Yes, I got it wrong – and then an innocent’ man was jailed for life.
Fourteen years ago David Canter helped to convict a man of murdering his pregnant wife. The psychologist explains why he now rejects crucial evidence of a fake suicide note.
In 1992 I was asked to assist a murder inquiry by commenting on the authorship of a suicide note in the handwriting of Paula Gilfoyle. I had provided guidance to a number of other big investigations.
The police officer leading the inquiry presented the suicide note to me with the fascinating thesis that it had been dictated to Paula by her husband, Eddie, who was believed then to have encouraged Paula to put her neck in a noose while he stood behind her, after which he killed her by lifting her legs to hang her.
I was told that it was believed that Eddie had murdered Paula, who was eight and a half months pregnant, after tricking her into writing the suicide note on the pretext that he needed it for a paramedical evening class he was taking. His motive, in the crime novel tradition, was hinted at being an affair that he was having.
I have always been fascinated by the psychological implications of the written word, having even studied my own correspondence with my childhood friend, the film director Mike Leigh, when I was a student in the 1960s. In the context of crime the written word can often be regarded as the crime scene, especially when I have given guidance on threat and extortion, for which the text provides the criminal act.
So I worked with some postgraduate research assistants to consider how we might analyse Paula’s suicide note to determine if it did indicate her intention to kill herself. It is important to emphasise that from the start that I did not think we could establish authorship categorically but needed to consider the note in its whole context.
Part of my report was the result of comparing the suicide note with other written material we had of Eddie’s and of Paula’s. The approach that we took to analysing all this material was highly numerical; the proportions of personal pronouns, connectives, sentence lengths and so on.
But we had no firm basis in previous research to work from. No one has been able to provide a truly reliable, objective, numerically based procedure for determining authorship with small examples of text. There is a tremendous difficulty in doing this because we all change how we speak and write depending on the circumstances of our communication. In fact, a moment’s thought about the nature of communication reveals that we must change it in accordance with the situation.
The written material we were working with was a great mixture of jottings left in notebooks, letters to friends, postcards and a series of notes that Paula wrote to Eddie about their relationship. So comparison of the text across them was very problematic. However, I came to the conclusion that the suicide note was not typical of Paula’s style, nor was it typical of Eddie’s and taking all the circumstances and note into account formed the opinion that Paula “had not intended to take her own life”.
My report was never presented to the court but apparently had an influence behind the scenes. But I had always been curious about how a pregnant woman would write a suicide note under dictation from her husband with whom she had had a strained relationship, and then put her head in a noose with him standing behind her. So when the opportunity arose a few years later for me to talk to Eddie and his family (an option I had been denied as a prosecution expert) I jumped at it. The picture that emerged from these discussions was much less clear than the original story. There was no strong evidence that Eddie had ever dictated a suicide note, or even claimed that he was doing a course as a paramedic, just hearsay from friends of Paula, which was never presented to the court.
By the time I met Eddie I had been able to oversee a variety of other studies on text and authorship and had formed the view that the purely numerical approach could be very misleading. I had developed an interest and understanding of the need to reveal the implicit and explicit narrative in any material, possibly closer to an English Literature approach than a purely statistical one.
This set me to consider the unfolding story within the correspondence between Eddie and Paula that culminated in the suicide note. To my surprise I realised that no one had ever done that. The documentary evidence of the relationship between these two people leading up to Paula’s death had never been reviewed in sequence, either in the original court case or at Eddie’s first appeal. All the focus was on circumstantial evidence from apparent witnesses.
Eddie and Paula had been on different shifts so left a dozen or more crucial notes for each other. When I read these through in sequence a very clear narrative emerged. This showed Paula’s disquiet about her pregnancy and relationship to Eddie for which the suicide note was a natural ending.
Furthermore, the related research, which has recently been supported even more strongly in a major doctorate that I have supervised, emphasised that the point of suicide notes is often to excuse people who take their own lives. The notes typically take the form of an apology to exonerate close relatives. Fewer than half of those who take their own life leave suicide notes; some studies put the figure as low as 15 per cent. Notes are usually left because they know how hurtful and unacceptable the death will be to others. This is exactly what Paula’s suicide note is about. With a bitter irony, it is mainly devoted to telling Eddie not to blame himself.
In addition, we have also found that in about a tenth of suicides there are no obvious prior indicators. This means that the judges’ claims in both the original trial and two appeals, that Paula’s demeanour in contact with others, was clear evidence that she did not intend to kill herself, completely ignored what many now recognise, even with the recent suicides around Bridgend. People can present a happy face to the world while still intending to kill themselves.
