The Ched Evans rape case is not over. The former Sheffield United striker may have been released last year after serving half of his sentence.
However, the case has been reviewed by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), and they have referred the case back to the Court of Appeal after fresh evidence was lodged by his lawyers.
The CCRC are of the view that this new evidence, which was not considered by the jury at trial, could have aided Evans's defence.
The commission chair Richard Foster said:
Our role is to consider applications to see if, in our judgment, there is any basis on which to ask the court to hear a fresh appeal - that is our statutory responsibility.
In this case we have identified new material which was not considered by the jury at trial and which, in our view, might have assisted the defence. In those circumstances, it is right and proper for the matter to be before the court so that they can decide whether or not the new information should affect the verdict in this case.
Evans was originally convicted in April 2012, and has already had an appeal rejected by three judges later in the same year.
Evans family have welcomed the decision and have released a statement via their controversial campaign website:
Ched and those who closely support him have always maintained that he was wrongly convicted and, using new information that was not presented at his trial, we expect that in time his conviction will be quashed.
