Barry George revisited.

[Nicholas]

“Barry had previously been convicted for attempted rape and indecent assault some years earlier, and he lived in the vicinity of Dando’s flat. When I ask Michelle about these serious charges, she doesn’t respond defensively or try to protect her brother; instead she explains, gently, that she too was horrified when she discovered the truth – and told her brother so: “I’m afraid he was given quite a tough time from me; he didn’t enjoy that visit one bit,” she says, briskly. “But I think it needs to be understood that Barry is like a nine-year-old boy living in an adult’s body. These things should not happen, and he knows right from wrong, but at the same time, he has a whole host of disabilities
https://www.premierchristianity.com/Past-Issues/2019/April-2019/My-brother-was-wrongly-convicted-of-murdering-Jill-Dando

Barry George was classed sane and fit to stand trial for murder as an ADULT.

There are NO excuses and her comments are disingenuous. BUT nothing.

[Nicholas]

“Barry had previously been convicted for attempted rape and indecent assault some years earlier, and he lived in the vicinity of Dando’s flat. When I ask Michelle about these serious charges, she doesn’t respond defensively or try to protect her brother; instead she explains, gently, that she too was horrified when she discovered the truth – and told her brother so: “I’m afraid he was given quite a tough time from me; he didn’t enjoy that visit one bit,” she says, briskly. “But I think it needs to be understood that Barry is like a nine-year-old boy living in an adult’s body. These things should not happen, and he knows right from wrong, but at the same time, he has a whole host of disabilities
https://www.premierchristianity.com/Past-Issues/2019/April-2019/My-brother-was-wrongly-convicted-of-murdering-Jill-Dando

Barry George was classed sane and fit to stand trial for murder as an ADULT.

There are NO excuses and her comments are disingenuous. BUT nothing.

“Michelle soon realised that Barry needed her help, so she booked flights to England, leaving her husband and three children behind in Ireland. “I’m so grateful to God that he only gives us a lamp unto our feet,” she explains, thoughtfully, “because if I had seen 18-19 years ahead of me – that I was still going to be in this battle – I don’t think I would have taken that first step.” Michelle tells me that it would have been irresponsible if she hadn’t asked herself the question: “Did he do it?”. But once she spoke to the legal and medical teams, who were convinced of his innocence, and after reviewing the evidence, she was sure Barry couldn’t have committed the crime.
https://www.premierchristianity.com/Past-Issues/2019/April-2019/My-brother-was-wrongly-convicted-of-murdering-Jill-Dando



“here are 5 reasons we play the blame game.

Blame is an excellent defense mechanism. Whether you call it projection, denial, or displacement, blame helps you preserve your sense of self-esteem by avoiding awareness of your own flaws or failings.
 
Blame is a tool we use when we’re in attack mode. Falling into the category of a destructive conflict resolution method, blame is a way to try to hurt our partners.
 
We’re not very good at figuring out the causes of other people's behavior, or even our own. The attributions we make, whether to luck or ability, can be distorted by our tendency to make illogical judgments. And we're just as bad at making judgments involving the blameworthiness of actions in terms of intent vs. outcome.
 
It’s easier to blame someone else than to accept responsibility. There’s less effort involved in recognizing your contributions to a bad situation than in accepting the fact that you're actually at fault, and changing so you don't do it again.
 
People lie. As my colleague, Robert Feldman, discovered, “Everybody lies.” It’s pretty easy just to lie and blame someone else even though you know you’re at fault. You may figure that no one will know it was really you who spilled coffee all over the break room, so you just blame someone else who’s not there (and hope that person never finds out)

Unlike other games, the more often you play the blame game, the more you lose. Learning to tell when you need to own up to your role in a bad situation will help you grow from your experiences, and ultimately help you achieve more fulfilling relationships.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/fulfillment-any-age/201509/5-reasons-we-play-the-blame-game

[Nicholas]

“Michelle tells me that because Barry has never been formally exonerated, the spectre of the case hangs over him: “He lives it and he breathes it every single minute of every single day. When he wakes up in the morning, it’s the first thing on his mind. All through the day he’s thinking about it, and when he goes to bed at night, he is still thinking about it.”


She cannot possibly know this, no one can!


