When justice fails, a reporter comes to the rescue

There are still many who earnestly believe that capital punishment ought to be rigorously applied. Pity then when post an execution - or whilst a prisoner is serving a life sentence - is found to be innocent.

Thankfully, in the case under discusssion, the accused wasn't executed - for Australia doesn't have the death penalty. Richard Ackland, writing in the SMH highlights the sterling efforts of a reporter who stepped in when the justice-system failed:

"Every blue moon a journalist does some real good in the world. My pin-up girl right now is Colleen Egan, a Perth journalist for the local organ The Sunday Times. Ten years ago she started to look into the Andrew Mallard case, and what she found horrified her. In part due to Egan's journalism, Mallard is a free man today.

He was convicted in May 1994 of the murder of a Perth jeweller, Pamela Lawrence, and had served 12 years of a life sentence before the High Court quashed his conviction in 2005 and ordered a new trial.

The High Court unanimously found there had been a miscarriage of justice, because evidence that gave rise to doubts about Mallard's guilt was suppressed by the police.

Soon after, the West Australian Director of Public Prosecutions, Robert Cock, said there would be no fresh trial, withdrew the charges, but insisted that Mallard was still the "prime suspect".

This week a retired NSW Supreme Court judge, John Dunford, came up with some findings for the WA Corruption and Crime Commission.

He recommended disciplinary action be considered against the police involved in the case, assistant commissioners, no less, Malcolm Shervill and David Caporn - both detective sergeants at the time of the investigation and murder trial.

Further, Dunford recommended consideration be given to disciplinary action against senior prosecutor Kenneth Bates, and that Mallard might also raise a disciplinary complaint with the Legal Practitioners Complaints Committee against Bates."

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