PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Last week a major investigation by this newspaper disclosed a key prosecution witness has retracted his statement and prosecutors are facing claims that important documents were not disclosed to defence lawyers ahead of Freeman's Old Bailey trial. Now retired Old Bailey judge Wendy Joseph KC has expressed concerns about the CCRC's handling of Freeman's case, which it is reviewing for a fifth time. In a statement sent to the CCRC she said: 'The jury were told there were two theories – either death by suffocation caused by a deliberate act designed to cause death (a la Burke and Hare) or death by natural causes. 'What they were never told was that a respectable and responsible body of expert opinion believes the former to be impossible.' The ex judge, who retired in 2022, added: 'Had the jury known that there was a body of scientific opinion that such a method of causation was not possible, this must have had some significant effect on their approach. 'The prosecution's job was to make the jury sure that whatever else Clive Freeman did or didn't do, and whatever else he intended or didn't intend to do, he actually carried out the act of killing. 'In my view it would be appropriate for the CCRC to review the current state of scientific understanding, and if appropriate to reconsider Dr Shepherd's analysis and conclusions. It may be the CCRC would be assisted by an independent expert."
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PASSAGE TWO OF THE DAY: "The CCRC has been widely criticised recently following the Andrew Malkinson scandal, who was released last year after being wrongly convicted of rape and spending 17 years in jail. In the Malkinson case, as in the Freeman one, the CCRC refused to refer it to the Court of Appeal because, it said, it failed the 'real possibility' test. This is defined as the 'real possibility' that judges will rule a conviction should be quashed."
STORY: Eminent former judges hit out at 'murder that never was' as experts say polo player convicted 35 years ago may be innocent, by Associate Editor Stephen Wright, published but The Daily Mail, on March 19, 2024.
- KEY POINTS: "Clive Freeman, an ex-polo player was convicted in 1989 of murder
- But now The Mail can reveal that experts have debunked the case
GIST: "A major review into a so-called 'burking' murder involving one of Britain's longest-serving prisoners has been criticised by two former top judges.
The pair have criticised the Criminal Cases Review Commission's failure to appoint an independent pathologist to investigate the death of vagrant Alexander Hardie in 1988, in the light of evidence that points to natural causes.
Clive Freeman, an ex-polo-playing landowner, now 80, was convicted in 1989 of murdering Mr Hardie with a suffocation technique – dubbed burking – made famous by 19th Century 'body-snatchers' William Burke and William Hare, who sold the corpses to doctors for dissection.
According to the prosecution pathologist Dr Richard Shepherd, Freeman used burking to kill Mr Hardie, 49, in South London, as part of a £300,000 insurance swindle. But as revealed by the Mail, eight pathologists and forensic experts have debunked the theory.
Freeman has always denied murder, but 35 years after his conviction is still in prison.
Last week a major investigation by this newspaper disclosed a key prosecution witness has retracted his statement and prosecutors are facing claims that important documents were not disclosed to defence lawyers ahead of Freeman's Old Bailey trial. Now retired Old Bailey judge Wendy Joseph KC has expressed concerns about the CCRC's handling of Freeman's case, which it is reviewing for a fifth time.
In a statement sent to the CCRC she said: 'The jury were told there were two theories – either death by suffocation caused by a deliberate act designed to cause death (a la Burke and Hare) or death by natural causes.
'What they were never told was that a respectable and responsible body of expert opinion believes the former to be impossible.' The ex judge, who retired in 2022, added: 'Had the jury known that there was a body of scientific opinion that such a method of causation was not possible, this must have had some significant effect on their approach.
'The prosecution's job was to make the jury sure that whatever else Clive Freeman did or didn't do, and whatever else he intended or didn't intend to do, he actually carried out the act of killing.
'In my view it would be appropriate for the CCRC to review the current state of scientific understanding, and if appropriate to reconsider Dr Shepherd's analysis and conclusions. It may be the CCRC would be assisted by an independent expert.'
An eminent retired High Court judge, who did not wish to be named, said he also 'very much' shared the former Old Bailey judge's views.
He told the Mail: 'This case should be referred by the CCRC to the Court of Appeal.
'The only argument open to the Crown is that the pathological evidence as to cause of death was and remains inconclusive, and there was sufficient circumstantial evidence to prove guilt.
'That was not how the case was presented to the jury.
'The Crown relied on Shepherd's evidence and the jury must have accepted it. Had they known of the volume of expert evidence dismissive of Shepherd's opinion, it is most unlikely they would have convicted.
'I agree with the criticism of the CCRC's failure to instruct an independent pathologist.'
The CCRC has been widely criticised recently following the Andrew Malkinson scandal, who was released last year after being wrongly convicted of rape and spending 17 years in jail.
In the Malkinson case, as in the Freeman one, the CCRC refused to refer it to the Court of Appeal because, it said, it failed the 'real possibility' test. This is defined as the 'real possibility' that judges will rule a conviction should be quashed.
The CCRC said last night: 'Mr Freeman has applied to the CCRC on several occasions previously. Following thorough reviews, it was determined that those applications did not meet the 'real possibility' test.'
Dr Shepherd has not responded to requests for comment."
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13216367/Eminent-former-judges-hit-murder-never-experts-say-polo-player-convicted-35-years-ago-innocent.htmlPUBLISHER'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/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985
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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:
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-12348801
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MORE VALUABLE WORDS: "As a former public defender, Texas' refusal to delay Ivan Cantu's execution to evaluate new evidence is deeply worrying for the state of our legal system. There should be no room for doubt in a death penalty case. The facts surrounding Cantu's execution should haunt all of us."
Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett; X March 1, 2024.
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