GIST: "One of Australia's longest-serving prisoners could be about to walk out of jail after 40 years behind bars for a crime he says he did not commit.
A South Australian parole board will on Tuesday determine whether Derek Bromley, who was found guilty of murdering Adelaide man Stephen Docoza in 1984, should be released into the community.
Bromley, Australia's longest-serving Indigenous prisoner, has unsuccessfully appealed his conviction on multiple occasions.
His most recent attempt was dismissed in December, despite two out of five High Court justices finding "a substantial miscarriage of justice" against Bromley after the trial judge gave inadequate directions to the jury.
They argued the 62-year-old should be acquitted without a retrial, given the loss of original evidence and the length of time he had spent in prison.
"There is, at least, a significant possibility that an innocent person has been convicted," Justices James Edelman and Harry Steward said.
Bromley has been in custody since 1984, having been denied parole because he has maintained his innocence throughout.
His lawyer, Karen Stanley, said he was a prime candidate for parole as he had spent the last 10 years of his sentence working in the community as a firefighter.
"His job is to protect the community," she told AAP.
"The overarching consideration for the parole board is the protection of the community. Not only is the community not as risk if he is released on parole, but the community protection is enhanced."
As he was handed a sentence of life imprisonment, he will remain under the watchful eyes of the parole board, if released.
"The parole board has a really wide scope in the parole conditions they can impose," Ms Stanley said.
"I'm not sure what conditions do need to be imposed for Derek. He has been a valuable contributor to the community for over a decade now."
Bromley is being housed at the Adelaide Pre-release Centre, a low security prison that provides inmates with access to programs aimed at supporting their gradual release back into the community.
"There is a lot in the way of community supports," Ms Stanley said.
He has also taken part in a prisoner care program run by the Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement, which helps to reduce re-offending behaviours and provide consistent support to transition back into the community safely.
"This is over and above what's provided to non-Indigenous prisoners", Ms Stanley said.
"The crux of it for me is ... Derek has had years and years of already being out in the community.
"He has shown himself to be not a risk in the community. Most prisoners don't really get that opportunity - the parole board has to take a bit of a leap of faith.
"Whereas with Derek, there is an established history there.""
The entire story can be read at:
https://au.news.yahoo.com/freedom-beckons-prisoner-40-years-163000866.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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