MICHAEL SHIELDS RELEASE: AT LAST, BUT SOMETHING'S NOT RIGHT

SO, finally - after 1,563 days in custody - common sense has prevailed and Michael Shields has been released.

For any normal football fan it is a moment to rejoice, no matter what team you support.

It remains a travesty that it took so long to happen, almost inexplicable when you look at the evidence.

The Liverpool fan from Edge Hill has lost four years of his life while his family have been put through torture, not only by their son's situation, but by Government red tape and brain-dead morons who, amongst other things, burnt the family car and threatened to kidnap their daughter.

Let's hope the Shields family can now return to some kind of normality and Michael can get on with living his life - and supporting Liverpool FC.

Of course, that's not the end of it for the rest of the world - and question one is, when is Jack Straw going to give us a straight answer as to why it took so long?

His rhetoric so far just doesn't ring true.

Basically, he claims that in a meeting at the end of August, the family revealed for the first time that another man (you know who) admitted the attempted murder of Martin Georgiev to them - and in front of independent witnesses.

Apparently, this has taken four years to come to light - and as soon as it did Straw acted.

Anyone else think there's some bending of the truth along the way to suit the Government story?

Straw added: "I will not set out in this statement all the evidence that has come to light over the last two weeks but suffice it to say that there is very good reason to believe I was being told the truth. This in my view profoundly changed the credibility of the various accounts of what actually happened in this case."

Well the man in question has made a statement admitting the crime before - and through a solicitor.

But Straw, when quizzed by journalists about this today, stumbled his way through an unconvincing argument - banging on about some crucial facts being wrong and the situation under which that written confession was made.

It hardly set the record straight.

Then Straw claimed to be "astonished" when the Shields family told of the verbal confession which he says they "blurted out" in a meeting in his constituency in Blackburn two weeks ago.

The oral confession was said to have happened on 22 July 2005, a day after the start of Michael’s trial in Bulgaria.

So the Shields family had NEVER mentioned this to their legal team, their MP, the police in four years?

Surely they would have exhausted every possible angle, gone over every possible scenario to secure the release of their son?

It doesn't add up and, if Straw and co have cocked up, they should say so.

At least now Michael is free, that is the main thing.

But let's not now forget that there is another man that needs to be facing the Bulgarian courts. Georgiev deserves justice too.

Back to the start of this post, and I mentioned that Michael's release is a victory for any "normal" football fan.

Unfortunately, there's plenty of people around who appear far from normal.

I really don't understand what possesses people to turn Michael Shields' release into a reason to slag off Scousers.

And before people post it, yes, I'm aware Liverpool has it's own supporters who are far from normal, people who mock the Munich disaster and so on.

I don't understand them either.

But really, what is the thought process? What makes you want to post stuff like this?

The Times:

jem - wrote:
what? did he get six mates to admit it was them instead?
September 9, 2009 10:38 AM BST

BBC 606 site:

posted 36 Minutes Ago

scousers are always guilty of something

add comment | complain about this comment
comment by RYAN_SOLIHULL_BLUENOSE (U10890740)

posted 29 Minutes Ago

Steeeeeeeeeeevie gerrrrrraardddddd

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comment by superstuartfleetwood (U2955905)

posted 24 Minutes Ago

Terrible news, now when I attempt to murder someone I can expect to be in jail for about 3 years.

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comment by LeeCarsleysFridge (U13099046)

posted 5 Minutes Ago

Yet another thing for the filth... I mean community of Liverpool to hug each other about.

comment by Bugar Di Fino (U1940417)

posted 1 Hour Ago

Have they put the claim in for compensation yet?

comment by Those were the days my friends. (U14085277)

posted 23 Minutes Ago

Check me cars still got four wheels...me cars gone !

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I'm sure there's worse out there. Why? What does it achieve, what is the point?

In my eyes, other than making you look like a grade A, ignorant, bigoted, ill-educated c***, it achieves nothing.

Anyway, good luck Michael.

FREE MICHAEL SHIELDS

AMIDST the predictable whinging and whining about Steven Gerrard's acquittal, I heard some top quality bullshit spouted about Michael Shields.

That was that Scousers are just fighting for him to be freed because he's from Liverpool - and we don't actually have any reasons to justify that fight.

So ignoring the bigotry, for the record, how about:

* Key to the evidence against him are the statements of Bulgarian witnesses who identified him in a identity parade.

* Many of these witnesses had seen Michael in a police car at the scene after he was taken by police from his hotel room, told to wear a white t-shirt (not his), and was left sat in the car for 30 minutes.

* Several of the witnesses also saw Michael chained to a radiator in a public area of the police station before he had even been charged. He was there for 16 hours.

* Michael's picture appeared in Bulgarian newspapers before the identity parade, which was carried out with no defence lawyer present and with non-suspects who did not resemble Michael in any way.

* Michael's hair was forcibly shaved by police for the court case.

* Michael has taken, and passed, a lie detector test.

* An eye witness to the attack has given a statement to the Bulgarian courts to say it was not Michael who attacked the Bulgarian waiter.

* Eyewitness Mr. A recalls in his sworn statement:"It was only when I saw the photograph of Michael Shields that I realised the police had arrested the wrong man. I was able to see Michael was a big lad and had blond hair. The lad in the white T-shirt who dropped the brick was short and dark."

* The police investigation concluded that Mr. A was "truthful in providing this account" and that he was an honest and independent witness who had befriended the victim, Martin Georgiev, only hours before the attack.

* A hotel porter gave evidence saying that Michael returned to his hotel hours before the attack.

* The former head of Nottinghamshire Police's Serious Crime Squad, Peter Coles, looked at the case and dismissed the evidence against Shields as "not worth the paper it's written on".

* There is no forensic evidence.

* Another man, Graham Sankey, has admitted he attacked the waiter and made a signed confession, which was later withdrawn.

Meanwhile, Michael's family have been subjected to crank calls, threats to kidnap their daughters and their car was petrol bombed.

Still funny? Still think Scousers are fighting for him to be released because we're 'playing the victim?'

Free Michael Shields.