Anyone who can't understand the complete lack of trust the group would have in the PJ and the Portuguese justice system has no ability to put themselves in someone else's shoes IMO.
Having watched the attempts being made by police officers in a foreign country to pin a terrible crime on your friends who you KNEW were innocent - and witnessed the poisonous smear campaign waged against them by the PT press - which you KNEW was emanating from the PJ - would you be keen to do go back to that country if summoned - where you had already been described as a bunch of 'swingers' in the media - unless you were absolutely certain of their motives? I certainly wouldn't.
Finding out that the lead investigator who had been appointed to the case - was not only an Arguido himself - but was made one in relation to the torture of a defenceless woman in his previous missing child case - would be enough to make me wonder what sort of judicial system was operating in that country in the first place - to let that happen. The fact that his 2nd in command also turned out to be an arguido in another torture case would have been even more shocking IMO.
The group were not sure of their motives -and as long as there was even a hint of a suspicion that this Recon was a last attempt to implicate the parents, and maybe themselves - then no-one in their right mind would have agreed to go IMO..
As it happened - IMO the PJ made it easy for them by stipulating that unless everyone agreed to go - it wouldn't happen, so once Jez said NO - then IMO the PJ had got what they wanted and were mighty relieved. At least they now wouldn't be faced with the following:
PJ to Jez. ''We'd like you to set off at the same time you set off a year ago''.
Jez to PJ - '' But I'm not certain what time I set off - I can only take an approximate guess at it. If I get it wrong and Gerry is still in 5a when I go up that road and so we don't meet as we did that night - what do I do then? Do we start again and I set off at a different time - or what?''
PJ to Jez........................................................ Errm.
The only thing a recon would have proved is that it is not humanly possible for 10 people to meticulously and accurately recreate all their movements - exactly and precisely at the identical times they had carried them out - between the hours of 5.30 and 11p.m. - on a day over 12 months prior. It's just not possible.
I'm sure the PJ were intelligent enough to realise that.
AIMHO
Absolutely ... and my reading of the correspondence indicates that it was intended to carry out the reconstruction to replicate what happened in one night in "real time".
I think it would have turned into a farce if it had happened. People are not tape recorders with a rewind button, it could not have happened particularly if the participants were unsure of times to begin with.
**snip
The purpose is to gather all the participants - the arguidos Gerald McCann and Kate Healy, the witnesses who were having dinner at the Tapas Restaurant on 3rd May 2007, and who took turns to check on their children who were sleeping in the
respective apartments, as well as another witness who spoke with the arguido Gerald-, who will perform what they did on the abovementioned date, as accurately as they recall, so that what is in their written statements can be confirmed. This will allow conclusions to be drawn on how things happened on site, thus making adjustments that will allow the investigation to determine the need for any supplemental procedure.
Page 4304 (Page 2 of 3)
The re-enactment that shall have the participation of the abovementioned group of people, as well as of any character whose figurative presence might be necessary to the visualization of the events, shall take place on 15th May, between 5.30 p.m. and 11.00 p.m. On 16th May all the procedure shall be formalized, according to what had already been settled for this date and considering that all the participants meant to be present have already been informed accordingly. This cannot be subject to any change due to the time and place where the procedure shall take place.
The re-enactment will be performed at the space of the abovementioned Restaurant, Block of Apartments where the facts occurred on that date, and in the surrounding area, and it will be carried out by the Policia Judiciaria, with the respective video recording and with the cooperation of the Police Authorities required by the PJ.
http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/RE_ENACTMENT.htmI imagine this would have been a very stressful episode for all concerned had it taken place; I wonder if any thought at all had been given to the possibility of the complete physical and nervous collapse of a woman or of a man participating in a re-enactment of events and location of the life changing night when their daughter vanished.
