"PROFESSOR WILSON SAID ANYONE WHO THOUGHT THEY WERE THE VICTIM OF A MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE IN THE UNITED KINGDOM COULD APPLY TO THE INDEPENDENT COMMISSION, WHICH WOULD REFER CERTAIN CASES TO THE APPEAL COURTS.
HE SAID THE NEED FOR THE NEW BODY WAS BACKED BY THE FACT HE CURRENTLY RECEIVED INFORMATION ON THREE OR FOUR NEW CASES OF POSSIBLE MISCARRIAGES EVERY MONTH, SOME OF WHICH MAY BE WORTH PURSUING.
AUSTRALIAN COUNCIL FOR CIVIL LIBERTIES PRESIDENT TERRY O'GORMAN LAST YEAR BACKED CALLS FOR AN INDEPENDENT REVIEW COMMISSION."
REPORTER DANIEL HURST: THE BRISBANE TIMES;
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BACKGROUND: (WIKIPEDIA): Graham Stuart Stafford was a sheet metal worker from Goodna, near Ipswich, Queensland who was convicted in 1992 of the murder of twelve-year-old Leanne Sarah Holland. Leanne Holland, the younger sister of Stafford's former partner, Melissa Holland, was murdered in September 1991. Her viciously mutilated body was found three days after she was reported missing in nearby Redbank Plains. It is possible she was also sexually interfered with and tortured with a cigarette lighter. Stafford appealed to the Queensland Court of Appeal, but this appeal was rejected on 25 August 1992. In 1997, the Queensland Court of Appeal re-examined the case after Stafford lodged an application for pardon with the State Governor on the basis of evidence gathered by private detective, Graeme Crowley. The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal again by a two-to-one majority on the grounds that there was still enough evidence to convict. Two applications for special leave to the High Court of Australia subsequently failed. Stafford was released in June 2006 after serving over 14 years in prison. Stafford, who was born in England and does not have Australian citizenship despite having migrated to Australia in 1969, faced deportation in November 2006. Some people, including Professor Paul Wilson of Bond University believe that Stafford is a victim of a miscarriage of justice. The Queensland Attorney-General, Kerry Shine, has agreed to closely consider any request on Stafford's behalf concerning a petition to clear him of the murder conviction. In April 2008, the Queensland Attorney-General referred the case to the Court of Appeal for a very rare second appeal for pardon. On December 24, 2009 the Court of Appeal overturned Graham Stafford's conviction and ordered a retrial by a 2-1 majority. The dissenting judge wanted an immediate acquittal.
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"Queensland needs a UK-style independent commission to assess miscarriage of justice claims, according to a criminologist who backed Graham Stafford's fight to clear his name," reporter Daniel Hurst's story, published on December 25, 2009, in the Brisbane Times begins.
"Stafford was released from jail in 2006 after serving almost 15 years over the death of Leanne Holland, 12, whose body was dumped in bushland south-west of Brisbane, in September 1991," the story continues.
"The Queensland Court of Appeal yesterday quashed his murder conviction and ordered a retrial, which will go ahead if the Director of Public Prosecutions decides to pursue the matter.
Bond University criminologist Paul Wilson, who co-wrote a book arguing Stafford's innocence, renewed his call for a new body to be established to negotiate such matters.
When Stafford sought to clear his name following his release from jail, he sent a brief of evidence to the then attorney-general Kerry Shine who referred it to the Court of Appeal, Professor Wilson said.
"Despite the decision I think it's critical that we have a criminal cases review commission like they do in the UK," he said.
"The CMC is incapable by their record of rectifying miscarriages of justice and the fact the Stafford case has gone on for years shows just how hard it is to change one miscarriage of justice."
Professor Wilson said anyone who thought they were the victim of a miscarriage of justice in the United Kingdom could apply to the independent commission, which would refer certain cases to the appeal courts.
He said the need for the new body was backed by the fact he currently received information on three or four new cases of possible miscarriages every month, some of which may be worth pursuing.
Australian Council for Civil Liberties president Terry O'Gorman last year backed calls for an independent review commission.
Mr O'Gorman claimed the existing process was "fundamentally flawed" because it required the decision of a politician."
The story can be found at:
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/criminal-review-commission-needed-criminologist-20091224-lefp.html
Harold Levy...hlevy15@gmail.com;
