PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Evidence at the appeal by Victorian forensics expert Max Jones effectively undermined the prosecution’s secondary transfer explanation for Vass’s DNA being on the yacht, saying there was “no evidence to support” the secondary transfer hypothesis. The Vass testimony has been central to the issue of Neill-Fraser’s presence at the crime scene. Vass testified she wasn’t there. At the appeal, Justice Helen Wood said that even if Max Jones’ evidence led a jury to conclude Vass was more likely to have been on the yacht, this did “not necessarily” point to her being there during the murder. A reasonable person might conclude, however, that Jones’ testimony should lead the judges to entertain reasonable doubt about the guilty verdict."
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COMMENTARY: "Sue Neill-Fraser looking to High Court for justice," by Author/Blogger Andre L. Urban, published by The Wrongful Convictions Report on January 12, 2022. Andrew Urban is author of 'Murder by The Prosecution..."
Described as a ‘troubling exposé‘ by Margaret Cunneen SC, Deputy Senior Crown Prosecutor, Murder by the Prosecution, demonstrates how the criminal justice system in Australia sometimes itself falls foul of the law, securing convictions against innocent defendants. (available online). The book was officially launched in Hobart on September 6, 2018 by Lara Giddings, former Premier of Tasmania; Sarah Bowles, the daughter of Sue Neill-Fraser, whose case makes up much of the book, spoke of the family’s trauma."
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GIST: "Sue Neill-Fraser’s anticipated application seeking leave to appeal to The High Court has now been lodged, hoping to overturn the Tasmanian Court of Appeal dismissal of her case on November 30, 2021, asking the High Court to quash the 2010 conviction.
The Tasmanian appeal court, claims the application, “erred in holding that there had not been a substantial miscarriage of justice,” and “There was no rational basis to reject the conclusion that (eye-witness) Meaghan Vass had been on the Four Winds at the relevant time.”
The application, on the eve of the bleak 13th anniversary of the 2009 Australia Day disappearance and presumed death of Bob Chappell, should not have been necessary, had either one of the other two judges on the November appeal agreed with Justice Estcourt’s judgement that Sue Neill-Fraser’s appeal should be allowed.
Evidence at the appeal by Victorian forensics expert Max Jones effectively undermined the prosecution’s secondary transfer explanation for Vass’s DNA being on the yacht, saying there was “no evidence to support” the secondary transfer hypothesis. The Vass testimony has been central to the issue of Neill-Fraser’s presence at the crime scene. Vass testified she wasn’t there.
At the appeal, Justice Helen Wood said that even if Max Jones’ evidence led a jury to conclude Vass was more likely to have been on the yacht, this did “not necessarily” point to her being there during the murder. A reasonable person might conclude, however, that Jones’ testimony should lead the judges to entertain reasonable doubt about the guilty verdict.
It is unknown when the High Court will consider the application."
The entire commentary can be read at:
https://wrongfulconvictionsreport.org/2022/01/12/sue-neill-fraser-looking-to-high-court-for-justice/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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SEE BREAKDOWN OF SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG, AT THE LINK BELOW: HL:
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:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
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FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;
