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The purpose of the site is to make available information on issues of social justice to everyone. For example, the conviction of Jeffrey Gafoor established beyond doubt the innocence of the Cardiff Five. It raised several issues which have not been discussed in mainstream media. These include the lack of aftercare facilities for them and the shamefully low tariff that the real murderer got. His punishment does not punish or deter the truly guilty from allowing the innocent to suffer.This site is intended to put useful information online and make it available to people who need it. We would like victims of miscarriages of justice to understand what is possible to achieve through various techniques in forensic science and to stimulate discussion on these issues. The sad fact is that those in positions of power and influence appear to have no intention of correcting such flaws.

The Fitted-In Project

16

Dec

Next Time The Fire – The Expertise of Michael Heath PDF Print E-mail
Written by Satish Sekar   

"This chapter is the unabridged version of the author's original manuscript and has been revised since publication by Mr Sekar, the author of it. It is published on this website by kind permission of the publishers Palgrave. The definitive edited version of this chapter appears as The Failure of the Review of the Possible Wrongful Convictions Caused by Michael Heath in The Criminal Cases Review Commission - Hope for the Innocent? edited by Michael Naughton which can be purchased from www.palgrave.com We recommend the book highly to our readers and support the work of the Innocence Network UK. http://www.innocencenetwork.org.uk/ is their website address. "

 

Next Time The Fire – The Expertise of Michael Heath

by Satish Sekar © Satish Sekar March 2007

Introduction:

Forensic pathology is undoubtedly a very important science, but one that is surrounded by misunderstanding of its limitations and significance. It cannot, for example, say precisely when a murder took place. There are far too many variables to enable anything more than a range of times within which death occurred. There are however, several indicators that should be established and not just the obvious ones such as body weight: body temperature, ambient temperature and the progress of rigour mortis. Analysis of stomach contents and the rate of dissipation of alcohol content in the body can all assist in establishing a likely range for when death occurred. However, despite ongoing research no science can give a precise time of death – yet. Normally the time of death is established not by pathology but by investigative circumstances ranging from collection of newspapers, reading of mail, usage of electricity in a house to the metabolism of alcohol. Doing an alcohol back calculation is really the only factor related to the body which is accurate and can give a time of death accurate within an hour – provided the victim has consumed alcohol of course.

In homicide cases the forensic pathologist will be the first to perform scientific examinations on the body. They will also take samples from it – some of which will be used by other forensic scientists. Consequently, the integrity and competence of forensic pathologists can also affect the ability of other experts to obtain and interpret scientific evidence. When a body is too decomposed for other methods forensic entomology – the study of the life cycles of insects recovered from crime scenes – is a science that can offer useful evidence, enabling investigators to establish the post-mortem-interval. It cannot say precisely when a murder occurred either, but it can often give investigators a range of a few days to work with.

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03

Jul

Wrongly accused who are still waiting for answers PDF Print E-mail
Written by www.walesonline.co.uk   

Wrongly accused who are still waiting for answers

In the wake of a series of miscarriages of justice in South Wales a special unit was set up to investigate unsolved cases. Here Satish Sekar, author of Fitted In: Cardiff 3 and the Lynette White Inquiry, assesses its success

TEN years ago Tony Rogers, then an Assistant Chief Constable of South Wales Police, established the country’s first unit to examine unsolved and unresolved cases. The Western Mail broke the story of the unit being set up, following pressure over a number of miscarriages of justice, such as the Cardiff Five, Jonathan Jones, the Gurnos Fire and the Cardiff Explosives Conspiracy. The case of the Newsagent Three was waiting in the wings and of course the Darvell Brothers and Mahmoud Mattan had also been cleared.

All of these defendants had either been acquitted or cleared on appeal. They were demanding answers and a public inquiry. The police responded with the unit, but it wasn’t just miscarriages of justice that were investigated; there were cases that had never resulted in arrests. In 2003 it made history twice. The first miscarriage of justice that it looked at was the Cardiff Five (many call it Cardiff Three, but John and Ronnie Actie were victims of that case as well as Yusef Abdullahi, Stephen Miller and Tony Paris). After four years and a superb investigation Jeffrey Gafoor became the first British murderer to be tied to his crime after a miscarriage of justice, but what about the rest of them?

Read more...
 

02

Jul

EU ruling on DNA poses a threat to cracking crimes PDF Print E-mail
Written by Satish Sekar   
DNA

As the controversy over who should be included on a national DNA database continues, author Satish Sekar argues that a new EU ruling poses a threat to cracking unsolved crimes

Over 13 years ago – March 10, 1996 – the half-naked body of 34-year-old Karen Skipper was recovered from the River Ely in Cardiff.

Within five weeks, an innocent man – her estranged husband Philip – was charged with her murder and acquitted in 1997. He subsequently died in November 2004, the same year that crucial DNA profiles were obtained from crime scene samples.

Two years later, John Pope, the real murderer, was arrested on an unrelated matter for which he was not convicted.

His DNA profile was put on the National DNA Database and within a month the labourer, then 57, was identified as a prime suspect in the murder of Karen Skipper.

