The debacle continues to plague the state’s justice system, with the government confirming tens of thousands of cases are awaiting analysis amid a review of all major cases since 2015 and sexual assault cases from 2008.
“We do expect that that is about 30,000 cases but not all of those cases will have turned on DNA evidence,” Fentiman told reporters on Wednesday.
“Not all of those cases will have DNA samples that need to be referred to Forensic Science Queensland.”
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PASSAGE TWO OF THE DAY: "The inquiry, headed by Walter Sofronoff KC, revealed lab managers focused on speed rather than accuracy to the detriment of quality science, with issues first raised in 2021 stretching back years."
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SUB-HEADING: "Recruitment efforts come after inquiry found samples were untested or incorrectly ruled ‘insufficient’."
GIST: Queensland’s state-run forensic lab is scrambling to hire more scientists to handle a massive backlog involving more than 30,000 confirmed cases.
However the health minister, Shannon Fentiman, has denied reports it would take more than a decade to clear the cases embroiled in the bungle, saying not all affected criminal prosecutions turn on DNA evidence.
The backlog is the by-product of a damning inquiry into the state’s forensic testing regime, which found many DNA samples went untested and the lab incorrectly ruled others “insufficient”.
The debacle continues to plague the state’s justice system, with the government confirming tens of thousands of cases are awaiting analysis amid a review of all major cases since 2015 and sexual assault cases from 2008.
“We do expect that that is about 30,000 cases but not all of those cases will have turned on DNA evidence,” Fentiman told reporters on Wednesday.
“Not all of those cases will have DNA samples that need to be referred to Forensic Science Queensland.”
The Forensic Services chief executive, Prof Linzi Wilson-Wilde, said clearing the backlog would be a challenge.
“Given the circumstances, we do have some backlogs but we are working through those backlogs,” Wilson-Wilde said.
“All priority cases are being conducted within the time frames agreed with the Queensland police service, which is a matter of weeks.
“Other cases are being worked through as we as we go through them.”
While clearing the backlog remained a priority, with the government even looking for assistance from other countries such as the United Kingdom, the lab continued to meet deadlines for ongoing and current cases.
“I can say we are aiming and prioritising to meet our court dates,” Wilson-Wilde said.
“Where there is a court case, we are endeavouring to meet those dates where we can fold the trials, so ongoing cases shouldn’t be dealt with those that are under investigation.”
Wilson-Wilde said the lab continued “heavily recruiting”, but would need more than 40 forensic scientists to rebuild its service.
“We can find qualified scientists that we can train up to forensic scientists and that will take a few months, but we can get them on and get them active within our case processes,” she said.
Wilson-Wilde said there had already been significant interest, with three management positions already filled.
The shadow attorney-general, Tim Nicholls, said the government had shown no transparency over the issue.
“Now we are finding out just how high the mountain is that has to be climbed so people can have confidence in Queensland’s criminal justice system,” he told reporters.
Nicholls said the government seeking assistance overseas was “totally not a good thing”.
“Why are we now spending money on testing laboratories in the United Kingdom when that money could have been spent here in Queensland fixing up the problems with the lab so we didn’t have the problems we now face?” he said.
The inquiry, headed by Walter Sofronoff KC, revealed lab managers focused on speed rather than accuracy to the detriment of quality science, with issues first raised in 2021 stretching back years."
The entire story can be read at:
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. 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;
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
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/47049136857587929
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;
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YET ANOTHER FINAL WORD:
David Hammond, one of Broadwater’s attorneys who sought his exoneration, told the Syracuse Post-Standard, “Sprinkle some junk science onto a faulty identification, and it’s the perfect recipe for a wrongful conviction.”
https://deadline.com/2021/11/alice-sebold-lucky-rape-conviction-overturned-anthony-broadwater-1234880143/
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