Year and a day rule

• Micheal Gibson was 20 when he was assaulted by David Clark in 1992 - Micheal died after being in a coma for 22 months, Clark was only jailed for 2 years and was free before Micheal died
• The year and a day rule said that if victims of an assault lived for a year and a day, their attackers could not be tried for manslaughter or murder
• The Northern Echo newspaper launched the ‘Justice for Michael' campaign urging its readers to sign a petition demanding that the year and a day rule be scrapped
• In 1994 the local MP introduced a bill in the House of Commons to scrap the year and a day rule but it was narrowly defeated - the following delivery of the Northern Echo’s petition to the Law commission a bill was passed by Parliament to become the 1996 Law Reform Act 
• The Newspapers role was vital in achieving success by mobilising public support