Briton's final US murders appeal

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/uk/6938025.stm

Version 0 of 1.

A former London businessman who has spent 21 years in prison in Florida is making a final appeal for clemency.

Krishna Maharaj, 68, was convicted of murdering a business associate and his son in a Miami hotel in 1986.

Several witnesses have come forward to say Maharaj was 30 miles away at the time of the murders.

Maharaj's case is supported by the Foreign Office and several cabinet ministers including Justice Secretary Jack Straw.

Maharaj spent 15 years on Florida's Death Row before his sentence was commuted to life in 2002.

Now he has one last chance of freedom by seeking clemency from the state of Florida.

Alibi witnesses

Maharaj has always protested his innocence, and five alibi witnesses have placed him 30 miles from the murders.

I feel like David fighting Goliath for 20 years Krishna Maharaj

Speaking from his prison in mid-Florida ahead of his appeal, Maharaj said: "I feel like David fighting Goliath for 20 years with the confidence that God will make sure justice prevails in the end.

"If not, I would have died in here."

Political support for him has grown steadily back in the UK.

Some 300 politicians have called for a retrial and now the UK government itself is calling for clemency.

This follows a lengthy investigation by the Foreign Office which found prima facie evidence of a miscarriage of justice.