Convicted murderer Michael Ross is still claiming innocence after 30 years, with his lawyer describing his situation as "no man's land".

In a chilling crime that shocked the community, a masked gunman wearing a balaclava entered Kirwall's Mumataz Restaurant at approximately 7.10pm in June 1994 and cold-bloodedly shot 26-year-old waiter Shamsuddin Mahmood before making an exit.

Despite the passing of years, the culprit remained at large until Ross, who was just 15 at the time of the murder, was apprehended and found guilty in 2008.

Following his conviction, Ross made headlines for his dramatic but unsuccessful attempt to flee the High Court in Glasgow; he now remains incarcerated at HMP Shotts in Lanarkshire, as reported by the BBC.

has recently released a gripping one-off special titled 'The Orkney Assassin: Murder In The Isles', which delves into the case through interviews with law enforcement, eyewitnesses, journalists, and Ross' own family.

Ahead of the documentary's premiere, Ross' solicitor Aamer Anwar spoke exclusively to Screen Time, providing insight into his client's current plight.

"I suppose he's very much in no man's land," Anwar commented.

"The difficulty with an appeal is...if you've ever watched Shawshank Redemption and Andy comes into prison and Morgan Freeman tells him 'Don't you know everyone's innocent inside'.

"But I've come to learn from over 25 years of being a lawyer that the reality is there are lots of innocent people inside prison.

"How to prove it is another matter, because the system is almost a raid against human rights throughout the United Kingdom, to be able to fight your appeal and to prove your innocence.

"And even if you say you have five pinnacles of evidence, five issues, and one is so critical.

"For instance, someone comes in and lies about you and says 'I saw him, that's definitely him.'

"But that person is ruled out, 'well we'll still rely on the other four afterwards.'

"The damage is already done. So therein lies the problem, as in people remain convicted."

Anwar then underlined the critical role DNA evidence plays in securing justice.

"The idea that someone could walk into a restaurant, shoot someone at point blank range and not leave anything of themselves, beggar's belief.

"I always say to my lecture students, to commit a murder is extremely difficult.

"To not leave anything of yourself: footprints, DNA, CCTV maybe, whatever it may be.

"Fair enough, this is a remote island but there were still people there.

"The idea that this person then disappears into the darkness? Then begs the question that people always said, 'well they never closed the ports of entry and exit.'

"Is it somebody from off the island that came on, well how do they know? They didn't."

Decades after the incident, Ross has remained consistent in declaring his innocence and has made several escape attempts from incarceration, most notably in 2018 when he attempted to scale a fence.

"You still have someone who claims he is innocent, who has never given up that he is innocent, who is still fighting to prove his innocence," Anwar added.

"He could have made his life a lot easier by saying 'I did it.' A lot more chance of parole then, a lot more chance of getting out earlier."

The Orkney Assassin: Murder In The Isles is available to watch on Prime Video.