Advocacy For The "Killers" And Inmates?!

Junius · 2009-10-04T17:13:54+00:00

THIS is cons' compensation king Tony Kelly who has made a fortune in Legal Aid helping killers and crooks win human rights cases. The lawyer sparked outrage after murderers Andrew Somerville and Ricardo Blanco got £2,100 each in taxpayers' cash for being locked up alone. The scandal - revealed in yesterday's Scottish Sun - is the latest in a string of high-profile compo wins for the jailbirds' champ, who has pocketed £1.5million in Legal Aid fees in the last three years. Mr Kelly was the driving force behind winning £9MILLION in payouts for inmates who had to 'slop out' due to lack of toilets in cells and is also behind Scots prisoners fighting for the right to VOTE. Mr Kelly - who was also the solicitor acting for Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi at the time of his "compassionate release" - described the 2004 slop-out win as the "brightest day" in his career. He added: "It sounded the death knell for slopping-out in Scotland and made the subject of prisoners' rights top of the agenda." After Thursday's payout on segregation cells he said the legal action was to "improve the way that his clients were treated and to improve the situation for all prisoners". Mr Kelly argued solitary confinement made incarceration "lonely" and "disgusting" for whining Somerville, 44, and Blanco, 45 - paving the way for the out-of-court settlements by the Scottish Prison Service. Armed robber Sammy 'The Bear' Ralston and thug David Henderson also received £2,100 each. It's understood there are 16 other outstanding segregation cases. Mr Kelly - who names Nelson Mandela as one of his greatest influences - earned his reputation as the prisoners' champion five years ago. The slopping-out financial floodgates opened when he won a landmark compensation battle for former Barlinnie inmate Robert Napier, 29. The thug - caged in 2001 for holding a 14-year-old girl hostage at knifepoint - was awarded £2,450 after a judge ruled he suffered "inhuman" treatment. It sparked 3,800 similar claims with fears the bill to the public could rise to £58million - but the legal loophole was finally shut in May after a Scottish Sun campaign. Mr Kelly hit the headlines again in August 2005 when we revealed that Lockerbie bomber Megrahi, 57, had hired him. Then in January 2007 he masterminded another successful prisoner battle when appeal judges decided that denying cons the chance to vote breached their human rights. The ruling came after convicted drug dealer William Smith, 57, of Hamilton, demanded equal rights at the ballot box for those behind bars. It was reported at the time the decision could lead to as much as £8million being paid out in compo - because it was too late to give cons the vote in time for that year's Holyrood election. Mr Kelly hailed the decision at the time as "a milestone" and "significant ruling" - although the right to vote has not yet been granted. And it was reported in September last year that Kelly's law firm Taylor and Kelly, of Coatbridge, Lanarkshire, was being investigated following revelations that Limbs in the Loch killer William Beggs had been recruiting lags for compo cases. The move came after evil Beggs had reportedly got "many" killers and rapists at Peterhead Prison to sue over slopping out and also being denied the vote. Mr Kelly's firm was probed over the possible links with Beggs by the Scottish Legal Aid Board - which has given him £1,543,000 in taxpayers' cash over the past three years according to their official figures. In 2008/09 the firm's total Legal Aid income was £424,900, coining in £352,000 for civil cases, £10,600 for criminal cases and £62,300 in VAT. In 2007/08 Mr Kelly's income from civil Legal Aid - the type he uses to battle for prisoners' human rights - was £686,400. His total for that year stood at a staggering £828,200. In 2006/07 he raked in £178,000 in civil Legal Aid payouts from a £289,900 overall bill. SOURCE: THE SUN

Thread starter Junius
Start date Oct 4, 2009

Junius

JF-Expert Member

Oct 4, 2009

Junius

JF-Expert Member

Oct 4, 2009

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