"JEREMY GANS: (PROFESSOR; UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE LAW SCHOOL): OH THERE ARE IMPLICATIONS WORLDWIDE, BUT CERTAINLY FOR OTHER STATES. BUT THE RISK OF CONTAMINATION CAN HAPPEN ANYWHERE AND HAS HAPPENED IN OTHER PLACES INCLUDING IN NEW ZEALAND A FEW YEARS BACK. AND THERE ARE OTHER RISKS TO DNA SUCH AS THE RISK THAT TWO PEOPLE MIGHT COINCIDENTALLY HAPPEN TO HAVE THE SAME DNA PROFILE AND IN FACT THE HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA HAS A CASE BEFORE IT RIGHT NOW WHERE IT'S GOING TO LOOK AT WHETHER THAT RISK IS REASON TO NOT PROCEED OR TO OVERTURN A CONVICTION THAT'S SOLELY BASED ON DNA EVIDENCE. "
SAMANTHA DONOVAN: ABC PM;
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BACKGROUND: According to the Australian, Farah Jama was found guilty of raping a 40-year-old woman at a nightclub in Melbourne's outer-eastern suburbs after the victim was found unconscious. She had no memory of the crime but Mr Jama's DNA was later found on the victim. The then 20-year-old denied ever being near the nightclub on that night, saying he was reading the Koran to his critically ill father at his bedside in their home in the northern suburbs. The only evidence police had was the DNA sample of Mr Jama, which was coincidentally taken 24 hours before the alleged crime after he was investigated over another unrelated matter but not charged. Prosecutors told the Victoria Court of Appeal earlier this week that it had since been discovered that the same forensic medical officer who took the first DNA sample of Mr Jama had coincidently taken the DNA sample from the 40-year-old rape complainant 24 hours later. They said it had emerged that the officer had not adhered to strict procedure when taking the sample and therefore they could not “exclude the possibility” of contamination. Therefore they argued the guilty verdict was unsafe and satisfactory and should be quashed. His lawyer Kimani Adil Boden hailed a “momentous” day for Mr Jama, whose case he described as “tragic”. “He's been in custody for close to one-and-a-half years on charges he didn't commit. “Justice has finally been done, however, at a price.” Victoria's police chief responded to Mr. Jama's release by banning all forensic officers from submitting DNA evidence or providing statements to the courts until further notice.
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The ABC PM story by reporter Samantha Donovan ran earlier today under the heading "Botched DNA case slammed" with the following introduction by Mark Colvin:
"The Victorian Government is promising a shake-up of the use of DNA evidence after a damning report into a botched prosecution.
Twenty-two-year-old Farah Jama spent 16 months in jail after he was wrongfully convicted of rape.
A contaminated DNA sample was the only evidence against him.
The Victorian attorney-general Rob Hulls says it's a "wake-up call" for Victoria's criminal justice system.
Samantha Donovan reports.
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"SAMANTHA DONOVAN: Twenty-two- year-old Farah Jama spent 16 months in jail for a rape he didn't commit," the report began.
"A contaminated DNA sample led to his conviction; there was not one other piece of evidence to put the Somali Australian at the nightclub crime scene," the report continued.
"Late last year the Victorian attorney-general Rob Hulls asked former Supreme Court judge Frank Vincent to investigate what went wrong.
Today Mr Hulls tabled the report in Parliament.
ROB HULLS: This case really is a wake-up call for everyone involved in the criminal justice system; a wake-up call to ensure that people are not blinded by the science and the so-called CSI effect of DNA evidence. It's not infallible.
SAMANTHA DONOVAN: Rob Hulls says the case of Mr Jama is notable because it proceeded on DNA evidence alone.
He says he's been told by the Victorian DPP that he's unable to find any other cases that have been based solely on DNA evidence. And that it won't happen again unless the DPP personally oversees the case.
Rob Hulls says all 10 of Frank Vincent's recommendations will be implemented.
ROB HULLS: That there be better procedures in relation to collection and testing of DNA. That there be educative processes in relation to prosecutors, in relation to the judiciary and others in the justice system; and it's important that we learn lessons from this matter.
SAMANTHA DONOVAN: Farah Jama and his lawyer Kimani Boden welcomed the Vincent report.
KIMANI BODEN: Clearly it would appear that in this case commonsense have gone out of the window. The real culprit in my view is certainly Victoria Police and the state of Victoria for allowing this prosecution to happen in the first place and to continue against pleas of innocent.
SAMANTHA DONOVAN: Mr Boden says the issue of compensation is being discussed with Victorian Government solicitors but he believes racism was a factor in his client's conviction.
KIMANI BODEN: The jury system is a great system but I do believe that there are some real deficiencies with it. My personal view always has been that what's preferable to a jury system is to have three judges deciding cases because the prejudices that the ordinary citizen has, the lack of legal and technical experience or knowledge, can contribute to these types of decisions being made.
SAMANTHA DONOVAN: Farah Jama is now a student and says he almost lost hope as he sat in jail.
FARAH JAMA: Nobody will understand the pain I went through. Nobody will understand all the stress and what I've been through. They jailed me for no reason. They misjudged me.
SAMANTHA DONOVAN: Dr Jeremy Gans from the University of Melbourne Law School says the Vincent report shows the Victorian criminal justice system needs to change.
JEREMY GANS: There's a very hard road ahead because the changes aren't to the science, although they'll have to keep an eye on that, or even to institutional operation, the change that's needed is to culture; the police have to become devil's advocates in all of these cases as do the prosecution and that means instead of trying to get their man, even if they think it's them, they have to play the other side and think, how can we be wrong and let's not just think about it, but expend what will often be valuable but limited resources to try and fight the case for the defendants.
The culture has always been leave that up to the defence lawyers but his case shows that that isn't a good enough attitude.
SAMANTHA DONOVAN: Are the problems that were revealed in the Farah Jama case solely Victorian or are there implications here for other states?
JEREMY GANS: Oh there are implications worldwide, but certainly for other states. But the risk of contamination can happen anywhere and has happened in other places including in New Zealand a few years back. And there are other risks to DNA such as the risk that two people might coincidentally happen to have the same DNA profile and in fact the High Court of Australia has a case before it right now where it's going to look at whether that risk is reason to not proceed or to overturn a conviction that's solely based on DNA evidence.
SAMANTHA DONOVAN: Victoria Police released a separate report on DNA analysis today. Three overseas forensic experts have recommended changes to the way Victoria Police interprets DNA after problems with the statistical model being used were revealed late last year.
Victoria Police says it accepts the report's recommendations.
Dr Jeremy Gans says the issue is different from that raised in the Farah Jama case but underlines the problems with DNA management in Victoria."
The story can be found at:
http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2010/s2892446.htm?site=brisbane
Harold Levy...hlevy15@gmail.com;
