A BRITISH businessman sentenced to death by a Florida court in 1987 submitted new evidence yesterday, which his legal representatives believe could finally prove his innocence.

Kris Maharaj, now 75 years old, was handed a death sentence almost three decades ago in Miami for the murders of Derrick and Duane Moo Young, after what legal action charity Reprieve has shown to have been a seriously flawed trial and an incompetent initial defence.

Since then, leaked evidence suppressed by the US government has shown the Moo Youngs were laundering up to $5 billion (£3bn) for the Colombian drug cartels.

Former cartel operatives recently admitted that the murders were carried out by the Medellin cartel on the orders of drug baron Pablo Escobar.

Last month, Judge William Thomas ordered a full evidentiary hearing in Mr Maharaj’s case to consider his innocence, governmental suppression of favourable evidence and perjury by prosecution witnesses.

Next week the judge will set a date for the full evidentiary hearing.

Witness statements and other evidence compiled by Mr Maharaj’s legal team appear to support the former cartel members’ claims, which have never before been considered by the courts. 

Mr Maharaj’s lawyer and Reprieve director Clive Stafford Smith said: “A full consideration of the evidence is long overdue in Kris’s case, and Judge Thomas has shown great courage in ordering a new hearing. This new evidence finally gives Kris a chance to prove his innocence, after 27 years spent in prison for a crime he patently did not commit.”