Blog entry 8th April 2018
Issues of 'non-disclosure' in criminal court cases are still appearing regularly in the press. On Tuesday 3rd April, the lead headline in the Times read: Police are 'trained to hide vital evidence'.
The charity called 'The Centre for Criminal Appeals' contains comments from police focus groups. One such comment is very telling in the lengths the police will go to in the aim to secure a conviction at any cost:
"If you don't want the defence to see it, then evidence goes on the MG6D."
The MG6D is a list of sensitive unused material to which a defendants legal team does not have access to. In another police focus group an inspector admitted that police officers are routinely trained to:
"put items on their MG6D that they do not want disclosed to the defence."
Another police comment confirmed that:
"Officers put undermining material on the MG6D list to hide."
Clearly the parameters of the MG6D list are being routinely abused by police forces countrywide. How many innocent people (myself included) are imprisoned because the police have hidden evidence that would exonerate them on the MG6D list?! All the while the MG6D list continues to exist it will undoubtably be abused by police forces to secure convictions of innocent defendants.
There must now be a full investigation and enquiry to establish the extent of police forces abusing MG6D lists to hide evidence that would have given cause for reasonable doubt of a defendants guilt of a criminal accusation. In addition to this every convicted prisoner must now have the right for full un-redacted disclosure of the MG6D list and any evidence listed on it in their case. Lastly, as the police clearly cannot be trusted to use the MG6D list legally and fairly it must be totally abolished from use. Justice requires it.
In view of this I now call for anyone reading this to write to their MP demanding the abolishment of the MG6D list.
At the end of March the CPS finally gave me some disclosure of evidence withheld at my trial. Very tellingly it had all been excessively redacted to render it as useless as possible. However, despite this what could be read has confirmed that the police have and continue to withhold:
- MJP/15: The knife found at the murder scene which has never been forensically tested.
- My medicine bottle: which proves I could not have been at the crime scene at the time of the murder.
- Witness statements from the chemists I was at during the time frame for the murder.
- Witness statements from David Pointer which further prove I could not have been at the crime scene at the time of the murder.
This last item the CPS are trying to hide behind the Data Protection Act to prevent its disclosure.
I am now challenging these continued and very telling obstruction by the CPS.
Of course, this now raises the question of if I can get the CPS to confirm the existence of these materials that will exonerate me, then why hasn't my solicitor. Also, why isn't my solicitor in court seeking an order for full disclosure of them from Kent Police and CPS?