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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| Killer Stone may get new appeal | Killer Stone may get new appeal |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| The man found guilty of the hammer murders of Lin and Megan Russell in Kent could win a new appeal over his convictions, it has been revealed. | The man found guilty of the hammer murders of Lin and Megan Russell in Kent could win a new appeal over his convictions, it has been revealed. |
| The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) is assessing if there is "any new evidence or anything to cast doubt on the safety of his convictions". | |
| Stone was originally convicted of the 1996 killings in 1998 and then again at a retrial three years later. | Stone was originally convicted of the 1996 killings in 1998 and then again at a retrial three years later. |
| He has also appealed on a second occasion but that was rejected in 2005. | He has also appealed on a second occasion but that was rejected in 2005. |
| 'DNA advances' | |
| A CCRC spokeswoman said on Sunday: "His [Stone's] case file has been allocated to a case review manager. | |
| "If there is any doubt over his convictions, then his case will be referred to the Court of Appeal. | |
| "We will look to consider whether there was anything that wasn't considered at trial or appeal." | |
| Josie Russell survived and now lives with her father in Wales | |
| The spokeswoman added that the timescale for examining the case could be anything from a "few months to years". | |
| Stone's solicitor Paul Bacon said: "We have had a meeting with the CCRC and they are actively re-investigating Michael Stone's case. | |
| "They will look at all aspects of the case including the confession and the forensic evidence, taking into account the advances in DNA technology." | |
| Stone is serving at least 25 years for murdering Dr Russell and her daughter Megan, as well as for the attempted murder of her other daughter Josie. | |
| She survived an attack as the family walked along a country lane in Chillenden, near Canterbury, in July 1996. | |
| Stone won a retrial when his convictions were quashed in February 2001, but he was again found guilty later that year. | |
| A second appeal was turned down in 2005. |