PUBLISHER'S NOTE: According to ABC News, (article below) The Australian Capital Territory will be spending millions of dollars to retry David Eastman for the alleged murder of Assistant Commissioner Colin Winchester. Eastman was freed in 2014 after almost 20 years behind bars, when an inquiry found forensic evidence linking him to the killing was flawed. In a report to the New Zealand government, Former Supreme Court of Canada Justice Ian Binnie said David Bain was innocent and deserved compensation because botched police work caused him to serve 13 years in prison. (According to a Globe and Mail story, Binnie described the Bain case as a combination of several notorious wrongful conviction cases in Canada, saying it "seems to be like Milgaard, Morin, Sophonow and Marshall rolled into one fireball. In spite of Binnie's opinion the opinion of a brilliant, highly respected former Supreme Court of Canada judge, the ACT seems determined to go to retrial come hell or high water, no matter what the cost - even though those dollars could be a start to pay David Eastman for his wrongful imprisonment over many years because of the state's bungling. How does The ACTustify its never ending persecution of David Eastman? ACT As Victims of Crime commissioner John Hinchey put it: ""Justice can't be measured by the amount of money we spend on it," he said. "Here we have the most senior police officer in the ACT murdered in cold blood outside his house." What message would we send the community if we halted proceedings because the costs had come to a stage where people thought we shouldn't proceed? "That's not justice to the family of Colin Winchester, and it's not justice to our ACT Policing force." Proceeding with a retrial - and fighting tooth and nail to avoid paying a cent to David Eastman in order to appease "the people" is certainly not justice - not the justice that counts.
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;
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STORY: "ACT Attorney-General defends $26m bill for accused cop killer's legal proceedings," by reporters Elizabeth Byrne and Elise Scott, published by ABC News on January 20, 2017;
GIST: "The ACT's top legal figure has defended government spending
around the legal battle and upcoming retrial of David Eastman, who is
accused of shooting dead the territory's top police officer in 1989. Mr
Eastman was freed in 2014 after almost 20 years behind bars, when an
inquiry found forensic evidence linking him to the killing of Assistant
Commissioner Colin Winchester was flawed.
His conviction was quashed and a retrial was scheduled for next year, having been repeatedly delayed. As the case drags on, costs associated with Mr Eastman's prosecution continue to rise. Where will the $7 million in new money go: $2.4m to ACT Law Courts and Tribunal; $2.3m to the DPP; $1.9m to Legal Aid Commission to fund Mr Eastman's defence; $800,000 to cover associated police costs......... But ACT Attorney-General Gordon Ramsay said the government funding was tied to decisions made by the Director of Public Prosecutions, outside of his control. "The decision to prosecute is independent of government," he said. "It's not for the government to be commenting in any way on any individual court case. "The funding that is allocated is an amount that covers the court costs, the prosecution costs, the policing costs, and the defence costs." This year's ACT budget included more than $7 million in new money for the case - in anticipation of Mr Eastman's retrial. ACT Victims of Crime Commissioner John Hinchey said the rising budget figures were necessary to the public interest in order to determine what happened to Mr Winchester. "Justice can't be measured by the amount of money we spend on it," he said. "Here we have the most senior police officer in the ACT murdered in cold blood outside his house." What message would we send the community if we halted proceedings because the costs had come to a stage where people thought we shouldn't proceed? "That's not justice to the family of Colin Winchester, and it's not justice to our ACT Policing force."
The entire story can be found at:
http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-20/act-attorney-general-defends-$26m-bill-for-david-eastman/8635202?pfmredir=sm
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. 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/c
His conviction was quashed and a retrial was scheduled for next year, having been repeatedly delayed. As the case drags on, costs associated with Mr Eastman's prosecution continue to rise. Where will the $7 million in new money go: $2.4m to ACT Law Courts and Tribunal; $2.3m to the DPP; $1.9m to Legal Aid Commission to fund Mr Eastman's defence; $800,000 to cover associated police costs......... But ACT Attorney-General Gordon Ramsay said the government funding was tied to decisions made by the Director of Public Prosecutions, outside of his control. "The decision to prosecute is independent of government," he said. "It's not for the government to be commenting in any way on any individual court case. "The funding that is allocated is an amount that covers the court costs, the prosecution costs, the policing costs, and the defence costs." This year's ACT budget included more than $7 million in new money for the case - in anticipation of Mr Eastman's retrial. ACT Victims of Crime Commissioner John Hinchey said the rising budget figures were necessary to the public interest in order to determine what happened to Mr Winchester. "Justice can't be measured by the amount of money we spend on it," he said. "Here we have the most senior police officer in the ACT murdered in cold blood outside his house." What message would we send the community if we halted proceedings because the costs had come to a stage where people thought we shouldn't proceed? "That's not justice to the family of Colin Winchester, and it's not justice to our ACT Policing force."
The entire story can be found at:
http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-20/act-attorney-general-defends-$26m-bill-for-david-eastman/8635202?pfmredir=sm
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. 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/c
