the evidence was not available at Mayne's trial or appeal. Mr. Morrison said that, had the evidence been available at the trial, it might have created a reasonable doubt in the mind of the jury as to Mayne's guilt.
Mayne and Jeffrey Miller were convicted in November 1999 for the October 30, 1997 murder of the taxi driver. The Crown led evidence that they robbed her of her motor car and stabbed her to death. They lost their appeal in July 2001 against their convictions and death sentences.
BODY FOUND IN CAVE
The taxi driver's body, which had 20 stab wounds and a broken neck, was found in a cave in Coleyville, Manchester, on October 31, 1997. The two men were seen going into the taxi at Christiana after one of them spoke with the taxi driver. The car was involved in an accident on October 30, 1997, and, at the time of the accident, only the two men were in the car. The men were also seen with the car in Clarendon, and were subsequently held by the police.
