Mark Harries KC successfully defends chemical engineer facing criminal charges in a claim for inflicting head injuries to another man in Crown Court trial
26th July 2023
R v X (Isleworth Crown Court)
Mark Harries KC acted for a senior and well-respected chemical engineer facing criminal trial having inflicted near fatal head injuries to another man whom he struck repeatedly with a samurai sword in September 2020.
A jury in August 2023 at Isleworth Crown Court acquitted the defendant of wounding with intent and another jury in July 2024 cleared him of the lesser charge of unlawful wounding following a second trial, finally bringing proceedings to an end. The defence case was that X acted in reasonable and proportionate self-defence, fearing that the man had come to burn down his house after a campaign of threats and harassment targeting the defendant and his family.
The case was privately funded and although a costs order was made in the defendant’s favour to include his legal expenses, the rules limit his recoverable costs to legal aid rates; it serves as a reminder both of the benefits of a well-resourced, privately funded defence and the all-too-common injustice that an innocent man remains significantly out of pocket despite both juries’ favourable verdicts following nearly 3 years of anxious turmoil.
Mark was instructed by Sadique al-Hakeem of Tuckers Solicitors.
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