“Barry was on the threshold of giving his life to Christ (just weeks away from being baptised) when he was arrested and his life crashed down around him. He attended every religious service while in prison, but Michelle tells me he wasn’t allowed to be baptised and hasn’t taken that step since.
https://www.premierchristianity.com/Past-Issues/2019/April-2019/My-brother-was-wrongly-convicted-of-murdering-Jill-Dando

[Nicholas]

“Michelle tells me that because Barry has never been formally exonerated, the spectre of the case hangs over him: “He lives it and he breathes it every single minute of every single day. When he wakes up in the morning, it’s the first thing on his mind. All through the day he’s thinking about it, and when he goes to bed at night, he is still thinking about it.”


She cannot possibly know this, no one can!


“Barry was on the threshold of giving his life to Christ (just weeks away from being baptised) when he was arrested and his life crashed down around him. He attended every religious service while in prison, but Michelle tells me he wasn’t allowed to be baptised and hasn’t taken that step since.
https://www.premierchristianity.com/Past-Issues/2019/April-2019/My-brother-was-wrongly-convicted-of-murdering-Jill-Dando

“I can’t tell you what was in God’s mind, but if what I’m doing now helps somebody else, then that’s making good come out of bad. And if I’ve been given a platform because of what happened to Barry – because he can’t do it – then again, that’s going to help make something good occur within our justice system. To make it more just, to make it what the public thinks it is.”
https://www.premierchristianity.com/Past-Issues/2019/April-2019/My-brother-was-wrongly-convicted-of-murdering-Jill-Dando


Cases like Barry George, Simon Hall, Jeremy Bamber and Stephen Downing help pollute the justice system, they do NOT make it more just!

[Nicholas]

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/bookmark-michelle-diskin-bates/id796334747?i=1000431434365

It’s ALL in the words, and music 

Barry George’s case is NOT Hillsborough! Ffs!

Dr Michael Naughton describes the book as “disturbing, inspirational and uplifting”

Extremely disturbing, that I agree with!

[Nicholas]

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/bookmark-michelle-diskin-bates/id796334747?i=1000431434365

Rewriting history does not help her cause

“Dr Shepherd said it was not possible to say what position Miss Dando was in when shot.
"It could have been in a position which allowed the firearm to be arranged so that it could be placed to her left temple and allowed to track through to the right."
A gunman standing to her left could have been either right or left-handed, he told the court.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-46217/Jills-death-instant.html

[Nicholas]

Rewriting history does not help her cause

“Dr Shepherd said it was not possible to say what position Miss Dando was in when shot.
"It could have been in a position which allowed the firearm to be arranged so that it could be placed to her left temple and allowed to track through to the right."
A gunman standing to her left could have been either right or left-handed, he told the court.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-46217/Jills-death-instant.html

She even attempts to rewrite history with regards what the prosecutor, Orlando Powell QC,  thought 

[Nicholas]

Was he actually stalking women?  I know he was following women around and photographing them in the street but if he was actually stalking women to the degree they felt uncomfortable then surely at least one or two would have reported to the police? Did the prosecution call any witnesses at trial to this effect?

https://www.gettyimages.ca/detail/video/barry-george-retrial-day-1-west-london-fulham-reporter-to-news-footage/664838214?adppopup=true

[Nicholas]

https://www.gettyimages.ca/detail/video/barry-george-begins-life-sentence-itn-int-2-shot-reay-news-footage/684706570?adppopup=true

[Nicholas]

September 10, 2013 at 10:04 am
“As a family member of a terrible miscarriage of justice, the victim being Barry George, convicted of the murder of Jill Dando; the Simon Hall confession is a concern because it is already so difficult for true MOJs to be believed by the public; this confession damages the credibility of all those still fighting for justice.
Michelle (Diskin) Bates
https://www.thejusticegap.com/simon-hall-confession-a-time-to-take-stock/


This comment made me question Michelle Diskin Bates integrity, especially when considered in relation to the content of the article. Which was ignorantly written by Julie Price, who immaturely and naively used it as her platform to have a pop at Bristol Uni in a quite obvious attempt to claim the moral high ground and promote her cause.

