PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "The Court of Criminal Appeal overturned Mr Keogh's conviction in 2015 after finding Dr Manock's flawed forensic evidence led to a miscarriage of justice. But on Tuesday, the court found the arguments for Bromley did not meet the requirement for "fresh and compelling" evidence. Mr Keogh, who attended the court hearing in support of Bromley, said he was shocked by the decision. "There are a lot of parallels between his case and mine and I am just lost for words," he said."
STORY: "After 34 years in jail, convicted murderer Derek Bromley loses bid to walk free, by court reporter Rebecca Opie, publshed by ABC News on
SUB-HEADINGS: Derek Bromley has served 34 years for the 1984 murder of Stephen Docoza; He sought to appeal his conviction on the grounds of "fresh and compelling" evidence but the Court of Criminal Appeal has rejected his bid; His family says the decision is "gut-wrenching".
The entire story can be read at the link below:
Thttp://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-29/convicted-murderer-derek-bromley-loses-bid-to-walk-free/9811904
See earlier Buzzfeed story -December 20, 2017) at the link below for useful background on this unsuccessful appeal: (Indigenous Affairs Reporter): "Bromley’s appeal is based on knocking out two crucial pillars in the prosecution case — the eyewitness account of the man who implicated him, who was at the time suffering from schizophrenia; and evidence presented by Dr Colin Manock, formerly South Australia’s chief forensics expert.......... From 1968 to 1995, Dr Manock appeared as an expert witness in 400 cases, and performed more than 9,000 autopsies. His evidence was central in the case against Henry Keogh, who spent 21 years in jail for the murder of his fiancee Anna-Jane Cheney. In 2014, Keogh’s conviction was set aside after he appealed under the new statute. The hearing heard criticism of some of Dr Manock’s forensic evidence, and heard from a Victorian forensic pathologist that Cheney "more likely" died of natural causes. In an interview with Channel Seven’s Sunday Night program, Keogh said Dr Manock had played a major part in his conviction, stating he “was instrumental in turning what was just a senseless and tragic accident ... into something it wasn’t … a murder inquiry and a witch-hunt.” He believed others had suffered a similar fate: “I know there are others in exactly the same situation or very, very similar to the one I went through, who are still in prison now, have since been released, or are fighting to have their names cleared.” After Keogh’s appeal, hundreds of cases where Dr Manock acted as an expert witness were thrown into doubt, including the high profile deaths of three babies in the 1990s. Dr Manock determined they had died of bronchopneumonia, but a coronial inquiry into the baby’s deaths found that not only had there been no traces of bronchopneumonia, but all babies had signs of assault, including one baby who suffered multiple rib fractures. Manock performed the autopsy on Stephen Docoza, and found that he had died by drowning. He also found several bruises on Docoza’s body, which he determined had occurred in the 24 hours leading up to the man’s death. But Dr Manock’s findings were called into question by three expert witnesses at the application for leave to appeal earlier this year. All three pathologists gave evidence that the determination of drowning could not be substantiated. “Bromley’s case involves almost identical evidence to Keogh’s case,” Moles says. “You have to conduct a proper investigation of the body, and Manock didn’t do that.” Bromley’s appeal will also consider whether the eyewitness evidence in his original trial was unreliable.".......In December 2016, at a disputed facts hearing for Bromley’s leave of appeal, five forensic experts, including the Director of Public Prosecution’s own expert, claimed the evidence of the eyewitness was unreliable as he was suffering from a severe state of psychosis at the time he implicated Bromley. As part of his condition, he was experiencing hallucinations and delusions. “We have learned a lot about these psychotic conditions over a period of 30 years,” Moles said. “[Experts] now say that a person suffering from this condition has such fundamental cognitive deficiencies, that nothing can be relied upon at all, because we couldn’t know what was a product of what he actually saw and heard, and what he thought he saw,” Moles says. A key part of the appeal will rest on the reliability of this witness, and whether new advances in understanding his condition could be seen as “fresh and compelling evidence”.
https://www.buzzfeed.com/amymcquire/an-aboriginal-man-who-has-maintained-his-innocence-for-33?utm_term=.nbxw9XMjO#.npee9Wywz
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
See earlier Buzzfeed story -December 20, 2017) at the link below for useful background on this unsuccessful appeal: (Indigenous Affairs Reporter): "Bromley’s appeal is based on knocking out two crucial pillars in the prosecution case — the eyewitness account of the man who implicated him, who was at the time suffering from schizophrenia; and evidence presented by Dr Colin Manock, formerly South Australia’s chief forensics expert.......... From 1968 to 1995, Dr Manock appeared as an expert witness in 400 cases, and performed more than 9,000 autopsies. His evidence was central in the case against Henry Keogh, who spent 21 years in jail for the murder of his fiancee Anna-Jane Cheney. In 2014, Keogh’s conviction was set aside after he appealed under the new statute. The hearing heard criticism of some of Dr Manock’s forensic evidence, and heard from a Victorian forensic pathologist that Cheney "more likely" died of natural causes. In an interview with Channel Seven’s Sunday Night program, Keogh said Dr Manock had played a major part in his conviction, stating he “was instrumental in turning what was just a senseless and tragic accident ... into something it wasn’t … a murder inquiry and a witch-hunt.” He believed others had suffered a similar fate: “I know there are others in exactly the same situation or very, very similar to the one I went through, who are still in prison now, have since been released, or are fighting to have their names cleared.” After Keogh’s appeal, hundreds of cases where Dr Manock acted as an expert witness were thrown into doubt, including the high profile deaths of three babies in the 1990s. Dr Manock determined they had died of bronchopneumonia, but a coronial inquiry into the baby’s deaths found that not only had there been no traces of bronchopneumonia, but all babies had signs of assault, including one baby who suffered multiple rib fractures. Manock performed the autopsy on Stephen Docoza, and found that he had died by drowning. He also found several bruises on Docoza’s body, which he determined had occurred in the 24 hours leading up to the man’s death. But Dr Manock’s findings were called into question by three expert witnesses at the application for leave to appeal earlier this year. All three pathologists gave evidence that the determination of drowning could not be substantiated. “Bromley’s case involves almost identical evidence to Keogh’s case,” Moles says. “You have to conduct a proper investigation of the body, and Manock didn’t do that.” Bromley’s appeal will also consider whether the eyewitness evidence in his original trial was unreliable.".......In December 2016, at a disputed facts hearing for Bromley’s leave of appeal, five forensic experts, including the Director of Public Prosecution’s own expert, claimed the evidence of the eyewitness was unreliable as he was suffering from a severe state of psychosis at the time he implicated Bromley. As part of his condition, he was experiencing hallucinations and delusions. “We have learned a lot about these psychotic conditions over a period of 30 years,” Moles said. “[Experts] now say that a person suffering from this condition has such fundamental cognitive deficiencies, that nothing can be relied upon at all, because we couldn’t know what was a product of what he actually saw and heard, and what he thought he saw,” Moles says. A key part of the appeal will rest on the reliability of this witness, and whether new advances in understanding his condition could be seen as “fresh and compelling evidence”.
https://www.buzzfeed.com/amymcquire/an-aboriginal-man-who-has-maintained-his-innocence-for-33?utm_term=.nbxw9XMjO#.npee9Wywz
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
