Friday, December 2, 2016

David Eastman: Australia; Bulletin. He is to face a fresh murder trial after losing his appeal in police shooting death..."The decision, the latest in a long saga of legal battles, clears the way for Mr Eastman to be tried next year. Mr Eastman already spent 19 years in prison over the killing of the senior police officer, who was gunned down in 1989. In 2014 Mr Eastman was released after an inquiry quashed his conviction, finding his trlal was not fair, and there had been a miscarriage of justice. However prosecutors pushed for a retrial, arguing they still had a strong circumstantial case against him."...Wikipedia: "Reporter Elizabeth Byrne. ABC News.



"Canberra man David Eastman has lost his bid to avoid a fresh murder trial over the killing of Australian Federal Police (AFP) Assistant Commissioner Colin Winchester. The decision, the latest in a long saga of legal battles, clears the way for Mr Eastman to be tried next year. Mr Eastman already spent 19 years in prison over the killing of the senior police officer, who was gunned down in 1989. In 2014 Mr Eastman was released after an inquiry quashed his conviction, finding his trial was not fair, and there had been a miscarriage of justice. However prosecutors pushed for a retrial, arguing they still had a strong circumstantial case against him. In October Mr Eastman appealed against an earlier decision to reject a permanent stay on his murder charge. His lawyers had argued his age, circumstances, and the long-running media interest in the case meant it would be impossible for him to have a fair trial. But today the ACT Court of Appeal, which included three Victorian judges to avoid local conflicts of interest, threw out Mr Eastman's appeal saying his case had no foundation.........ACT Legal Aid issued a statement on behalf of Mr Eastman saying he was "of course very disappointed at the unsuccessful outcome of his appeal". "He strongly affirms his innocence and will continue to fight the allegations against him," the statement said."
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-02/david-eastman-to-face-fresh-murder-trial-after-losing-appeal/8086678

See Wikipedia entry at the link below:"A new inquiry relating to his conviction was announced in August 2012.[12] In 2014, the inquiry, headed by Justice Brian Ross Martin, found there had been "a substantial miscarriage of justice", Eastman "did not receive a fair trial", the forensic evidence on which the conviction was based was "deeply flawed" and recommended the conviction be quashed. Because a retrial would be neither feasible nor fair, Eastman should be pardoned. However Martin said he was "fairly certain" Eastman was guilty but "a nagging doubt remains".[13][14][15] Publication of the report followed a failed attempt by the Australian Federal Police to have at least parts of it withheld.[16]On 22 August 2014 the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory quashed the conviction and ordered a retrial."

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Eastman