Her colleague Dennis Eady’s article, written around the same time, appears to have been removed? My mistake, it appears to have been moved https://www.thejusticegap.com/keeping-perspective/

Dennis Eady
”In 20 plus years of studying miscarriages of justice, while there may have been a few cases where people have for a short time maintained innocence before admitting guilt, I can think of no other high profile, widely supported case where the person has maintained innocence over many years and pursued the case through legal avenues (CCRC, Court of Appeal) and then admitted guilt.
**That’s concerning! Take a look at Stephen Downing’s case. Then go back and look at your own work**

Miscarriages of justice: the uncertainty principle
“The thesis considers the often illusory nature of some of the principles of the criminal justice system and utilises notions of 'magical legalism' (Cohen 2001) and other psychological processes that may be involved in maintaining the illusions. http://orca.cf.ac.uk/54837/

Appeal court referral is a welcome boost for university Innocence Projects
Jon Robins - November 2013
“George's case was one of six cases that students at Cardiff Law School investigated, overseen by its director Julie Price and consultant Dr Dennis Eady. "We worked on it for almost four years, then it was with the CCRC for a further three", writes Price. She adds that it is a time for "reflection rather than celebration."

“Times moves at a glacial pace in the under-resourced and overly-complex world of criminal appeals, nonetheless it is a shock to learn that this is the first case to be referred through an application signed off by a university. There was the Simon Hall referral – although the work was largely done by Bristol University, the application was apparently made in the name of the solicitors' firm who advised them previously. And, of course, Hall confessed. That bombshell over the summer stunned many campaigners who viewed Hall as a flagship case for the movement and the first real prospect of getting a conviction overturned.
https://www.theguardian.com/law/2013/nov/20/appeal-court-innocence-projects-dwaine-george

[Nicholas]

Experts have since claimed; the single speck of GSR, when taken with the circumstantial evidence, still has probative value.
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/lagnado-lab/publications/lagnado/ScienceAndJustice.pdf

Norman Fenton et al: When ‘neutral’ evidence still has probative value (with implications from the Barry George Case)
”We contend that, in order to determine whether evidence has probative value – and therefore whether it should be excluded from proceedings or not – it should be evaluated against offence-level hypotheses. Any diversion from this key principle will carry the risk that evidence might be presented to the jury merely as a diversionary tactic, and persuade it to make decisions based on superfluous source- level hypotheses.

I’d say

Interesting, Professor Norman Fenton et al’ work on probative value has been picked up in the Ben Geen case by Jon Robbins here:

The Justice Trap: Murder by Numbers - Jon Robins 13 March 2019
“There is a phenomenon known as ‘prosecutor’s fallacy’ where people – lawyers, jurors and the judiciary – confuse the probability of finding the evidence on an innocent person with the probability that a person on whom the evidence is found is innocent.

“An application to the miscarriage of justice watchdog the Criminal Cases Review Commission was backed by five leading statisticians including Sir David Spiegelhalter, of Cambridge University and Professor Norman Fenton, of Queen Mary University of London.

There is widespread concern about the courts failure to get to grips with probability and how wrong assumptions drive prosecutions.
‘If you look at the way these cases are prosecuted, the statistics by no means dominate,’ Dr Fenton told me. ‘It’s all about the medical evidence. It doesn’t look like it has anything to do with a problem to do with statistics. But it is the statistics that initially drive the case.’
https://bylinetimes.com/2019/03/13/the-justice-trap-murder-by-numbers/

[Nicholas]

Interesting, Professor Norman Fenton et al’ work on probative value has been picked up in the Ben Geen case by Jon Robbins here:

The Justice Trap: Murder by Numbers - Jon Robins 13 March 2019
“There is a phenomenon known as ‘prosecutor’s fallacy’ where people – lawyers, jurors and the judiciary – confuse the probability of finding the evidence on an innocent person with the probability that a person on whom the evidence is found is innocent.

“An application to the miscarriage of justice watchdog the Criminal Cases Review Commission was backed by five leading statisticians including Sir David Spiegelhalter, of Cambridge University and Professor Norman Fenton, of Queen Mary University of London.

