Patrick Connolly Meehan (12 April 1927 – 14 August 1994) was the victim of a controversial
miscarriage of justice
A miscarriage of justice occurs when an unfair outcome occurs in a criminal or civil proceeding, such as the conviction and punishment of a person for a crime they did not commit. Miscarriages are also known as wrongful convictions. Innocent ...
in Scotland. Although he died a natural death (of
throat cancer
Head and neck cancer is a general term encompassing multiple cancers that can develop in the head and neck region. These include cancers of the mouth, tongue, gums and lips ( oral cancer), voice box ( laryngeal), throat ( nasopharyngeal, orophar ...
in Swansea)
[Paddy Meecan]
''The Herald'' obituary, 15 August 1994 a number of people involved in the case died violent deaths, in clashes between former associates among
Glasgow
Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
criminals. Meehan came from Glasgow and was a "peter man", a
safe-blower with convictions for bank robbery.
[
In 1969, Rachael Ross was murdered during a robbery at her bungalow in ]Ayr
Ayr ( ; ; , meaning "confluence of the River Àir"), is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. A former royal burgh, today it is the administrative centre of South Ayrshire Council, and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With ...
by two men. Her husband (Abraham Ross) survived the robbery, and he reported that the robbers had addressed each other as "Pat" and "Jim". Police suspected two known criminals, Meehan and James Griffiths, who had been in the area. Griffiths panicked when the police tried to arrest him, and he went on a gun-toting rampage across Glasgow. He was shot dead by police, but only after he shot and injured several passers-by, one of whom later died. Meehan was arrested more peacefully and charged with the murder of Mrs. Ross. His solicitor
A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...
was Joseph Beltrami
Joseph Beltrami (15 May 1932 – 24 February 2015) was a Scottish lawyer of Italian-Swiss descent. He is acknowledged as one of the foremost criminal solicitors in Scottish legal history.
Early life and family
Beltrami was born in Rutherglen, ...
, and his advocate
An advocate is a professional in the field of law. List of country legal systems, Different countries and legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a ba ...
s were Nicholas Fairbairn
Sir Nicholas Hardwick Fairbairn, (24 December 1933 – 19 February 1995) was a Scottish politician and advocate. He was the Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Kinross and Western Perthshire from October 1974 to 1983, and then for Pert ...
and John Smith, who both later became high-ranking politicians.
At his trial, he submitted a defence of