"AT LAST MONTH'S HEARING, HIS BARRISTER DOUGLAS SAVAGE SC ARGUED SEVERAL POINTS NOT PRESENTED AT THE 1992 TRIAL.
AMONG THEM WAS THAT THERE HAD BEEN SIGHTINGS OF LEANNE AFTER THE TIME MR STAFFORD WOULD HAVE HAD HIS ONLY OPPORTUNITY TO KILL HER.
MR SAVAGE ALSO SAID THERE WAS EVIDENCE THAT SUGGESTED A MAGGOT FOUND BY POLICE IN MR STAFFORD'S BOOT WAS NOT THE SAME GENUS AS THOSE FOUND ON LEANNE'S BODY AND THAT THIS ERROR MAY HAVE AFFECTED THE RELIABILITY OF THE DETERMINED TIME OF DEATH.
FURTHERMORE, HE SAID A TYRE EXPERT HAD SINCE CAST DOUBT ON THE RELIABILITY OF A POLICE OFFICER'S EVIDENCE THAT TYRE TRACKS FOUND AT THE SCENE MATCHED THOSE OF MR STAFFORD'S CAR.
THE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS, TONY MOYNIHAN SC, SAID A DECISION HAD NOT YET BEEN MADE ON WHETHER ANOTHER TRIAL WOULD GO AHEAD."
AAP: THE COURRIER MAIL;
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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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"A MAN who served 15 years' jail for the murder of a 13-year-old schoolgirl described his ordeal as a nightmare after his conviction was quashed," the story, published in the Courrier Mail on December 24, 2009, under the heading "Graham Stafford murder conviction quashed; to face retrial begins."
"Graham Stuart Stafford was jailed for life in 1992 after being found guilty in the Queensland Supreme Court of murdering schoolgirl Leanne Holland," the story continues.
"He was convicted on circumstantial evidence of using a blunt object to bash to death the sister of his then-fiancee at a home in Goodna on September 23, 1991.
It was alleged he put her body in his car boot and drove around with it for two days before dumping it.
But in a decision delivered on Thursday, the Court of Appeal ruled that the conviction be quashed and ordered a retrial.
On hearing the decision, Mr Stafford embraced friends and family in court.
Outside, he made an emotional statement in which he thanked supporters who kept him going in his quest to clear his name when he felt like giving up.
"I'd just like to thank everyone who has supported me throughout all this, this nightmare," he told reporters while fighting back tears.
He said he hoped to now settle down and move on with his life.
When asked about the prospect of a new trial, he replied: "We'll see."
"I'd just like to wish everyone a merry Christmas," he said as he rushed to a nearby pub where his mother was waiting to receive the news.
"It's going to be a good one this year."
Mr Stafford, who was 28 at the time of Leanne's death, was released from jail in 2006 after serving almost 15 years.
The Court of Appeal judgment referred to Mr Stafford's "limited" opportunity to kill Leanne, a lack of motive and his good character.
It said he had not had a fair trial, and that the Crown case as put at trial had since been "fundamentally undermined" by further evidence.
Mr Stafford has made multiple attempts to clear his name, with the latest starting in November.
At last month's hearing, his barrister Douglas Savage SC argued several points not presented at the 1992 trial.
Among them was that there had been sightings of Leanne after the time Mr Stafford would have had his only opportunity to kill her.
Mr Savage also said there was evidence that suggested a maggot found by police in Mr Stafford's boot was not the same genus as those found on Leanne's body and that this error may have affected the reliability of the determined time of death.
Furthermore, he said a tyre expert had since cast doubt on the reliability of a police officer's evidence that tyre tracks found at the scene matched those of Mr Stafford's car.
The Director of Public Prosecutions, Tony Moynihan SC, said a decision had not yet been made on whether another trial would go ahead.
"I will carefully consider the judgments of each of the three judges of the Court of Appeal, and all other relevant considerations including the available evidence, the lapse of time since the first trial, and that Mr Stafford has served the custodial element of his sentence, before determining in due course whether to prosecute another trial," he said in statement."
The story can be found at:
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,26523521-952,00.html
Harold Levy...hlevy15@gmail.com;
