pounds 1.4m PAYOUT FOR 11 YEARS IN JAIL; 'Newsagent three' miscarriage of justice victim's stroke compensation: Police still to apologise for wrongful conviction.

Byline: David James 

MISCARRIAGE of justice victim Ellis Sherwood has been awarded pounds 1.4m in compensation because of a stroke he suffered after being released from prison.

The 41-year-old spent 11 years behind bars after being wrongly convicted alongside Michael O'Brien and Darren Hall in 1988 of the murder of Cardiff newsagent Phillip Saunders.

He has been awarded the cash by theHomeOffice after his lawyers were able to show that the stroke, which has left himwithimpairedspeechand limited use of his right arm, was directly related to his prolonged drug abuse in prison after being jailed as a teenager.

The award was made as Mr Sherwood and his partner Yvonne are battling for custody of their children, who were taken into care last month.

Mr Sherwood was also due to appear at Cardiff Crown Court today charged with threatening to kill one of the social workers involved in the case during an meeting at his rented home. He denies the charge.

The Home Office compensation award 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. His partner Yvonne said that despite the compensation, which came three years after Mr Sherwood was paid pounds 200,000 by South Wales Police, their difficulties meant they still could not live the life they wanted. She said: "He's been given the compensation but he's not allowed to live the life he wants. "Hasn't this man been through enough?" MrSherwood,whohasdifficulty communicating, said he was frustrated. The couple are still living in a run-down terraced house in Cardiff and, before the compensation award, were on a waiting list for a council house. The couple have had a difficult relationship with the authorities sinceMr Sherwoodwas releasedfromprisonand have a deep suspicion of them. They are hoping to use the money to buy a family home but have to wait until their lawyers have applied to the Court of Protection to be allowed to spend the money on a home. Their lawyers have advised the couple not tospendmore thanpounds 300,000 on a house so that the rest of the money can be used to care for Ellis for the rest of his life.

Mr Sherwood was convicted of the October 1987 murder of Phillip Saunders partly based on a controversial confession made by one of the three accused, Darren Hall. Mr Saunders had been robbed and attacked outside his home in Anstee Court, Canton, Cardiff, and the takings from his three city centre newspaper kiosks stolen. Five days later he died from head injuries believed to have been caused by a garden spade. Michael O'Brien, Darren Hall and Ellis Sherwood, who stole a car on the night of the murder, were arrested three weeks later and convicted the following year. In 1999, the Court ofAppeal quashed the conviction after hearing evidence that the Darren Hall confession was "full of inconsistencies". Mr Hall said he was pressured by detectives into signing the statement and the judges strongly criticised the actions of the officers concerned. Despite a long-running campaign by Mr O'Brien, South Wales Police has always maintained that the officers in the case acted in good faith and have never apologised for the conviction. The force is also refusing to hold a further inquiry into the actions of the lead detective Stuart Lewis. In October 2006, the force settled out of court withMr O'Brien andMr Sherwood for a total of pounds 500,000, of which pounds 200,000 was paid to Mr Sherwood.

CAPTION(S):

Ellis Sherwood with his wife Yvonne