Letter: Conviction doubts

Sir: It is very alarming that purely on the questionable hearsay of two convicted murderers Michael Stone has been convicted and sentenced to three life terms without a single shred of hard evidence ("Josie's attacker gets life", 24 October).

When in our history has the testimony of convicted felons been deemed unimpeachable and upon which such a draconian sentence could be passed?

While Stone is clearly a deeply disturbed individual and unsafe in society, the guilty verdict passed would not seem to reflect the bedrock of Anglo- Saxon justice, that any conviction comes "beyond all reasonable doubt".

Let us pray that in their haste to finally find the culprit, the powers that be have not inadvertently left the real killer free to roam the countryside.

MONIMA SIDDIQUE

London SW10