Andrew Mallard: Australia: False confession case: Australian Story's superb documentary 'I am Innocent' - Anatomy of a false confession in which police take advantage of a vulnerable man who tends to acquiesce to other's by feeding him the theories which allow them to seal up the case and proverbially throw away the key. (A truly heart-breaking story: (HL);

PUBLISHER’S NOTE:  AUSTRALIAN BUSHFIRE DISASTER:

Like so many others who are horrified by the devastating loss suffered by so many people affected by the rampant bushfires in Australia, I have been looking for a way to help out. So I turned to Bob Moles,  of Adelaide,  Australia, and Bibi - great supporters of this Blog - and the powerful presence behind so many exonerations in their country  - as well as powerful forces in the  movement to establish independent criminal case review boards in Australia and beyond - for their recommendation as to where donations could be safely and usefully put. Bob and Bibi  recommended a ‘gofundme’ site for their friends Helen and Geoff Glanville -  who run an organisation which helps children and families of prisoners - who lost their home in the bushfire in South Australia. As their “gofundme’ site informs us: “Helen and Geoff lost their home in the Adelaide Bush Fires the weekend of the 20th December. They lost their home and everything in it - they escaped with only the clothes they were wearing and their car. Helen, Marion and Mary (Marion and Mary are sponsors of the site)  all studied together back in the early 1970’s. For decades now Helen and Geoff have been working with the children of prisoners. As they have cared for others in difficult times in the community, now is an opportunity for us to show our support for them.  Please do consider contributing to this GoFundMe campaign as they make plans for the future.  Regaining their own home will be part of their goal.  All funds will go directly to Helen and Geoff.“ Take a look at the photo on the site of their home. I invite readers to join me in doing what we can to help out the Glanvilles in their very dire situation as per the donation instructions on the site at the link below.

Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.

MAKE DONATION HERE:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/1ukuje90pc?utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR03WtpqswixHGqSCToqv2KcUa2xXEVSwgFG7gJolvdkDvXa6gXGXem6WVc
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PUBLISHER'S NOTE: This Blog is interested in false confessions because of the disturbing number of exonerations in the USA, Canada and multiple other jurisdictions throughout the world, where, in the absence of incriminating forensic evidence the conviction is based on self-incrimination – and because of the growing body of  scientific research showing how vulnerable suspects are to widely used interrogation methods  such as  the notorious ‘Reid Technique.’ As  all too many of this Blog's post have shown, I also recognize that pressure for false confessions can take many forms, up to and including physical violence, even physical and mental torture.

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog:

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DOCUMENTARY: "I was innocent': 'Australian Story's' superb portrayal of the wrongful murder conviction  of Andrew Mallard, who was jailed for twelve years as a result of a terribly flawed, ill-motivated police investigation. This heart-breaking documentary is the anatomy of a false confession in which police take advantage of a  vulnerable  man who tends to acquiesce to other people by feeding him the theories which allow them to seal up the case and proverbially throw away the key.  I am grateful to Dr. Robert Moles for posting the video on his  phenomenal web-site 'NetK' - which stands for Networked Knowledge - and for also posting a transcript of the production. As a production note informs us: "When Pamela Lawrence was murdered in her Perth shop in 1994, police focused their investigation around one suspect, Andrew Mallard. He quickly became the victim of a miscarriage of justice, spending 12 years in jail for a crime he didn’t commit. Andrew Mallard’s family fought successfully to release him, enlisting then WA Shadow Attorney-General John Quigley and journalist Colleen Egan who uncovered a trail of deception and police misconduct. ABC’s Australian Story talks to the friends who stood by him until his untimely death in April 2019. About Australian Story: Putting the "real" back into reality television, Australian Story is an award-winning documentary series with no narrator and no agendas — just authentic stories told entirely in people's own words."

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The transcript  - with  a link to the video - can be found  at the link below:
http://netk.net.au/Mallard/Mallard5.pdf

A  rich and valuable array of materials from NetK's Andrew Mallard web page, can be accessed at the following link:
 http://netk.net.au/MallardHome.asp

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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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