There is widespread concern about the courts failure to get to grips with probability and how wrong assumptions drive prosecutions.
‘If you look at the way these cases are prosecuted, the statistics by no means dominate,’ Dr Fenton told me. ‘It’s all about the medical evidence. It doesn’t look like it has anything to do with a problem to do with statistics. But it is the statistics that initially drive the case.’

https://bylinetimes.com/2019/03/13/the-justice-trap-murder-by-numbers/

Note though how Jon Robbins hasn’t mentioned Professor Norman Fenton et al’ findings in relation to the Barry George case.

Statistics
“the practice or science of collecting and analysing numerical data in large quantities, especially for the purpose of inferring proportions in a whole from those in a representative sample.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statistics

[Nicholas]

Gunshot Residue and The Cardiff Innocence Project by James Wood QQ

“Dwayne, who had always protested his innocence, had the good fortune to write to and involve the Innocence Project at Cardiff University. Over successive years volunteering law students studied the case, and considered various avenues which might lead to the overturning of the conviction. The case of  Barry George [2007] EWCA Crim 2722 with its staunch criticisms of the standards which had applied to gun shot residue evidence, and its recognition of the important revision of those standards under the auspices of the FSS and in particular their lead scientist Angela Shaw, led to the students securing the services of a firearms expert to write a report on the impact of the Barry George decision on Dwayne George’s case. Detailed submissions to the CCRC were prepared by the many students, into all aspects of the case. Impressed by the work involved the CCRC themselves commissioned Angela Shaw to write a report on the GSR findings in the case, and the approach which had been adopted to them. As a result the Commission referred the case back to the Court of Appeal.
http://doughty-street-chambers.newsweaver.com/Appeals/1cisha3cvxh?a=1&p=456444&t=174031

[Nicholas]

Note though how Jon Robbins hasn’t mentioned Professor Norman Fenton et al’ findings in relation to the Barry George case.

Statistics
“the practice or science of collecting and analysing numerical data in large quantities, especially for the purpose of inferring proportions in a whole from those in a representative sample.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statistics

Note though how Jon Robbins hasn’t mentioned Professor Norman Fenton et al’ findings in relation to the Barry George case.

Which I find strange given he wrote and published the following:


Guilt, non-guilt and innocence: what will Strasbourg decide? - Jon Robins
“In May 2011, the supreme court rejected the government's contention that only those who could prove their innocence could be entitled to compensation in R (Adams) v Secretary of State for Justice. It was in that ruling that Hale (and others) grappled with the meaning of "miscarriage of justice". The majority (five to four) held that a miscarriage of justice had occurred when "a new or newly-discovered fact" showed conclusively that the "evidence against a defendant has been so undermined that no conviction could possibly be based upon it". Allen argues that such a test is contrary to her right under article 6(2) of the European Convention to be presumed innocent.

The Adams ruling has subdivided miscarriages into three, possibly four, categories: first, where the applicant can effectively prove innocence; second, where there is evidence that undermines the safety of the conviction; third where the fresh evidence might be sufficient for the court to quash the conviction but there may be other evidence upon which a jury could still convict; and fourth, a purely technical quashing of a conviction.

Last month there was a three-day hearing in the high court considering compensation in a number of cases including Barry George, who spent eight years in prison after being wrongly convicted of the murder of TV presenter Jill Dando. "The public might think, as they watch someone being released from the court of appeal, that they would be compensated by the state for being wrongfully convicted and for all the time they have served in prison," comments Mark Newby, who specialises in miscarriage cases. The solicitor is representing Ian Lawless, one of the lead cases alongside George. "That expectation is invariably not met. Under the current Ministry of Justice scheme only one award has been made post-Adams."

Newby has another case stayed pending the ruling by the Strasbourg court on the Allen case. If the European court decides in favour of Allen, the lawyer believes this will help the other compensation cases, with the possible exception of category four cases.

I wrote about the campaign to reinstate the ex gratia scheme last year. Frankly, persuading people to support a campaign for adequate compensation for the wrongfully convicted is never going to be a hugely popular crusade — and trying to persuade ministers to prioritise miscarriages over other voter-friendly and cash-starved causes nigh on impossible. Nonetheless the campaign is both right and one of fundamental importance — the state should be properly held to account for its errors.

