Kevin Sweeney has been in a Dutch prison since 2001, after being convicted of the murder of his wife. Her body was found in the couple’s house after a fire. There was no evidence of arson, and Sweeney himself had an alibi that showed he was a long way from the house that night.

His trial was a farce. The prosecution (which *always* has first go) was allowed to present its case *after* the defence, denying Sweeney’s legal team the chance to contest any of the points within it. And then:

The President of the Court and the other two judges refused to produce a written verdict, without which Sweeney could not appeal against his conviction to the Dutch Supreme Court. After seven months Sweeney was driven to go on hunger strike to try to obtain the written verdict. When he finally received it another astonishing revelation unfolded. The written verdict stated that the indictment produced by the prosecutor was confusing and the judges did not understand it. Therefore they had illegally changed the indictment themselves, after the end of the trial in order to secure a conviction.

(via Private Eye)