Send a birthday card to Sam Hallam, the Hoxton One

Sam Hallam, the Hoxton One, is widley believed to be innocent of the 2004 murder of Essayas Kassahun

Sam Hallam will turn 24 this Saturday, 9 July and his family and supporters are requesting birthday cards be sent to him to mark the sixth birthday he is spending behind bars (address below). He is serving a life-sentence for the murder of Essayas Kassahun in October 2004 – a sentence considered by supporters protesting for his innocence as “a serious miscarriage of justice”.

With a decision expected shortly from the Criminal Cases Review Commission whether his case will be referred back to the Court of Appeal, campaigners’ hopes are high that this will be the last birthday Sam spends in prison.

“Sam was just 17 years old when he was sent to prison for a crime he didn’t commit. He’s now in his mid-20s. Justice has not been done for the murder of Essayas Kassahun by locking up an innocent man. How much longer before Sam’s nightmare ends?” said Paul May, who is leading on the campaign.

On October 24, 2005, Sam Hallam was found guilty of murder at the Old Bailey and sentenced to life imprisonment, serving a minimum of 12 years, for the murder of Ethiopian chef Essayas Kassahun, who was killed in a brawl involving a gang of numerous teenagers and young men outside the Somerfield supermarket in Old Street.

However, the only evidence suggesting Hallam committed the murder were a series of inconsistent and contradictory statements placing him at the crime scene. Hallam was nevertheless sentenced on these testimonies.

In the years following Hallam’s incarceration, a new evidence has come to light, including statements from a number of witnesses who were present when Kassahun was killed, confirming Hallam’s original statement that he was not in the area that evening.

Sam Hallam’s family, friends and supporters continue to protest his innocence.

You can send a birthday card to Sam Hallam, letting him know you support for his long campaign for justice, to:

Sam Hallam
A3535AD
HMP Bullingdon
PO Box 50
Bicester, Oxon
0X25 1PZ