Justice for Micheal campaign

• How/why did the campaign start?

  • Micheal Gibson was walking with his brother in Darlington town center when they were approached by 3 people.
  • One of the people, David Clark attacked Micheal (who died after being in a coma for 16 months)
  • Clark was only charged with GBH and was jailed for 2 years.
  • He was free before Micheal died.
  • At the time, the 'year and a day' rule existed - if victims of a assault lived for a year and a day, their attackers could not be tried for manslaughter or murder.
• Who was involved and what did they do?

  • Northern Echo newspaper launched the 'Justice for Micheal' campaign, urging people to sign a petition demanding for the 'year and a day' rule to be scrapped.
  • They published a picture of Micheal in a coma in the hospital bed and thousands signed the petition.
• How did it affect laws?

  • The Law Reform Act (1996) was passed, abolishing the 'year and a day' rule