Patrick Meehan

Patrick Connolly Meehan (12 April 1927 – 14 August 1994) was the victim of a controversial miscarriage of justice in Scotland. Although he died a natural death (of throat cancer in Swansea) a number of people involved in the case died violent deaths, in clashes between former associates among Glasgow criminals. Meehan came from Glasgow and was a "peter man", a safe-blower with convictions for bank robbery.

After the trial, Waddell made a number of statements to journalists that he had committed the murder. Meehan spent several years in prison, but was eventually released and given a royal pardon in mid-1976.

Waddell later murdered another woman during a robbery; his criminal anssociate in this murder, Andrew Gentle, murdered Waddell soon after. Gentle was convicted of both murders and later committed suicide in prison.

An inquiry into the miscarriage of justice, held due to public demand, and chaired by Lord Hunter, reported in 1982. This agreed with the judge in Waddell's 1976 acquittal that, despite a pardon, Meehan's guilt was not "disproved", while also concluding that there was no evidence of the police fabricating evidence as claimed. It was widely criticised as a whitewash.

In view of information which has come to light since then, it is now generally accepted that the murder of Rachael Ross was committed by Waddell and William "Tank" McGuiness, another man who was also murdered in 1976, apparently in a drunken street brawl. One crucial aspect of the case was that Beltrami knew that McGuiness had committed the murder of Mrs. Ross since he had told him under client confidentiality, but he was unable to reveal this; he was only able to do so after McGuiness was dead. (The last person to be seen with McGuiness while alive, John Winning, was charged with his murder, but the case against him collapsed because of insufficient evidence. Winning was also later murdered.)