PUBLISHER'S NOTE: "WORDS TO HEED: FROM OUR POST ON KEVIN COOPER'S APPLICATION FOR POST-CONVICTION DNA TESTING; CALIFORNIA: (Applicable wherever a state resists DNA testing): "Blogger/extraordinaire Jeff Gamso's blunt, unequivocal, unforgettable message to the powers that be in California: "JUST TEST THE FUCKING DNA." (Oh yes, Gamso raises, as he does in many of his posts, an important philosophical question: This post is headed: "What is truth, said jesting Pilate."...Says Gamso: "So what's the harm? What, exactly, are they scared of? Don't we want the truth?")
————————————————————
GIST: "One of Australia's most notorious killers and rapists is one step closer to triggering DNA testing that he claims could clear his name after decades behind bars.
Stephen Wayne "Shorty" Jamieson, is serving a life sentence for leading a gang of five youths in the 1988 abduction, rape and murder of Janine Balding.
Jamieson has long claimed he was the victim of mistaken identity having been mixed up with another man who went by the same nickname, Mark "Shorty" Wells.
In an ongoing appeal before the NSW Supreme Court, the now-58-year-old has argued DNA testing of a bandana used to gag Balding could implicate Wells.
Wells' DNA profile was obtained by NSW Police from Queensland authorities, however the parties were at odds over the legality of it being used for testing in the investigation.
Today, Justice Ian Harrison ruled Police Commissioner Karen Webb could legally use her powers to comply with Jamieson's request for the testing to take place.
"The interests of justice and the public interest in maintaining the integrity of convictions call for the testing to be undertaken," the judge wrote in his decision.
"A failure to conclude the investigation by conducting the tests and making the comparisons would in my opinion create an enduring sense of community unease."
Justice Harrison ordered the parties to make further submissions on how the testing could be carried out following his ruling on the legality of the testing.
Wells has denied any involvement in the rape or murder and has never been charged over the crime.
During a previous hearing, the court was told Jamieson had been excluded from having provided the DNA on the bandana to the surprise of many in the courtroom at the time.
The partial profile of 11 genetic markers lifted from a part of the bandana did not match the full 21-marker profile of Jamieson, nor the three other males convicted alongside him, the court was told.
Assuming it was a single male, the partial DNA profile would match about one in five million individuals.
Jamieson's lawyer Richard Wilson SC previously argued that it would be "powerful evidence" to support his client's contention he was innocent if Wells' DNA profile could not be excluded.
Balding's murder shocked the nation in its brutality after the bank teller was grabbed from a Sydney train station by the gang of homeless youths, who repeatedly raped her.
The 20-year-old was bound, gagged and thrown over a fence before being held underwater in a dam until she drowned.
Jamieson's appeal will return to court in March.
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
———————————————————————————————
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;
—————————————————————————————————
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;
