Saturday, May 4, 2019

Henry Keogh: South Australia: Major Development: Henry Keogh applauds release of hidden top-level investigation of his conviction, 7News Adelaide reports: (Reporter Emily Olle with Mike Smithson)...Publisher's Note... "Concealment of this important forensic report is significant for this Blog because it extends our list of actors in the criminal justice system who have committed forensic related misconduct from lab technicians, pathologists, police officers and prosecutors to the top law enforcement official in the land - in Keogh's case, a man named Chris Kourakis, who was Solicitor-General at the time and today is Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of South Australia."


PUBLISHER'S NOTE:
As publisher of this Blog, I have published far too many posts on  what I have come to call 'white elephant cases,' all of which  are set out as follows:




Image result for "white elephant"

"In the years since I started publishing this Blog I have become increasingly disturbed by the 'white elephant' in the room: Sheer, unadulterated, willful   misconduct in the criminal justice system - much  of it involving forensic evidence - committed by lab technicians,  pathologists, police officers, prosecutors and others.  Think Annie Dookhan; Think Sonia Farak; Think David Kofoed; Think Charles Smith; Think Ken Anderson; Think Gene Morrison. (And now think South Australian Chief Justice Chris Kourakis.)  I have therefore decided to run this image of a white elephant at the top of every applicable post henceforth, to draw our reader's attention to   what I see as a major problem in all too many criminal justice system's - my own included.  Harold Levy; Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;


"Reformers have for years recommended that all forensic labs be independent from law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies' and this is a key reform promoted by The Justice Project (2008). But fixing these problems is only half the answer' because half of the wrongful convictions attributed to misleading forensic evidence involved deliberate forensic fraud' evidence tampering' and/or perjury.
From "The Elephant in the Crime Lab," by co-authored by Sheila Berry and Larry Ytuarte; Forensic Examiner; Spring, 2009; http://www.t-mlaw.com/blog/post/the-elephant-in-the-crime-lab/"

 
Concealment of this important forensic report is significant for this Blog because it extends  our  list of actors in the criminal justice system who have committed forensic related misconduct  from lab technicians, pathologists, police officers and prosecutors to the top law enforcement official in the land - in Keogh's case, a man named Chris Kourakis, who was Solicitor-General at the time and  today  is Chief Justice of  the Supreme Court of South Australia. As 7News reports, Kourakis denied Keogh's petition for mercy - even  though at the time he possessed a forensic report - which he kept secret even from Henry Keogh's lawyers - which concluded that Anna-Jane Cheney's death  was accidental, or the result of a medical event, and that the autopsy of Dr Manock was "wholly inadequate" in numerous ways. To make matters worse, the report also recommended a test for bruising, that Kourakis chose not to have carried out. As noted by Dr. Bob Moles, in an analysis posted below: "In addition, a further test (the haemosiderin test) was recommended by the Professor. Permission for that test was not given by the Solicitor-General. When it was subsequently undertaken on the instructions of the Court of Appeal, the results had a profound affect upon the consideration of the case. It showed that the bruising to the leg had occurred long before the night in question." As Dr. Moles comments, Chief Justice  Kourakis has a lot of explaining to do, especially in the context of the South Australian government's efforts over the years to resist publication of the forensic report.  In view of the governmental obstruction of Henry Keogh's  desperate struggle for freedom and exoneration, the  high level's involved,  and the importance of maintaining public confidence in South Australia's criminal justice system, it is  hard to imagine that anything short of a public commission of inquiry will do.

Harold Levy; Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.

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PASSAGE OF THE DAY:  The forensic report, compiled by now-Chief Justice Chris Kourakis, Solicitor-General at the time, reviewed crucial forensics which led to the conviction and formed the basis of the former Labor government's decision to reject Keogh's petition for mercy. Among those was a forensic report from Professor Barrie Vernon-Roberts, from the Institute of Medical and Veterinary Science (IMVS). Vernon-Roberts took the preferred view that the death of Cheney was accidental, or the result of a medical event, and that the autopsy of Dr Manock was "wholly inadequate" in numerous ways. The report also recommended a test for bruising, that Kourakis chose not to have carried out. Vernon-Roberts' report was the catalyst for Keogh's successful appeal. In his report, reviewed by 7NEWS, Kourakis upheld the original evidence of guilt, despite Vernon-Roberts' blistering fault-finding. Keogh believes releasing it at the time would have fast-tracked the eventual Full Court decision in his favour." 



Details of hidden investigation released into one of SA's most notorious deaths." 

PHOTO CAPTION: Photo caption: "Acquitted of his fiancée's murder after 20 years behind bars, a controversial investigation into Henry Keogh's conviction has been made public." 

GIST: "It's been a long road for Henry Keogh. He spent 20 years behind bars, controversially convicted over the murder of his fiancée Anna-Jane Cheney in 1994 - a decision that was overturned in 2014 after Channel 7's Today Tonight helped prove the forensic evidence against him was flawed. Now, details of a hidden top-level investigation into Keogh's controversial case have been made public. The case that captivated South Australia: The death of Cheney, a talented young lawyer, captivated the state. It was alleged Keogh, a financier and insurance broker who left his wife and children to be with the 29-year-old, drowned Cheney in the bathtub of her Magill home in Adelaide's east to cash in a $1 million life insurance policy. The initial Supreme Court trial was deadlocked, but a retrial found him guilty. Keogh - who has always protested his innocence - was sentenced to 25 years behind bars. But the case was far from over. His supporters, who believed Cheney died of a seizure, launched what would become a long-running and high-profile crusade to have him freed, based on what they argued was flawed forensic evidence from pathologist Dr Colin Manock. Keogh made four ViceRegal petitions for mercy, calling upon then-Attorney-General Michael Atkinson to exercise his prerogative to either refer the case for appeal or pardon him. These petitions were rejected by the then-Labor government. But in 2013 - a breakthrough. New laws allowed Keogh to launch another appeal, on the grounds of 'fresh and compelling evidence'. After 19 years in jail, he walked free in 2014 after the Court of Criminal Appeal ruled in his favour. Report revealed: Now, details of a hidden top-level investigation into Keogh's case, which could provide insight as to why his mercy bid was rejected, have been made public. It was tabled in state parliament on Monday, following a long legal battle for its release. The 148-page document was held under lock and key by the former Labor government for 13 years. The forensic report, compiled by now-Chief Justice Chris Kourakis, Solicitor-General at the time, reviewed crucial forensics which led to the conviction and formed the basis of the former Labor government's decision to reject Keogh's petition for mercy. Among those was a forensic report from Professor Barrie Vernon-Roberts, from the Institute of Medical and Veterinary Science (IMVS). Vernon-Roberts took the preferred view that the death of Cheney was accidental, or the result of a medical event, and that the autopsy of Dr Manock was "wholly inadequate" in numerous ways. The report also recommended a test for bruising, that Kourakis chose not to have carried out. Vernon-Roberts' report was the catalyst for Keogh's successful appeal. In his report, reviewed by 7NEWS, Kourakis upheld the original evidence of guilt, despite Vernon-Roberts' blistering fault-finding. Keogh believes releasing it at the time would have fast-tracked the eventual Full Court decision in his favour: Questions asked: While Attorney-General Vickie Chapman today avoided commenting on the Chief Justice's former life, the report raises questions as to why Kourakis' findings were so at odds with the Full Court's findings, a decade later. For Keogh, he believes the report's release brings him one step closer to understanding just why he was, in his opinion, denied justice. "If you persist long enough, you will win," he said. "And that's the key to winning... persistence.""

The entire story can be read at: