PUBLISHER'S NOTE: In the roughly 10 years since I began publishing The Charles Smith Blog some of the issues I have explored - as well as some of the cases I have been following - have become the subject matter of books. This prompted me recently - as I searched anxiously for ways of keeping me occupied during the languid summer hours - other than sitting on the patio, drinking a cool glass of white wine, and reading the latest Steven King - it occurred to me that a book review series based in my previous posts from the outset of the Blog would be just what the pathologist ordered. I would invite my readers to offer me their own suggestions for inclusion by email to hlevy15@gmail.com. Have a great summer.
Harold Levy: Publisher. The Charles Smith Blog.
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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "In August 1980, nine week old Azaria disappeared from the tent where she slept at Ayers Rock (now known by its traditional name, Uluru). Azaria’s mother, Lindy, saw a dingo near the tent before discovering her absence and campers, trackers and searchers all saw evidence of dingo footprints and drag marks. Yet Lindy Chamberlain was eventually charged, found guilty and imprisoned for the alleged murder of her daughter, and Michael Chamberlain, her husband, was found guilty of being an accessory to this fact. The evidence used to convict them was both flimsy and flawed, seemingly based more on people’s liking of dingoes and misunderstanding of the Chamberlain’s Seventh Day Adventist religion, than on any scientific fact."
BOOK: "Heart of Stone, by Michael Chamberlain," reviewed by Sally Murphy in Aussie Reviews on November 28, 2012.
GIST: "It was obvious to us, and our fellow campers, that Azaria had been taken by a dingo. Aboriginal trackers confirmed this, as did the finding of the Coroner Denis Barritt at the inquest. How then did my wife Lindy come to be convicted of murder and to be sentenced to life imprisonment at a trial in Darwin two years later? And why did it take another six years for that verdict to be quashed by a Federal Royal Commission and a Federal Appeals Court? As the author says in his preface, few adult Australians would not have heard of the Azaria Chamberlain case. In August 1980, nine week old Azaria disappeared from the tent where she slept at Ayers Rock (now known by its traditional name, Uluru). Azaria’s mother, Lindy, saw a dingo near the tent before discovering her absence and campers, trackers and searchers all saw evidence of dingo footprints and drag marks. Yet Lindy Chamberlain was eventually charged, found guilty and imprisoned for the alleged murder of her daughter, and Michael Chamberlain, her husband, was found guilty of being an accessory to this fact. The evidence used to convict them was both flimsy and flawed, seemingly based more on people’s liking of dingoes and misunderstanding of the Chamberlain’s Seventh Day Adventist religion, than on any scientific fact. Misreporting and manipulation by the media aided the swell of public opinion against the Chamberlains, and mishandling by investigators and the legal system meant that this was a case which even 32 years later is still both raw and incomplete. In Heart of Stone Michael Chamberlain shares his heartbreaking and courageous journey from proud new father, to grieving father, to victim and on to a strong campaigner for justice. He gives an intimate insight into his life and that of his family and supporters through the troubled years since Azaria’s death, and explains both how and why he sought – and continues to seek – justice. It is doubtful that any other legal case has ever or will ever, arouse as much public interest and speculation as this case did and Heart of Stone provides readers with a chance to explore the case intimately, as well as to question how and why the Chamberlain family became victims of a terrible miscarriage of justice as well as of a powerful groundswell of public judgement. For those who remember the case and perhaps formed their own judgements at the time, Heart of Stone may also cause a rethink.
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PUBLISHING INFORMATION: Heart of Stone: Justice for Azaria , by Michael Chamberlain
New Holland, 2012, ISBN 9781742572895.
