A prisoner serving life for the murder of a man outside a Norfolk pub has had his conviction quashed due to a procedural error in his retrial.
Stuart Layden, 41, has been released from prison on bail after the Court of Appeal ruled that his conviction was unsafe because his arraignment - when he was asked to enter a plea in court - took place too late.
Shop worker Ian Church suffered a fatal brain injury from multiple blows, including kicks to the head, after being attacked by a group of people outside the Bricklayers Arms in Great Yarmouth in 2012.
Layden, a father of three, was found guilty for his part in the killing at Norwich Crown Court in May 2016 after a retrial - having been on trial twice before.
READ MORE: Man jailed for life after being found guilty of murdering man outside Yarmouth pub
He successfully appealed an earlier original murder conviction on March 19, 2015, but was not re-arraigned for a new trial until September 28.
The law states that a defendant who is being retried must be arraigned within two months of their original conviction being quashed - unless an application is granted to extend the time period.
'UNSAFE AND MUST BE QUASHED'
In a written judgement handed down at the Court of Appeal, The Lady Chief Justice, Dame Sue Carr said the delay meant Norwich Crown Court did not have legal jurisdiction for Layden’s retrial.
As a consequence his murder conviction was “unsafe and must be quashed”, she added.
She said: “We recognise that this is to set aside the appellant's conviction for a most serious offence for a procedural error in circumstances where the conviction was otherwise sound and in no prejudice arose out of the failure in question.
“However, the legislation is unambiguous.
“The situation was entirely avoidable, there was ample opportunity for the appellant to be arraigned within the relevant two month period.”
The ruling comes after Layden applied to the Criminal Case Review Commission (CCRC) asking them to look into his case.
READ MORE: Great Yarmouth pub murderer could have conviction overturned
Whether he will face another retrial over the murder will be determined at a later date by the Supreme Court.
The court ordered that Layden, who watched via video link from HMP Highpoint, should be released from prison on conditional bail pending the decision.
In making the decision the court said it had noted that he had already served seven years of his minimum eight year jail term and that the Secretary of State had recently approved his transfer to an open prison.
Layden was told his strict bail condition required him to reside at an address in Harlow, be subject to an electronically monitored curfew between 11pm and 8am, and not to leave the county of Essex.
He must also surrender his passport and was told not to contact any prosecution witnesses directly or indirectly.
ARGUMENT LED TO EARLY HOURS KILLING
Layden had been with a large group of people out drinking in Yarmouth on May 4, 2012 when violence broke out in the early hours following an argument in the pub.
Witnesses described seeing Mr Church being kicked and punched to the back of his head during a prolonged attack.
He suffered a cardiac arrest and died two days later.
READ MORE: Life sentences for four guilty of Great Yarmouth murder
Layden was found guilty after his retrial was told he was "part of that joint enterprise to attack Mr Church".
Three others, Todd Esherwood, Tony Smith and Kelly Taylor, had previously been convicted of Mr Church's murder.
Following a guilty verdict loud screams of "yes" came from the court public gallery where the family and friends of Mr Church were sitting.
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