PUBLISHER'S VIEW: (EDITORIAL): Bravo to Graham Archer whose lengthy search for the truth led to an ugly, protected battle with the justice system. While the politicians and beaurocrats charged with protecting the right to a fair trial buried their heads deep in the sand - rather than admit their errors and the flaws which perverted their justice system - Graham Archer would not let go, would not let the story fade away, would do everything he could to expose the case, warts and all to the public- even if it took years. To me, Graham Archer is what journalism and journalists are all about. And that says a great deal.
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.
COMMENTARY: "How could this happen? Henry Keogh's long road to freedom," by Graham Archer, published by In Daily on July 8, 2016. (Graham Archer is Channel 7’s Adelaide director of news and public affairs, and has covered the Keogh case for well over a decade.)
SUB-HEADING: "In December 2014, Henry Keogh walked out of jail for the first time in 20 years. A year later, the case against him for the 1994 murder of his fiancée, Anna-Jane Cheney, was dropped. As Keogh prepares to break his silence, journalist Graham Archer reflects on how his long search for the truth became a battle with the justice system."
GIST: "Unpopular causes are not the usual choice of nightly current affairs programs. However, when you believe something is wrong, popular or not, you are presented with a choice: use the power you have to do something or do nothing. I planned to be as objective as possible. Faced with the hostility that came my way I can’t say I perfected the technique, however I chose not to have any contact whatsoever with Henry Keogh. After 13 years I met and spoke with him for the first time on the evening of his release. What appeared to have been a slam-dunk for the justice system in the end has exposed just how perverted it can be. More disturbing is the tenacity to deny, defend and dig deeper into the mire when faced with its own repeated and inexcusable errors. Even now with Keogh’s conviction quashed and any charge against him abandoned, the same mindset seems to remain. There appears no inclination to learn from the past.......... A blow-by-blow account of the decade-long battle to have the flawed evidence in the case independently tested is a story for another time. However, it’s worth reflecting on the fact that almost every miscarriage of justice in this country and around the world has only come to light following sustained, and sometimes bitterly resisted, media campaigns. Henry Keogh’s case probably took longer than most. I had never made it a battle between innocence and guilt, but a question of a fair trial. At the heart of that were the forensics conducted by the state’s Director of Forensic Pathology, Dr Colin Manock. In 1978, after a decade in the role, the Department that employed him told the Industrial Court he was “unable to do certifying of cause of death because of his lack [of qualifications] in histopathology.” It is the essential qualification for forensic pathology. He never gained that credential but was permitted to perform almost 10,000 autopsies in this state. The work he did in the Keogh case was not just flawed – it ultimately had the effect of misleading the jury. Keogh’s one slender thread of hope rested in the hands of the Government. The Petition for Mercy is an antiquated hangover from the royal prerogative. For Keogh, it was not a plea to be “freed” from prison, but the presentation of fresh evidence requesting the right to have his case referred back to court. As a process, it is deeply flawed. The decision is essentially made at a political level behind closed doors. No reasons need be given and there is no right of appeal. In 2004, when considering the Petition, the Crown sought advice from the expert best qualified to appraise the crucial forensics in the case. Professor Barrie Vernon-Roberts AO had been the Director of the IVMS and, for many years, had overseen pathology in the state. His 16-page report was scathing of many aspects of the post mortem. His conclusions, however, were dramatic. He found the forensic evidence did not sustain a hypothesis of deliberate drowning and, finally: “My preference as an hypothesis … for Ms Cheney’s death is that she lost consciousness after having sustained an initial fall in blood pressure due to blockage to a small artery in her heart or during a faint. While falling backwards from an erect position hit her head on the bath before sliding under the water and drowning while unconscious.“ That report only became public knowledge nine years later. In August 2006, the appeal for clemency was rejected. In a media release, Acting Attorney-General Kevin Foley said he had further “declined to refer the petition to the Supreme Court, after considering advice received from the Solicitor General Chris Kourakis QC”. Foley emphasised that the conviction “was never dependent on the pathology evidence alone”, quoting Rofe’s own address to the jury that “if this was just pathology evidence then Keogh should be acquitted”. “Rather,” Foley continued, “it was the overwhelming strength of the whole of the circumstantial evidence against Mr Keogh that led, and still leads, to a conclusion of guilt.” I felt like a hostage in the Mike Rann “tough on crime” decade. It was a populist mantra usually the preserve of tabloid TV. The administration was hell-bent on “locking up bad guys” – addressing wrongful convictions didn’t play into that narrative. I don’t think a decent society that prides itself on observing the rule of law can lock up a citizen for 20 years, quash the conviction, drop the charge and not ask: How could this happen?.........What happened in the Full Court appeal is now history. DPP Adam Kimber SC tried unsuccessfully to have the Vernon-Roberts report ruled inadmissible because its author, suffering dementia, could no longer be cross-examined. However, every pathologist called – including two by the Crown – agreed with the report’s conclusions. The forensic conclusions of Dr Manock were demolished. The conviction was unanimously quashed – but a retrial was ordered. Despite being cash-strapped and over-worked, the Office of the DPP spent almost a year pushing on with the retrial. Then, in November 2015, the DPP announced that “on May 1 an important witness became unwell [and] there was no reasonable prospect of conviction without the witness.” He didn’t name this indispensable figure, but I know it to be Dr Colin Manock. Astonishing – the circumstantial evidence, which the public had been led to believe over many years was so incriminating, didn’t rate a mention! Henry Keogh was finally free after 20 years of torment. Now it might just be me but I don’t think a decent society that prides itself on observing the rule of law can lock up a citizen for 20 years, quash the conviction, drop the charge and not ask: “How could this happen, and why did we behave so badly for so long?”
The entire commentary can be found at:
http://indaily.com.au/opinion/2016/07/08/how-could-this-happen-henry-keoghs-long-road-to-freedom/
PUBLISHER'S NOTE:
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/
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.
Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to:
hlevy15@gmail.com;
Harold Levy;
Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;
