Free David Ferguson

Help to right a grave miscarriage of justice....

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Blog entry 1st March 2016

A little more progression has been made with my appeal.

The Legal Aid Agency has authorized funding to have the key DNA sample physically re-tested. This is something that I've been pushing for for in excess of 15 years. Funding has also been granted to have several other items from the crime scene re-tested. This includes cigarette butts which the police, Crown Prosecution Service and the Forensic Science Service claimed failed to yield any DNA results. My legal team have sent a formal request to the prosecution for the relevant evidential items to be released so that they can be independently tested. As of yet, the prosecution have failed to grant this request.

Despite this positive move forward my barrister has left me somewhat frustrated. Last year it emerged that one of the prosecution's 'expert' witnesses is on record stating that he'd seen both an item of independent evidence and witness statements that confirm my alibi. Neither of these were ever disclosed to my trial defence team or since my wrongful conviction in 2000. The ramification of two separate pieces of evidence that verifies my being several miles away from the crime scene at the right time period is immense and obvious.

In addition, this withheld evidence will greatly affect how the independent forensic scientist will interpret the results she achieves should the prosecution ever grant us access to the evidence for re-testing. Frustratingly my barrister doesn't want to pursue this undisclosed evidence that proves my alibi until he has received the forensic re-testing results. This just doesn't make sense! I've written to my solicitor and have asked that the independent forensic scientist is at least told that undisclosed evidence proving my alibi exists according to the police/prosecution's own expert witness. As of yet my solicitor hasn't responded.

Is it no wonder that most wrongly convicted prisoners spend decades behind bars when solicitors and legal teams fail to ensure important leads are not immediately pursued?!