DISQUS

wilcosworld · 3 months ago

Jack Straw is a slimy son of a bitch. I would put nothing past him.

Colin Seymour · 3 months ago

I'm very suspicious of this whole case too. It seems too convenient. Maybe he's really guilty, maybe he's not. Unfortunately we'll never know the truth now thanks to Jack Straw's lack of a spine.

Ana · 3 months ago

Well, I watched the news yesterday here, in Bulgaria. It seems that the 'new evidence' Jack Straw had about Michael Shields' innocence was, in fact, an evidence about something else - a procedure lapse of Bulgarian court. Well, as a Bulgarian, I can't say I'd be too surprised if it's true - I am aware of the flaws in our juridical system. Louise E... (can't remember her name) said that Bulgaria did, indeed, ask for Graham Sankey to be sent here to testify or do so during a video link, but it did not do so through British Foreign Office. So, the problem is not that Sankey's confession runs counter to all the facts but that Bulgaria did not ask properly? I am hardly surprised of that lapse, if it is indeed a lapse. I, however, fail to see how that new 'evidence' is a desicive factor about Shields' innocence. I don't know about Britain, but here, in Bulgaria, no one can be convicted only because of their confession if it simply contradicts all the facts. If so, the prisons will be full of mothers who confess to their children's crimes. And testimony based on hearsay of what other people heard someone saying? And these people being the family of the alleged offender? I used to despair in Bulgarian judges sometimes, but God, that makes me feel a lot better about our juridical system.

Mind you, I am not again a pardon granted to a young man who went too far because of not being able to keep his beer. Everybody deserves a second chance, provided that they repented and learned from their mistakes. That is four years in prison, after all. Unfortunately, Mt Straw did not just give a second chance - he, in fact, stated that the original verdict was incorrect, thus offending not only the Bulgarian court, but ECHR, too. And Michael Shields is so clearly not repenting. His audacity reaches as far as demanding an apology from both UK - the state that released him - and Bulgaria - the state that still considers him guilty. Well, he's welcomed to Bulgaria to demand apology in person... wait, he isn't, because no one can give him an apology by smashing his skull and then getting away because his mummy heard someone else confessed to it. Our system might look absurd at times, but it isn't that absurd.

Well, anyway, from now on Michael Shields running riot in the street is a problem of the British people. We have enough clones of him here, in Bulgaria. As long as he doesn't set a foot in my hometown of Varna, I'll be glad enough. Oh, and he might as well forget about receiving an apology from us, but I hope he won't despair. I'm sure if his PR campaign presses hard enough, he might still receive an apology from UK, maybe even from JAck Straw himself - the same man who pardoned him.

Ana · 2 months ago

I correct myself: it seems that even the Bulgarian court's demand for Sankey to testify was done as it should be, despite some very interesting lapses of Mrs Ellman's office, like sending the 'confession' not to the Varna Court that ruled the case but to the Supreme Court and sending not the 'confession' itself, but just a fax copy which cannot be accepted in court. Another interesting detail is the fact that this angel Michael Shields was not only part of the group that terrorized the whole hotel, but was also one of the people who were fined for vandalizing their own hotel room. He was so easy for the hotel staff to remember, because they already connected his face to drunken acts. Was that mentioned in the documentary? I can't remember such a thing.

Media PR campaigns - both English and Bulgarian - aside, I read the text of the verdict and the motives of the court years ago. I'm posting a link with the chronology of the events as the court accepted it to be and their motives for issuing the verdict. Too bad it's in Bulgarian, but whenever I have the time, I can translate a page or two if someone is interested.

http://www.znam.li/Pages/Sport/Default.aspx?evn...

Finally, Iabout Michael Shields and his mother's statement - by the way, the woman should have the grace to keep her mouth shut, since she wasn't there in the moment of the attack and has no way of knowing what happened, except for her son's statements - that the victim only wanted money, I'll repeat what the victim said. It was something like "He's writing a book about the whole incident. I think it's obvious who is after money."

jimmy · 2 months ago

having just read this i too feel sick ,this person who as no idea of the last four years this youngman has gone throu ,go and spend four years in prison 18months of them in bulgaria,for a crime you did not commit see if you sick to the pit of you stomach then,find out the corrupt police took a bribe to release the real thug then arrest you,that would make you sick to the pit of your stomach,then find out the victim says its you because he is told its the only way he will get compensation that will make you sick to the pit of your stomach,do you no what makes me sick to the pit of my stomach idiots like you