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09

Mar

Cardiff Three left stuck in the past as police face conspiracy charges PDF Print E-mail
Written by Duncan Campbell and Satish Sekar   

Men wrongly convicted of murder speak out
Real culprit admitted guilt 15 years after brutal killing

Life has stood still for Stephen Miller since he was arrested more than 20 years ago and charged with the murder of a young woman in Cardiff. "Not one day goes past without me thinking about the case," he said. "My life is stuck in 1988."

Last week, it was announced that 13 former and serving South Wales police officers were to face charges of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice in connection with the investigation into the murder of Lynette White in 1988. Five innocent men were charged with the murder and three - Miller and two others, together known as the Cardiff Three - were jailed for life. They were freed on appeal in 1992 and the real murderer, Jeffrey Gafoor, pleaded guilty in 2003.

Read the Full Arricle at the Guardian Newspaper >>

 

06

Mar

Jailing of Cardiff Three witnesses raises questions over law on duress PDF Print E-mail
Written by Courtesy of the Guardian   
Trio bullied into perjury over murder of prostitute
False evidence led to miscarriage of justice

Three witnesses who gave false evidence in a murder trial after they were bullied into doing so by police were sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment last week, raising fundamental questions about the fairness of the law of perjury and duress.

The witnesses - Mark Grommek, Leanne Vilday and Angela Psaila - were charged with perjury in 2004 in connection with the murder of a 20-year-old prostitute, Lynette White, who was found stabbed to death in a flat in Cardiff on Valentine's Day, 1988.

 

click here to see the full article

 

06

Mar

15 Charged over Notorious Miscarriage of Justice Case PDF Print E-mail
Written by Derek Miller   

The Crown Prosecution Service's Special Crime Division announced that there is sufficient evidence for three serving police officers, Police Constable John Murray, who was with CID at the relevant time, Detective Sergeant (DS) Paul Stephen and Detective Constable (DC) Paul Jennings to face trial for Conspiracy to Pervert the Course of Justice and False Imprisonment and Misconduct in a Public Office over the ill-fated inquiry inquiry into the horrific murder of Lynette White that occurred on Valentine's Day 1988. Wayne Pugh, a Detective Constable at the time retired at the rank but worked as a South Wales Police staff member until his arrest. He faces the same charges along with retired officers, DCs Rachel O'Brien: Michael, Daniels, John Bryan Gillard, John Seaford, Peter Greenwood, DS Stephen Hicks and Detective Inspectors Thomas Page, Richard Powell and Graham Mouncher. Civilian witnesses Ian Massey and Violet Perriam will face trial for perjury as well in relation to the investigation into the 1988 murder of Lynette White and subsequent trials in 1989 and 1990.

 

John Actie and his cousin Ronnie stood trial along with Yusef Abdullahi, Stephen Miller and Tony Paris for the crime that Jeffrey Gafoor admitted he had committed alone, pleading guilty in July 2003. “Our lives have been utterly destroyed by being branded brutal murderers,” said a statement issued on their behalf by lawyers for the Cardiff Five. The conduct of the original inquiry was reviewed by South Wales Police, which delivered a file to the CPS in 2005. Three years later Mark Grommek, Angela Psaila and Learnne Vilday were jailed for perjury at the committal hearing and two trials. After those verdicts SCD lawyers reviewed the evidence that officers had moulded, manipulated and fabricated evidence against the original defendants. Yesterday the SDC announced that there was sufficient evidence for the 13 serving or former police to face trial along with the two witnesses.

 

“At the forefront of our thoughts is Lynette White who was brutally murdered on February 14th 1988,” said Assistant Chief Constable Colette Paul,

Read more...
 

09

Jan

wales online article PDF Print E-mail
Written by Satish Sekar   

A DNA database would help convict the guilty - and protect the innocent

reproduced with kind permission from http://www.walesonline.co.uk/

As the debate over a national DNA database continues, author Satish Sekar calls for its establishment to prevent future miscarriages of justice – but only if proper safeguards are in place

IT WILL probably never happen now, but I support a fully independent national DNA database that would contain at least the records of the DNA profiles of every citizen. However, I have always been unequivocally opposed to the records, DNA profiles and excess DNA being held or controlled by the police.

Read more...
 
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About Satish Sekar

Satish Sekar is a 45-year-old freelance journalist, specialising in legal and forensic science issues. He holds a BA Hons. in Sociology and has worked as a journalist/researcher since 1990. He has contributed to local and national newspapers, radio and television in the UK. He worked on the critically acclaimed feature film In the Name of the Father. Fitted In: The Cardiff 3 and the Lynette White Inquiry was his first book. Published by The Fitted-In Project, it had an impact, contributing to changes in investigating techniques and to the notorious case being re-opened for a second time. Mr Sekar continues to work as a journalist and consulted on policing and forensic science issues to Lee Jasper former policy advisor to Ken Livingstone (previous Mayor of London). Mr Sekar has also advised individual campaigns and groups on forensic science issues. He launched 'empower-sport magazine' in August 2007.
 

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