Leeds Crown Court

Leeds Crown Court is the highest court in West Yorkshire, England. The buildings are situated in Westgate in Leeds city centre, adjacent to Leeds magistrates courts.

Notable cases

• Zsiga Pankotia - found guilty of murder, became the last man to be hanged at Armley Gaol in 1961.
• John Poulson - found guilty of fraud and gaoled for five years (a sentence that was later increased to seven) in 1974.
• Gary Hart - guilty of causing the Selby rail crash and gaoled for five years (released after serving half his sentence) in 2001.
• Nick Griffin - acquitted of incitement to racial hatred in 2006.
• Wearside Jack - The Yorkshire Ripper hoaxer.
• Karen Matthews and Michael Donovan - found guilty in December 2008 of the kidnapping of Shannon Matthews, child neglect and peverting the course of justice. The pair were each sentenced to eight years in prison in January 2009.