QUOTE ONE OF THE DAY: In a statement from Lundy's lawyers, Eaton, and Julie-Anne Kincade QC, they said Lundy continued to maintain his innocence. "Naturally, Mr Lundy, his legal team and his supporters who have all worked so tirelessly to both establish his innocence and uphold his absolute right to a fair trial, are very disappointed with the decision of the Supreme Court to dismiss his appeal against conviction." "The prosecution of Mark Lundy has been something of a testing ground for new or novel science never previously advanced in any court of law. "It is frustrating and very disappointing that Mark Lundy has never had the opportunity to have his guilt or innocence determined by a jury who were not exposed to bad science – scientific opinion that a jury should not have heard. As science develops, so does the international debate and controversy over the willingness of courts to allow new science to play a role in criminal prosecutions. "History tells us that it is the passage of time that often provides the opportunity to demonstrate the weaknesses and dangers in relying on what is otherwise said to be novel but reliable scientific opinion."
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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Today's decision marked the end of the formal legal process for Lundy, but his supporters would not give up the fight on his behalf, they said. "Mr Lundy's case has troubled the legal system in New Zealand for nearly two decades. The issues that Mr Lundy was permitted to raise throughout the appeal process were necessarily constrained by legal process. Our newly established Criminal Cases Review Commission will not be so constrained. This is not the end of the road in Mr Lundy's fight to establish he has suffered a miscarriage of justice."
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"STORY: "Mark Lundy's final appeal to overturn conviction declined," by reporter Melissa Nightingale, published by The New Zealand Herald on December 20, 2019.
PHOTO CAPTION: "Mark Lundy is supported by friends at the funeral for his wife and daughter."
'VIDEO CAPTION: "Focus: Twice-convicted double-murderer Mark Lundy's final bid to overturn his convictions has been unanimously declined by the Supreme Court."
GIST: "Once you've got the link that it's human, it's game over." Christine and Amber Lundy were found hacked to death at their home,
likely with an axe or tomahawk. The murder weapon was never found. On the night of their murders, Lundy had checked into a motel in Petone, where he called an escort about 11.30pm. It was fiercely contested during his first trial whether or not it was
physically possible for Lundy to have travelled between Wellington and
his family home in a time that would have allowed him to be in the house
at the time of the murders. Justice Mark O'Regan read
out the Supreme Court judgement this morning in Wellington. He said the
panel of judges on the case all agreed to dismiss the appeal. Friend and supporter Geoff Levick told the Herald he hadn't finished
reading the full decision yet, but he was "not surprised", because the
defence "wasn't presented properly in my opinion". He would not comment further than that until he had time to read and process the full decision. In a statement from Lundy's lawyers, Eaton, and Julie-Anne Kincade QC, they said Lundy continued to maintain his innocence. "Naturally, Mr Lundy, his legal team and his supporters who have all
worked so tirelessly to both establish his innocence and uphold his
absolute right to a fair trial, are very disappointed with the decision
of the Supreme Court to dismiss his appeal against conviction." "The prosecution of Mark Lundy has been something of a testing ground
for new or novel science never previously advanced in any court of law. "It is frustrating and very disappointing that Mark Lundy has never had
the opportunity to have his guilt or innocence determined by a jury who
were not exposed to bad science – scientific opinion that a jury should
not have heard. "As science develops, so does the
international debate and controversy over the willingness of courts to
allow new science to play a role in criminal prosecutions. "History tells us that it is the passage of time that often provides
the opportunity to demonstrate the weaknesses and dangers in relying on
what is otherwise said to be novel but reliable scientific opinion." Today's decision marked the end of the formal legal process for Lundy,
but his supporters would not give up the fight on his behalf, they said. "Mr Lundy's case has troubled the legal system in New Zealand for
nearly two decades. The issues that Mr Lundy was permitted to raise
throughout the appeal process were necessarily constrained by legal
process. Our newly established Criminal Cases Review Commission will not
be so constrained. This is not the end of the road in Mr Lundy's fight
to establish he has suffered a miscarriage of justice."
The entire story can be read at:
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/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;
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FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices.""
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
https://www.providencejournal.com/news/20191210/da-drops-murder-charge-against-taunton-man-who-served-35-years-for-1979-slaying
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