Investigating Miscarriages of Justice Thoroughly – Part Eight

Crossing the Rubicon:

The then Chief Constable of South Wales Police, Sir Anthony Burdon knew that the public expected and demanded answers on how innocent men had stood trial over the brutal St. Valentine’s Day  1988 murder of Lynette White. He chose not to make the mistakes that had afflicted previous investigations of police conduct in miscarriage of justice cases.

Burdon ordered an investigation with sweeping powers. Detective Chief Superintendent Chris Coutts was invited to assemble a team of officers. It started with twenty-six, later reduced by six. In August 2004 the Independent Police Complaints Commission was invited to supervise and the Special Crimes Division of the Crown Prosecution Service reviewed the evidence gathered by Coutts’ team.

From the moment that Burdon ordered the investigation – the widest ranging ever of a miscarriage of justice – South Wales Police had a stark choice. They could either attempt to sweep any wrongdoing under the carpet, or they could prove their critics wrong by pursuing the truth fearlessly come what may. There was no turning back. Like Julius Cæsar two millenniums ago, they had crossed their Rubicon.

Operation Rubicon:

To date, thirty four people were arrested and interviewed on suspicion of offences ranging from conspiracy to pervert the course of justice to perjury. Twenty of them were police officers; one was a forensic scientist and the other thirteen were civilian witnesses in the original trial.

Jeffrey Gafoor admitted that he had killed Lynette on his own and that the Cardiff Five were wholly innocent. This meant that the four alleged eyewitnesses – Paul Atkins, Mark Grommek, Angela Psaila and Learnne Vilday had perjured themselves more than once.

The crucial question was why? Atkins refused to explain himself and after being charged with two counts of perjury was deemed unfit to stand trial. He has never revealed why he lied about men he knew to be innocent. Psaila admitted perjuring herself before Gafoor was convicted, but it did not save her.

Duress:

Grommek, Psaila and Vilday insisted that they had acted under duress, but the prososcution was adamant that they had ample opportunity to retract – that others had and that duress was therefore no defence even though they accepted that they had indeed been treated appallingly by police during their original interviews in November and December 1988. Psaila and Vilday subsequently pleaded guilty in October 2008 – eighteen months after they were charged – but Grommek insisted that the evidence should be heard.

The jury heard that Grommek had been threatened with violence and been bullied until his will was overborne. He eventually gave in and gave the evidence that the police wanted. It resulted in a grave miscarriage of justice. Despite hearing that similar methods had been employed on Yusef Abdullahi and Stephen Miller through taped interviews and in Miller’s case by evidence too, Mr. Justice Maddison ruled that duress was no defence and Grommek was forced to change his plea to guilty.

Two months later Grommek, Psaila and Vilday were told that perjury strikes at the heart of the criminal justice system and were jailed for eighteen months. They paid a high price for their lies, but Rubicon was far from finished. In March 2009 the CPS announced that thirteen police officers who had worked on the original investigation into the murder of Lynette White – three still serving and consequently under suspension - would face trial for conspiring to pervert the course of justice. The trial will begin next year, but what was different about this case compared to all the others?