PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Key evidence at Tamihere's trial in 1990 came from convicted killer and prison informant Robert Conchie Harris. He claimed Tamihere confessed to the murders while they were both in prison but in 2017, he was found guilty of perjury.
"That is a potent recipe for a miscarriage of justice," Carruthers said. Jailhouse lawyer Arthur Taylor took the case against Harris and was in court on Tuesday. "For the integrity of our criminal justice system I'm hoping the Court of Appeal will quash the conviction and not order a retrial," Taylor said."
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STORY: "Double murderer David Tamihere appeals conviction," by Reporter William Terite, published by MSN,
GIST: "The man convicted of murdering two Swedish tourists in 1989 has a fresh chance to clear his name.
David Tamihere spent two decades behind bars for the murder of Heidi Paakkonen and Sven Urban Hoglin but has always maintained his innocence.
The disappearance of the two Swedish tourists sparked significant media attention and a major search operation across the Coromandel Peninsula.
But it's the case against Tamihere, who was convicted of killing the pair the following year, that's still got people talking.
Three decades later, his case is being re-examined in the Court of Appeal, where his lawyers' argued issues with the Crown's evidence provide a "potent recipe for a miscarriage of justice".
"The Crown routinely called on fabricated prison informant evidence to prop us contentious eyewitness identification evidence," his lawyer James Carruthers said.
Key evidence at Tamihere's trial in 1990 came from convicted killer and prison informant Robert Conchie Harris.
He claimed Tamihere confessed to the murders while they were both in prison but in 2017, he was found guilty of perjury.
"That is a potent recipe for a miscarriage of justice," Carruthers said.
Jailhouse lawyer Arthur Taylor took the case against Harris and was in court on Tuesday.
"For the integrity of our criminal justice system I'm hoping the Court of Appeal will quash the conviction and not order a retrial," Taylor said.
The Crown started their case this afternoon, focusing on the evidence from two trampers who claimed they saw Tamihere in the area where the couple went missing.
They say they saw Tamihere with a woman who looked like Paakkonen.
Now aged 70, Tamihere wasn't in court on Tuesday. He was released on parole in 2010 and spends his days working at an Auckland Marae.
He told Whakaata Māori three years ago it's been a long and tough journey to try and clear his name.
"I've been arguing the case since day one. Then it was knock back, knock back, knock back," he said.
This hearing marks the biggest chance he's had to argue his case."
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/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985
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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;
