STORY:"Questions raised over Mr. Big police tactic used in Stephen Standage murder case," by reporter Edith Bevan, published by ABC News on August 23, 2014."
GIST: "Legal experts believe a court ruling has cast doubt
on the reliability of confessions obtained during undercover police
stings to convict several murderers, including Tasmanian Stephen
Standage. Standage was sentenced on Monday to 48 years' jail for the murders of Ronald Jarvis in 1992 and John Thorn in 2006. A
Mr Big-style undercover police operation, designed to elicit a
confession through the promise of entry into a criminal gang, was used
on Standage. The tactic, which was also used to trap Brett Peter Cowan, the
killer of 13-year-old Queensland teenager Daniel Morcombe, was pioneered by Canadian police. Earlier this month, Canada's Supreme Court ruled that confessions gained in this manner were unsafe. Melbourne Law School Professor Jeremy Gans agrees with the ruling. "It's too easy for them to go too far and produce wrong evidence," he said. Unless the High Court overturns its use, Mr Big stings are here to stay in Australian courts. "What the Canadian Supreme Court has to say about the dangers it saw in the scheme apply everywhere in the world," he said.........After the jury found him guilty of murders, Standage asked his lawyer to say only one thing in his defence. He
maintains his innocence, suggesting an appeal is likely, and it may be a
while yet before Tasmania's longest-running murder trial is truly over."
The entire story can be found at:
Dear Reader. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following this case.
I
have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses
several thousand posts. The search box is located near the bottom of
the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this
powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and
myself get more out of the site.
The
Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible
years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr.
Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of
Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic"
section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It
can be found at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.ca/2013/12/the-charles-smith-award-presented-to_28.html
I look forward to hearing from readers at:
hlevy15@gmail.com.
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.
