LONG-AWAITED REPORT RELEASED IN AUSTRALIAN ANDREW MALLARD CASE: RELEVANT TO PEOPLE WHO VALUE JUSTICE NO MATTER WHERE IN THE WORLD THEY ARE LOCATED;

"THE REPORT FOUND MR SHERVILL HAD CAUSED WITNESSES TO CHANGE THEIR STATEMENTS, DROPPING REFERENCES TO THEIR EARLIER ACCOUNTS.

IT SAID MR SHERVILL MADE FALSE ENTRIES IN POLICE RECORDS IN RELATION TO THOSE CHANGES AND ASKED A CHEMIST TO DELETE ANY REFERENCE TO SALT WATER TESTING ON MR MALLARD'S CLOTHING IN A REPORT GIVEN TO HIS DEFENCE LAWYERS.

MR DUNFORD'S REPORT SAID MR SHERVILL HAD ALSO FAILED TO DISCLOSE WITNESSES' ORIGINAL STATEMENTS, INCLUDING FORENSIC TEST REPORTS AND UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPTS TO LOCATE A WEAPON CAPABLE OF INFLICTING THE WOUNDS THAT MRS LAWRENCE SUFFERED, TO MR MALLARD'S LAWYERS."

NEWS.COM.AU;

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In a previous Blog I reported that a long-awaited report on the Australian Andrew Mallard case was about to be released.

By way of brief WIKIPEDIA background:

Andrew Mallard is a Western Australian who was wrongfully convicted of murder in 1995and sentenced to life imprisonment.

He was released from prison in 2006 after his conviction was quashed by the High Court of Australia.

Mallard had been convicted of the murder of Pamela Lawrence, a business proprietor, who was killed at her shop, on May 23, 1994.

The evidence used in Mallard's trial was scanty and obscure, and it was later revealed that police withheld vital information from his defence team.

Almost twelve years later, after an appeal to the High Court, his conviction was quashed, and a re-trial ordered. However, the charges against him were dropped and Mallard was released.

At the time, the Director of Public Prosecutions stated that Andrew Mallard remained the prime suspect and that if further evidence became available he could still be prosecuted.

In 2006 police conducted a review of the investigation and subsequently a cold case review.

As a result they uncovered sufficiently compelling evidence to charge convicted murderer Simon Rochford with the murder of Pamela Lawrence and to eliminate Andrew Mallard as a person of interest.

Prior to this being announced publicly, and after he had been interviewed by police, Simon Rochford was found dead in his cell in Albany Prison, having committed suicide.

The Western Australian Commission on Crime and Corruption is currently investigating whether there was misconduct by any public officer (police, prosecutors or Members of Parliament) associated with this case."

The Mallard case is of interest to this Blog first and foremost because miscarriages of justice have no borders - and there are many things we can all learn from such a well-documented experience no matter where in the world we reside.

It is also of interest because the police skulduggery that led to this wrongful conviction - and the spectre of an innocent man being branded as a murderer and locked up for twelve years - involved forensic evidence.

I will deal with some of the police/forensic aspects of the Mallard travesty in future postings.

For now, here is the early news story on release of the Crime and Corruption Commission report which ran on October 7, under the heading: "Police misconduct in Andrew Mallard case."

(The story also bore the captions: "Two assistant commissioners accused of misconduct; Deputy DPP also involved; Andrew Mallard wrongfully jailed for 12 years.")

"WESTERN Australia's corruption watchdog recommends disciplinary action against two assistant police commissioners and the deputy director of public prosecution over the wrongful murder conviction of a Perth man," the story began.

"The Corruption and Crime Commission (CCC) investigation by John Dunford, QC, centred on the prosecution and appeals of Andrew Mallard, whose conviction for the 1994 murder of Perth jeweller Pamela Lawrence was quashed in 2005 by the High Court," the story continued.

"Mr Mallard spent 12 years in jail before walking free in 2006 after the High Court found there had been a miscarriage of justice.

The CCC report tabled in the West Australian parliament today listed four findings of misconduct against Assistant Commissioner Mal Shervill, who led the murder investigation as a detective sergeant.

It included two findings of misconduct against Assistant Commissioner David Caporn, who worked on the case as a detective sergeant.

There were also two findings of misconduct against the deputy DPP Ken Bates, who prosecuted Mr Mallard at his 1995 trial.

The report found Mr Shervill had caused witnesses to change their statements, dropping references to their earlier accounts.

It said Mr Shervill made false entries in police records in relation to those changes and asked a chemist to delete any reference to salt water testing on Mr Mallard's clothing in a report given to his defence lawyers.

Mr Dunford's report said Mr Shervill had also failed to disclose witnesses' original statements, including forensic test reports and unsuccessful attempts to locate a weapon capable of inflicting the wounds that Mrs Lawrence suffered, to Mr Mallard's lawyers.

Mr Caporn had written a letter to the police prosecutor in 1994 which contained incorrect and misleading information relating to the case and also caused witnesses to alter their statements.

Mr Bates had prosecuted the trial on the basis that a wrench depicted by Mr Mallard in a drawing was the murder weapon, but made no attempt to prove Mrs Lawrence's injuries were consistent with the use of a wrench, the report said.

He had also failed to disclose forensic test results about the wrench to Mr Mallard's lawyer and did not ensure the results were disclosed by police.

Labor MP John Quigley, who as a lawyer acted for Mr Mallard in the case, had not engaged in serious misconduct in threatening to disclose the identity of an undercover officer, Mr Dunford found.

Mr Dunford's report also made recommendations regarding police interviews of mentally ill suspects, police training and the documentation of advice received from the DPP's office."

Harold Levy...hlevy15@gmail.com;