Body of man who died in Florida jail to return to UK

The body of a British businessman who spent 38 years in a Florida jail for a double murder he always denied is being flown back to the UK.

Kris Maharaj was declared innocent by a judge in 2019 but was never released and died in prison earlier this month, aged 85.

His lawyer, Clive Stafford Smith, continues to support Mr Maharaj's wife, Marita, who now lives in his home town of Bridport, Dorset.

Mr Maharaj's funeral is due to take place in West Bay on Tuesday.

The self-made millionaire was convicted of murdering his former business partner, Derrick Moo Young, and his son at a hotel in Miami in October 1986.

He spent 15 years on death row before his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment.

Mr Stafford Smith, who took on the case in 1993, said alibi witnesses, including Mr Maharaj's wife, were never called to testify at the original trial.

He said members of the Colombian Medellín Cartel, founded by notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar, also confessed to the killings.

According to Reprieve, the human rights group set up by Mr Stafford Smith, federal magistrate Judge Alicia M Otazo-Reyes made a legal finding in 2019 that Mr Maharaj had proven his innocence by "clear and convincing evidence" and "no reasonable juror could convict him".

But the judge also ruled this was not sufficient for Mr Maharaj to be set free - and he had to continue his legal fight to be released.

Mr Stafford Smith said: "I went down to Medellín a couple of times and six members of the cartel said 'we're the ones who did this.'

"We gradually exposed everyone in the case as being involved in drugs, except for Kris.

"Even the first judge was taken away in handcuffs because he had tried to take a bribe from an officer posing as a cartel [member].

"I've done 400 or so death penalty cases over the years and, of all the cases, this is the most unjust.

"He was in a cell with 80 other men - it was an octogenarian retirement home, effectively, of a really horrible sort.

"He had a 3ft-wide (91cm) bed and another 3ft before the next bed.

"He couldn't read any more, he was blind. The only joy he had left in life was to get on the phone with Marita for five minutes each day. It was so, so sad."

Mrs Maharaj came to live in Bridport in March after spending decades in the US to be near her husband.

She said, in all that time, she always laid a place for him at the dinner table.

"Maybe it was silly of me but I always hoped he will come through the door," she said.

"I never thought that Kris would die. I always thought that, for at least even a short time, we would be together before we both die.

"I didn't know he was very sick. When Clive told me that he was dead I went completely crazy, because that was a shock."

Mr Maharaj died on 5 August. His body will be flown into Heathrow at 07:30 BST on Wednesday before being transported to Bridport.

He was an avid cricket fan so, on Monday, a cricket match will be held at Broadwindsor from 13:00, followed by a barbecue and fireworks.

On Tuesday at 10:00, a memorial walk will take place from West Bay pier where participants will walk 13,808 paces to mark the number of days Mr Maharaj spent in prison.

This will be followed by the funeral service at Bridport Catholic Church at 15:30.

Speaking to Steve Harris on BBC Radio Solent, Mr Stafford Smith said: "We've got to give him a good send-off for Marita's sake.

"The more people who come along, the better. Marita deserves that support for her incredible loyalty.

"The number one thing Marita wants is to clear his name.

"As far as I'm concerned, we did it 10 years ago, but now we can't do it in courts any more - we can only do it in the court of public opinion."

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