PASSAGE OF THE DAY; (Attorney General) 'Frecklington said she took the step on Friday after she became aware of a seven-day pause on routine DNA testing following the discovery of contamination issues at the lab. Pressed for more information on the contamination, Crisafulli was unable, or unwilling, to provide more details. “That information came to the attorney[-general] yesterday morning,” he said. “She acted and as she found out, Queensland has found out. “That work will be done, but the culture has to change, and the accountability has to change. This is less than 24 hours old.”
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PASSAGE TWO OF THE DAY: "Forensic Science Queensland was established after an inquiry, led by Walter Sofronoff KC, found thousands of serious criminal cases would need to be reviewed due to lab failures in DNA testing. A second inquiry, headed by retired Federal Court judge Annabelle Bennett in 2023, found an automated extraction method yielded up to 92 per cent less DNA than the manual technique. That failure may have led to offenders escaping conviction over a period of nine years, between 2007 and 2016. Earlier this month, it was also revealed that dozens of paternity tests coming out of the lab were under a cloud due to data-handling errors dating back to 1983."
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STORY" Queensland lab boss has ‘less than a week’ to save her job," published by The Brisbane Times (Journalist Cameron Atfield) reports, on June 21, 2025.
GIST: "The embattled head of Queensland’s state-run forensic testing lab has less than a week to explain why she should not be removed from the job.
Attorney-General Deb Frecklington suspended Forensic Science Queensland director Dr. Linzi Wilson-WildeDr Linzi Wilson-Wilde late on Friday, pending a show cause notice for her removal.
Wilson-Wilde has been in the job since last September, with her appointment announced by then-health minister Yvette D’Ath a day before the government entered caretaker mode ahead of the state election.
On Saturday, Premier David Crisafulli said Wilson-Wilde had “less than a week” to make her case.
“Unless we’ve got a proper functioning lab in Queensland, we don’t have a proper functioning justice system, and what’s happening at the moment is completely broken,” he said.
“The long-term culture of cover-up had to be called out, and it should have been called out many years ago, which is why we’re taking the action we’re taking.”
Comment has been sought from Wilson-Wilde.
Frecklington said she took the step on Friday after she became aware of a seven-day pause on routine DNA testing following the discovery of contamination issues at the lab.
Pressed for more information on the contamination, Crisafulli was unable, or unwilling, to provide more details.
“That information came to the attorney[-general] yesterday morning,” he said.
“She acted and as she found out, Queensland has found out.
“That work will be done, but the culture has to change, and the accountability has to change. This is less than 24 hours old.”
Opposition frontbencher Shannon Fentiman, a former attorney-general, said Frecklington’s statement was low on detail.
“I really hope the attorney, at some point makes a more fulsome statement and particularly provides information to victims who may be feeling very concerned right now,” she said.
Fentiman defended Labor’s record on forensic testing, saying the former government put “millions of dollars on the table” to transform the lab.
“When whistleblowers came forward and raised concerns, we had not one but two commissions of inquiry,” she said.
“I don’t think you can say we covered anything up. We had two commissions of inquiry.
“Those commissions of inquiry found that there was a culture of not briefing up and covering up that occurred over both governments – Campbell Newman and the LNP, and Labor.”
Forensic Science Queensland was established after an inquiry, led by Walter Sofronoff KC, found thousands of serious criminal cases would need to be reviewed due to lab failures in DNA testing.
A second inquiry, headed by retired Federal Court judge Annabelle Bennett in 2023, found an automated extraction method yielded up to 92 per cent less DNA than the manual technique. That failure may have led to offenders escaping conviction over a period of nine years, between 2007 and 2016.
Earlier this month, it was also revealed that dozens of paternity tests coming out of the lab were under a cloud due to data-handling errors dating back to 1983."
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;
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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;
