Evidence of prior imprisonment, when coupled with evidence suggesting witness intimidation and in the context of a case turning on witness credibility, may result in a substantial miscarriage of justice even where the imprisonment occurred 15 years earlier and no corrective direction was given. Where a concatenation of circumstances affecting witness credibility is within the jury's capacity to evaluate with the benefit of counsel's addresses and the judge's charge, an unreliable witness warning under s 165 of the Evidence Act 2008 is not required absent exceptional circumstances. Where an appellant has served the entire sentence and two trials have miscarried through no fault of the appellant, the court will nonetheless order a retrial rather than enter a verdict of acquittal if the evidence justified conviction, leaving the decision whether to proceed to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
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