A6 Rebooted

[Derrick]

...The defence had their own experts who observed the DNA testing. The first was Dr Patrick Lincoln; he was succeeded by Dr Martin Everson....

Just a quick question.

How are you sure that Dr Evison observed any DNA testing?

Delboy

[NickB]

It was Woffinden and Bindman who pressed for the DNA tests. They were pleased to receive a letter from the Home Office dated 8-Feb-95: “I am writing to let you know that the Metropolitan Police have agreed to consider the question of DNA profiling in regard to such exhibits as still exist.”

The defence had their own experts who observed the DNA testing. The first was Dr Patrick Lincoln; he was succeeded by Dr Martin Everson.

On the Woffinden TV documentary Lincoln said: “There has been success in that the DNA has been extracted from one of the exhibits and that has now been used in a first set of tests to try and identify the structures of the DNA in that stained material. The result of those first tests: we have not been able to identify the structures. But there are other testings that we can do and we shall progress with those.”

Woffinden said: “The material is in proper storage and, with techniques in DNA technology improving all the time, a definitive result could be obtained at some point in the near future.”

Only after the results was contamination mentioned, and even then in cautionary terms. On the Horizon programme Everson said: “I think there a number of specific circumstances where I don’t believe the possibility of contamination can be excluded. I think there is a possibility that contamination could have occurred.”

Further, the defence stated on behalf of the appellant: “Should it transpire that all possibility of contamination can be excluded, the DNA evidence points conclusively to James Hanratty having been both the murderer and the rapist.” Acceptance by the defence of the legitimacy of the testing was also demonstrated by declaring Alphon’s innocence based on the DNA.

[cobalt]

Lawyers are paid big money to get the wording right. The form of words used in the 2002 appeal suggests that there was more than one slip available at the time of recent testing.

“The test was conducted on the small remaining piece of fabric from the knickers (part having been used in the 1995 experiment), a piece of material from one of the slips and the areas of staining from the handkerchief. ''

I understand that ‘the slips’ could be a historical reference to the slips that existed prior to 1962, but am not clear why this ambiguity would have been introduced into their wording so many years later. Why refer to ‘one of the slips’ when only one slip had ever been relevant to the case in 1962? And far from being a crucial piece of evidence, the slip in 1962 could not be adequately tested for blood group so was presumably introduced at trial for presentational reasons. Why did the learned judges not simply write ‘a piece of material from the slip?’ None of the other slips had ever featured at trial and had been destroyed, so by writing this way they were only confusing the issue.

Regarding conspiracies, they don’t have to be that giant to be pulled off even in a murder trial. Guildford, Birmingham and Kisko are three examples off the top of my head. In each case the prosecution evidence was undermined shortly after conviction. The conspiracy is less about the actual trial- mistakes happen in any system- but about the subsequent attempts to conceal the truth afterwards.

[caz]

From the wording at the appeal, it seems that the slips were growing in number. The slips were reported destroyed in May 1962. Yet the wording suggests there was more than a fragment of slip, but actually a number of slips available for testing many years later.


'a piece of material from one of the slips'

I think it's pretty straightforward, cobalt. Both slips were destroyed, but a piece that had been previously excised from one of the slips was retained, presumably because there was some staining on it?

What are you and moste suggesting here? That it's ridiculous to think that any of these things would have been retained, so every detail about the victim's underclothing and the hankie, plus the DNA findings, were fabricated - er - from whole cloth?

If that's the way this is going, you may as well trash all the evidence in this case and argue that this was one giant, ongoing conspiracy, involving both the justice system and Hanratty's associates, who all had their reasons for throwing him under the bus where the murder weapon was found.

Love,

Caz
X

[moste]

remember the entire storage facility was emptied and moved to a new location back in the 'was it' the 1980s ?