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The entire review can be read at the link below:
http://aussiereviews.com/2012/11/heart-of-stone-by-michael-chamberlain/
Read the Wikipedia entry on the Chamberlain case at the link below: "Alice Lynne "Lindy" Chamberlain-Creighton (née Murchison; born 4 March 1948) is a New Zealand-born woman who was wrongfully convicted in one of Australia's most publicised murder trials. Accused of killing her nine-week-old daughter, Azaria, while camping at Uluru (then usually known as Ayers Rock) in 1980, she maintained that she saw a dingo leave the tent where Azaria was sleeping. The prosecution case was circumstantial and depended on forensic evidence. Chamberlain was convicted on 29 October 1982,[1] and her appeals to the Federal Court of Australia,[2] and High Court of Australia,[3] were dismissed. On 7 February 1986, after the discovery of new evidence, Chamberlain was released from prison on remission. Both accused were officially pardoned in 1987,[1] and their convictions were quashed by the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory in 1988.[4] In 1992, the Australian government paid Chamberlain $1.3 million in compensation.[5] In 2012, a fourth coronial inquest found that Azaria died "as a result of being attacked and taken by a dingo."........Subsequent life: Chamberlain published Through My Eyes: an autobiography in 1990. The Chamberlains divorced in 1991. On 20 December 1992, she married American publisher and fellow member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Rick Creighton. She is now known as Lindy Chamberlain-Creighton.[5] She and Creighton live in Australia.[7] In 2007, Chamberlain-Creighton spoke out in support of the parents of Madeleine McCann, and said she would be willing to talk to the McCanns.[27] In August 2010, on the 30th anniversary of the death of Azaria, Chamberlain-Creighton appealed on her website to have the cause of death amended on Azaria's death record.[19][28] In 2012, the coroner's final report identified that a dingo was the cause of death.........Film and other adaptations: In the 1983 Australian TV movie about the case, Who Killed Baby Azaria?, Chamberlain was played by Elaine Hudson; the movie aired on Network Ten. In the 1988 film Evil Angels (released as A Cry in the Dark outside of Australia and New Zealand)[30] the role was played by Meryl Streep, whose performance received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in 1989. Miranda Otto played Chamberlain in the 2004 Australian TV mini-series Through My Eyes: The Lindy Chamberlain Story, which aired on the Seven Network. Australian composer Moya Henderson wrote the opera Lindy to a libretto by Judith Rodriguez.[31] In 1990, the Rank Strangers' recording of their song "Uluru", which supported the Chamberlains and called for compensation to be paid to them, finished in the final five of the Australian Country Music Awards in Tamworth, New South Wales."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lindy_Chamberlain-Creighton
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/
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The entire review can be read at the link below:
http://aussiereviews.com/2012/11/heart-of-stone-by-michael-chamberlain/
Read the Wikipedia entry on the Chamberlain case at the link below: "Alice Lynne "Lindy" Chamberlain-Creighton (née Murchison; born 4 March 1948) is a New Zealand-born woman who was wrongfully convicted in one of Australia's most publicised murder trials. Accused of killing her nine-week-old daughter, Azaria, while camping at Uluru (then usually known as Ayers Rock) in 1980, she maintained that she saw a dingo leave the tent where Azaria was sleeping. The prosecution case was circumstantial and depended on forensic evidence. Chamberlain was convicted on 29 October 1982,[1] and her appeals to the Federal Court of Australia,[2] and High Court of Australia,[3] were dismissed. On 7 February 1986, after the discovery of new evidence, Chamberlain was released from prison on remission. Both accused were officially pardoned in 1987,[1] and their convictions were quashed by the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory in 1988.[4] In 1992, the Australian government paid Chamberlain $1.3 million in compensation.[5] In 2012, a fourth coronial inquest found that Azaria died "as a result of being attacked and taken by a dingo."........Subsequent life: Chamberlain published Through My Eyes: an autobiography in 1990. The Chamberlains divorced in 1991. On 20 December 1992, she married American publisher and fellow member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Rick Creighton. She is now known as Lindy Chamberlain-Creighton.[5] She and Creighton live in Australia.[7] In 2007, Chamberlain-Creighton spoke out in support of the parents of Madeleine McCann, and said she would be willing to talk to the McCanns.[27] In August 2010, on the 30th anniversary of the death of Azaria, Chamberlain-Creighton appealed on her website to have the cause of death amended on Azaria's death record.[19][28] In 2012, the coroner's final report identified that a dingo was the cause of death.........Film and other adaptations: In the 1983 Australian TV movie about the case, Who Killed Baby Azaria?, Chamberlain was played by Elaine Hudson; the movie aired on Network Ten. In the 1988 film Evil Angels (released as A Cry in the Dark outside of Australia and New Zealand)[30] the role was played by Meryl Streep, whose performance received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in 1989. Miranda Otto played Chamberlain in the 2004 Australian TV mini-series Through My Eyes: The Lindy Chamberlain Story, which aired on the Seven Network. Australian composer Moya Henderson wrote the opera Lindy to a libretto by Judith Rodriguez.[31] In 1990, the Rank Strangers' recording of their song "Uluru", which supported the Chamberlains and called for compensation to be paid to them, finished in the final five of the Australian Country Music Awards in Tamworth, New South Wales."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lindy_Chamberlain-Creighton
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/
