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May

Travesty

Written by Satish Sekar

Shameful
The disgraced pathologist Michael Heath fell from favour five years ago. Incredibly, not one case that had found its way to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) resulted in a quashed conviction and it had taken almost five years for any of the convictions that it referred back for appeal to be heard. Despite Heath being thoroughly discredited – the starting point of the CCRC's review – only two cases were referred back for appeal due to Heath's evidence, but neither Mushtaq Ahmed nor Kenneth Noye benefited from that.

Cases that did not involve 'obvious' medical issues did not get a look in. The CCRC's review was limited in its scope, ignoring pathology-related issues. Neither Neil Sayers' case, nor Michael Stone's were investigated further, let alone considered for referral back to the Court of Appeal. Medical issues played little or no part in Sayers' case, but Stone's arguably did. At the very least, it suggested that other vital evidence should have been obtained, which justified a thorough review of the case to resolve other scientific issues that could prove Stone innocent. In a different manner that applied to Sayers' case as well.

As the then President of the Queen's Bench and current Lord Chief Justice, Baron (Igor) Judge of Draycote, said: “Even if Dr Heath's evidence was challenged at trial, it does not follow that the convictions will all be unsafe. Some will remain safe, even if his evidence lent support to the Crown's case. Some, of course, and this is one, will not.”

As will be shown soon Stone's is a case that refuses to fit neatly into any box regarding Heath. Either Heath got it wrong, in which case, that is surely worth reviewing, or he was right, but if so that raises other issues that strongly suggest that further investigation and testing is required at the absolute minimum, regardless of the CCRC's decision not to refer his conviction back for appeal.

Dereliction of Responsibilities
There should have been a thorough review of Heath's cases ordered by the Attorney General in 2006. There was no shortage of controversial cases and several had resulted in quashed convictions, acquittals, or inquest findings overturned on appeal as a result of Heath's pathology. Less than a month after the CCRC decided that only eight cases needed further review, the Court of Appeal ordered a retrial in Alex O'Leary's case and before long Mark Laverick's conviction was quashed on appeal. Neither case involved the CCRC, but its review did not consider the impact of several proven cases on the ones it was reviewing. Why not?

Those cases involved far more than a difference of expert opinion. The Home Office Pathology Advisory Board tribunal had shown that, but it was limited to just two proven cases, Kenneth Fraser and Steven Puaca. Others were ignored by everyone. Why? Was that necessary to keep the lid firmly sealed on a scandal that could and perhaps should have resulted in several successful appeals?

Scandalous
Rather than investigate Heath thoroughly, the Attorney General waited for the CCRC to complete its investigation, but it was obvious that would never be enough as the CCRC could only be concerned with applicants to it. What about inquests, or trials, or even first appeals that involved Heath, or cases that had not even reached trial? And as for deaths that might have wrongly not been ruled homicides by Heath, they did not get considered by anyone.

That is not the CCRC's fault. It could only look into its own cases. The rest was up to the Attorney General. Sadly Baron [Peter] Goldsmith declined to order such an investigation in 2006. A year later his successor, Baroness Patricia Scotland QC, followed his lead and failed to order an investigation of Heath. Three Attorney Generals have abdicated their responsibilities.

The change of government made no difference either. The incumbent Attorney General, Dominic Grieve QC, MP, has shown no inclination to tackle the Heath Scandal either. Meanwhile, Michael Heath is no longer a forensic pathologist, but continues to work as an expert histopathologist, registered by the General Medical Council.

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