The shocking attitude of the last government towards miscarriages of justice can best be summed up by Tony Blair's notorious sound bite: "It is perhaps the biggest miscarriage of justice in today's system when the guilty walks away unpunished."
https://www.theguardian.com/law/2012/nov/21/guilt-innocence-strasbourg-lorraine-allen

The Justice Trap: Murder by Numbers - Jon Robins 13 March 2019
“There is a phenomenon known as ‘prosecutor’s fallacy’ where people – lawyers, jurors and the judiciary – confuse the probability of finding the evidence on an innocent person with the probability that a person on whom the evidence is found is innocent.
https://bylinetimes.com/2019/03/13/the-justice-trap-murder-by-numbers/

His selective reporting is a classic example of publication bias, which leads to a distorted representation and is suggestive of tunnel vision.

[Nicholas]

Which I find strange given he wrote and published the following:


Guilt, non-guilt and innocence: what will Strasbourg decide? - Jon Robins
“In May 2011, the supreme court rejected the government's contention that only those who could prove their innocence could be entitled to compensation in R (Adams) v Secretary of State for Justice. It was in that ruling that Hale (and others) grappled with the meaning of "miscarriage of justice". The majority (five to four) held that a miscarriage of justice had occurred when "a new or newly-discovered fact" showed conclusively that the "evidence against a defendant has been so undermined that no conviction could possibly be based upon it". Allen argues that such a test is contrary to her right under article 6(2) of the European Convention to be presumed innocent.

The Adams ruling has subdivided miscarriages into three, possibly four, categories: first, where the applicant can effectively prove innocence; second, where there is evidence that undermines the safety of the conviction; third where the fresh evidence might be sufficient for the court to quash the conviction but there may be other evidence upon which a jury could still convict; and fourth, a purely technical quashing of a conviction.

Last month there was a three-day hearing in the high court considering compensation in a number of cases including Barry George, who spent eight years in prison after being wrongly convicted of the murder of TV presenter Jill Dando. "The public might think, as they watch someone being released from the court of appeal, that they would be compensated by the state for being wrongfully convicted and for all the time they have served in prison," comments Mark Newby, who specialises in miscarriage cases. The solicitor is representing Ian Lawless, one of the lead cases alongside George. "That expectation is invariably not met. Under the current Ministry of Justice scheme only one award has been made post-Adams."

Newby has another case stayed pending the ruling by the Strasbourg court on the Allen case. If the European court decides in favour of Allen, the lawyer believes this will help the other compensation cases, with the possible exception of category four cases.

I wrote about the campaign to reinstate the ex gratia scheme last year. Frankly, persuading people to support a campaign for adequate compensation for the wrongfully convicted is never going to be a hugely popular crusade — and trying to persuade ministers to prioritise miscarriages over other voter-friendly and cash-starved causes nigh on impossible. Nonetheless the campaign is both right and one of fundamental importance — the state should be properly held to account for its errors.

The shocking attitude of the last government towards miscarriages of justice can best be summed up by Tony Blair's notorious sound bite: "It is perhaps the biggest miscarriage of justice in today's system when the guilty walks away unpunished."
https://www.theguardian.com/law/2012/nov/21/guilt-innocence-strasbourg-lorraine-allen


His selective reporting is a classic example of publication bias, which leads to a distorted representation and is suggestive of tunnel vision.

I rest my case:


Jill Dando: how pressure to find a killer made the criminal justice system reckless by Natalie Smith 3rd May 2018
“Nearly everyone had been misled about the strength of the firearms residue evidence. Even during the appeal, the prosecution were reluctant to accept they had in anyway misled the jury but the Court of Appeal concluded it was impossible to know the verdict the jury would have returned had they been given the correct impression. The verdict was unsafe but there had been other evidence relied on and it was to be seen if a jury could be sure, as the Crown were, of Barry George’s guilt. A retrial followed that year and the jury acquitted him. He was released after eight years in prison.
https://www.thejusticegap.com/jill-dando-how-pressure-to-find-a-killer-made-the-criminal-justice-system-reckless/



Keith A Findley - “tunnel vision is the product of a variety of cognitive distortions, such as confirmation bias, hindsight bias, and outcome bias, which can impede accuracy in what we perceive and in how we interpret what we perceive”