David Eastman; Australia; He is to learn his fate Friday after more than 19 years behind bars - Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Supreme Court has several options: quash Eastman's conviction, quash it and order a retrial, maintain the conviction, or recommend a pardon by the ACT government. (An inquiry savaged the credibility of the gunshot residue analysis, completed by Victorian-based expert Robert Barnes, that proved a crucial link between Eastman and the crime scene);

STORY: "David Eastman to learn fate on Friday after more than 19 years behind bars, by reporter Christopher  Knaus, published by the Canberra Times on August 19, 2014.

GIST: David Eastman will learn on Friday whether he will walk free after 19 years behind bars for one of Australia's most notorious police killings. The full bench of the ACT Supreme Court is expected to hand down its decision on whether to quash Eastman's conviction, quash it and order a retrial, maintain the conviction, or recommend a pardon by the ACT government. The decision comes after a lengthy inquiry into Eastman's conviction for the 1989 murder of assistant federal police commissioner Colin Winchester, which found glaring flaws in the forensic evidence used against the former public servant at trial. The inquiry savaged the credibility of the gunshot residue analysis, completed by Victorian-based expert Robert Barnes, that proved a crucial link between Eastman and the crime scene. Those flaws were significant enough for the inquiry head, Acting Justice Brian Martin, to call for Eastman's conviction to be quashed, despite him being "fairly certain" the former public servant was guilty. Acting Justice Martin said there was a "nagging doubt" over Eastman's guilt. He also said a retrial now, after so many years, would be near impossible. But the forensic evidence was just one part of a broad circumstantial case pointing to Eastman's guilt, and the Director of Public Prosecutions has argued the rest of the case is still overwhelming."

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/david-eastman-to-learn-fate-on-friday-after-more-than-19-years-behind-bars-20140819-105nio.html

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: 

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;