On Wednesday morning, an appeal panel reviewed the conviction（定罪判决）/kən'vɪkʃ(ə)n/ of Leon Mercer, a defendant（被告）/dɪ'fend(ə)nt/ sentenced to twelve years' imprisonment（监禁）/ɪm'prɪz(ə)nm(ə)nt/ for homicide（杀人罪）/'hɒmɪsaɪd/. On behalf of（代表）/ɒn bɪˈhɑːf əv/ Leon, barrister（出庭律师）/'bærɪstə/ Ava Cole asked the court to quash（撤销）/kwɒʃ/ the judgement（判决书）/'dʒʌdʒm(ə)nt/. She argued that his confession（供认）/kən'feʃ(ə)n/ had been obtained during unlawful（非法的）/ʌn'lɔːfʊl/ detention（拘留）/dɪ'tenʃ(ə)n/ and that a new genetic（遗传物质的）/dʒɪ'netɪk/ test weakened the cartridge（弹壳）/'kɑːtrɪdʒ/ evidence. The prosecution replied that the conviction rested on several sources, so the hearing had to distinguish a procedural（程序上的）/prə'siːdʒərəl/ failure from proof of innocence（清白）/'ɪnəsəns/.

At the original trial, a survivor（幸存者）/sə'vaɪvə/'s recollection（回忆）/,rekə'lekʃ(ə)n/ placed Leon near the warehouse. Police had intercepted（截听）/,ɪntə'sept/ a call with an alleged accomplice（同谋）/ə'kʌmplɪs/, and a firearm（枪支）/'faɪərɑːm/ was found in a shared shed. The prosecution said the cartridge in question（所涉及的）/ɪn ˈkwestʃən/ linked Leon to a conspiracy（共同犯罪计划）/kən'spɪrəsɪ/ and showed intent（意图）/ɪn'tent/ to commit intentional（故意的）/ɪn'tenʃ(ə)n(ə)l/ homicide. Ava answered that his alibi（不在场证明）/'ælɪbaɪ/ remained plausible and that an accidental（意外的）/æksɪ'dent(ə)l/ discharge by another offender（犯罪者）/ə'fendə(r)/ could instead amount to manslaughter（过失杀人罪）/'mænslɔːtə/. The circumstantial（间接的）/sɜːkəm'stænʃ(ə)l/ case had incriminated（使负罪）/ɪn'krɪmɪneɪt/ Leon, but it had never identified the actual culprit（真正责任人）/'kʌlprɪt/.

The panel read a genetic specialist's deposition（书面证词）/,depə'zɪʃ(ə)n/. Modern genetics showed that material on the cartridge came from another offender. A laboratory log also recorded that someone had tried to tamper（篡改）/'tæmpə/ with the evidence seal. The specialist, warned that a false statement would be perjury（伪证罪）/'pɜːdʒ(ə)rɪ/, confirmed that her account was truthful（如实的）/'truːθfʊl/. A former juror（陪审员）/'dʒʊərə/ attended under a summons（传票）/'sʌm(ə)nz/ and described the original deliberation（评议）/dɪ,lɪbə'reɪʃ(ə)n/. She said the jury had treated the confession as decisive because no one disclosed Leon's earlier complaint（申诉）/kəm'pleɪnt/ and grievance（不满申诉）/'griːv(ə)ns/ about coercion（胁迫）/kəʊ'ɜːʃ(ə)n/. At this stage（现阶段）/æt ðɪs steɪdʒ/, nothing in the old record could explain the genetic result.

In accordance with（按照）/ɪn əˈkɔːdəns wɪð/ the constitutional（宪法规定的）/kɒnstɪ'tjuːʃ(ə)n(ə)l/ provision（条款）/prə'vɪʒ(ə)n/ and legislation（法律规定）/ledʒɪs'leɪʃ(ə)n/ governing access to counsel, Ava challenged the confession. Addressing the panel, Ava said, “A confession obtained through coercion is not made lawful（合法的）/'lɔːfʊl/ merely because other evidence exists. Without it, the remaining material may not be admissible（可采纳的）/əd'mɪsɪb(ə)l/ or sufficient.” In light of（鉴于）/ɪn laɪt əv/ a settled precedent（判例）/'presɪd(ə)nt/, the prosecution asked the panel not to overrule（推翻）/əʊvə'ruːl/ the original court without a clear rationale（判决理由）/,ræʃə'nɑːl/. The presiding judge replied, “We need not annul（废止）/ə'nʌl/ any law. We must decide whether procedural fairness（公平）/'feənɪs/ requires an equitable（公平的）/'ekwɪtəb(ə)l/ result.”

After further deliberation, the panel published its rationale. The intercepted call and survivor's account still required examination, but the confession had been obtained unlawfully and the genetic result altered the evidential picture. The court chose to set aside（暂时搁置）/set əˈsaɪd/ the conviction and ordered a new trial. Its judgement stressed that this was not an acquittal（无罪判决）/ə'kwɪtəl/: the panel had not chosen to acquit（宣告无罪）/ə'kwɪt/ Leon, exonerate（证明无罪）/ɪg'zɒnəreɪt/ him, or vindicate（证明清白）/'vɪndɪkeɪt/ every part of his alibi. It had found that the old verdict could no longer（不再）/nəʊ ˈlɒŋɡə/ stand safely.

On that basis（据此）/ɒn ðæt ˈbeɪsɪs/, the panel found no reason to（没有理由做）/nəʊ ˈriːzən tuː/ keep Leon imprisoned pending retrial. He left prison under release conditions. His advocacy（权益倡导）/'ædvəkəsɪ/ group called the ruling a safeguard against a miscarriage（司法不公）/mɪs'kærɪdʒ/ of justice, while avoiding claims that his innocence had been established. Any compensation（赔偿）/kɒmpen'seɪʃ(ə)n/ or other redress（救济）/rɪ'dres/ would depend on（取决于）/dɪˈpendɪd ɒn/ the final outcome. The prosecution retained the lawful option to bring the homicide offence（罪行）/ə'fens/ again, but it could no longer rely on the coerced confession. A visible result followed: the imprisonment based on the defective conviction ended, and every remaining allegation had to be tested in open court.