Payout after prison drugs stroke

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A man who spent 11 years in jail for a murder he did not commit could receive a six-figure compensation sum for a stroke he suffered after taking heroin.

Ellis Sherwood, 41, of Cardiff, was wrongly convicted with two other men of the murder of newsagent Philip Saunders and freed on appeal in 1999.

Mr Sherwood said his stroke was as a result of taking heroin in jail.

But Monmouth Conservative MP David Davies said a Home Office payout could "open floodgates".

Media reports have suggested that Mr Sherwood has already received a payout totalling £1.4m.

However, other reports said that although a claim for compensation is being looked at, a cash award has yet to be made.

I know some people will say I took the drugs of my own free will but I only took them because I was pushed into a corner Ellis Sherwood

The Ministry of Justice would not comment on individual cases, but said ministers would decide if someone is eligible for compensation, and an independent assessor would then decide the amount.

Mr Saunders, 52, ran a newspaper kiosk in Cardiff central bus station and he was ambushed and beaten late one night in October 1987 as he returned to his home in the city's Canton area.

He died three days later when his life support machine was turned off. His killer has never been found.

Mr Sherwood, Michael O'Brien and Darren Hall were jailed for life in 1988 before being cleared by appeal court judges in 1999.

Two years later, Mr Sherwood suffered a severe stroke, which left him with impaired speech and limited use of his right arm.

His lawyers were reported to have argued that a stroke he suffered since his release from prison was linked to prolonged drug abuse while inside.

'Dangerous precedent'

Mr Sherwood, now a father-of-three, who served his time in Long Lartin prison in Worcestershire, along with spells in Cardiff and Bristol jails, defended the compensation payout.

"I was given drugs in all of those places - it was freely available," he said.

"I know some people will say I took the drugs of my own free will but I only took them because I was pushed into a corner. "

"I'd never have got involved in drugs if I hadn't gone inside."

We could end up with half of all prisoners coming out and suing for compensation for they drugs they choose to take while inside David Davies, Monmouth MP

Solicitors are said to have advised Mr Sherwood and his partner Yvonne Harvey not to spend more than £300,000 on a house so the rest of the money can be used to care for him for the rest of his life.

The compensation is being held by the Court of Protection as the father-of-three's stroke is "deemed to have left him unable to be responsible for his own affairs".

Conservative MP Mr Davies said compensation could lead to more prisoners suing.

"I can't see how anyone who has voluntarily taken drugs - whether in or out of prison - should be paid compensation out of public money," he said.

"I am concerned that this could set a dangerous precedent. Our prisons are riddled with drugs - they are pouring in through visitors who are not being searched.

"We could end up with half of all prisoners coming out and suing for compensation for they drugs they choose to take while inside. It could this country an absolute fortune."

But Michael O'Brien, who was jailed with Mr Sherwood, said: "It's not as easy to... not take drugs in prison because nearly everyone does take drugs.

"And I think Ellis took it, the same as I did, just to block out everything that's happened. It was a coping mechanism and when you have a traumatic experience everybody finds their own coping mechanism.

"Unfortunately for Ellis it was heroin."