All these matters and other factors, most notably the demanding creative imagination, beyond Eddie’s abilities, that would be needed to invent the sequence of notes and letters changed my opinion. I formed the view that my original analysis had been too greatly, if inadvertently, influenced by the story that the police had originally given to me. The reliance on number crunching was also misleading. I therefore wrote a further report for Eddie’s second appeal which argued that there was a psychological logic that made it very likely that Paula had taken her own life.
David Canter is Professor of Psychology at the University of Liverpool
Source: The Times 25th February 2008
The following article by Camilla Cavendish appeared in The Times on the 23rd February 2008 .
This story is, sadly, not unique. It is symptomatic of the extraordinary power that social services departments now wield over our lives.
Before Louise Mason’s trial in 2004, social workers apparently told her that they would be putting her children up for adoption irrespective of the outcome. That is precisely what they did, two weeks after her acquittal. They clung to their own “guilty” verdict despite the verdict of the jury.In far too many cases social workers are putting themselves above the law. Doctors increasingly report that a child who is admitted to hospital has injuries that may be “nonaccidental”. This is translated by local authorities as proving guilt.
Many innocent lives have been destroyed by diagnoses of “shaken baby syndrome” and “metaphyseal fracture”, conditions that are believed to be diagnostic of abuse despite having been comprehensively demolished by medical experts in America, and overturned at appeal after appeal in Britain.
Louise Mason is very, very lucky that her children were not adopted. She would then have lost any rights to them, despite having been proved innocent.
We only know about this case because the High Court judge who heard the appeal ordered that Louise Mason be named, so that she could gain a “sense of justice”. That is how our secret state operates. There are many, many other cases that have never come out. Until the family courts open up to public scrutiny there can be no justice.
Source: The Times "3rd February 2008
The BBC have reported that archaeologists and forensic scientists are conducting fingertip searches of a former Jersey children's home where the remains of a child have been found.
The remains found at Haut de la Garenne on Saturday were detected by a sniffer dog through several inches of concrete.Jersey police say the dog has also indicated other areas that warrant further investigation.
The search is part of an ongoing police investigation into alleged abuse on the island dating back more than 40 years.
Jersey's Deputy Chief Police Officer, Lenny Harper, who is in charge of the investigation, said detectives thought it was possible they may find more remains at the building in St Martin, on the east coast of the Channel Island....
.....Jersey Police began investigating allegations of abuse in 2006. More than 140 potential victims or witnesses have contacted a helpline set up last year, a police spokeswoman said.
Police have identified dozens of possible suspects in connection with the wider inquiry, with detectives following up leads in Europe and as far away as Australia.
The investigation involves several government institutions and organisations in Jersey, with the Haut de la Garenne home and Jersey Sea Cadets the main focus of the inquiry.
It is centered on the abuse of boys and girls aged between 11 and 15, since the 1960's. The excavation of the home, involving a sniffer dog and ground radar, started on Tuesday. The child's remains have been sent to the UK for dating.
The remains are thought to date from the early 1980s. Police have not said whether they are male or female.
Mr Harper said that identification of the child would be a "long and arduous" process but officers were back at police headquarters making inquiries into missing children.... Full report
A F.A.C.T. spokesman said that it was very important that a thorough investigation was made into the allegations made by former residents at the Haut de la Garenne.
F.A.C.T. is never the less concerned that the reporting of these alleged events and of the ongoing investigation itself, has at times, been most irresponsible. The language used by the Press and to some extent by the police is not helpful and could undermine justice.
"It is important that all those involved remain objective in their analysis and professional in their approach. To use the language of the Victorians not only distorts the picture but increases the distress felt by those who have been abused".
"The lessons from similar investigation in the UK and indeed worldwide show that the accompanying moral panic and desire to blame others leads to innocent people being wrongly accused of abuse. We very much much hope this doesn't happen in Jersey".
According to Community Care the UK social worker who was sacked after he blew the whistle on "abusive" child care practice in Jersey is taking his case to an employment tribunal next month.
Simon Bellwood is claiming he was unfairly dismissed from his job as centre manager at Greenfields secure unit on the island last year.
Bellwood raised concerns over a "Dickensian" system in the unit where children as young as 11 were routinely locked up for 24 hours or more in solitary confinement.
The Jersey government claimed the so-called "Grand Prix" system was designed to create an orderly environment at the unit against a background of children absconding and harming each other, and was withdrawn in September 2006.
The case helped to spark a major inquiry into children's services on the island which is due to conclude next month.
This week, Bellwood, whose case is backed by the British Association of Social Workers, told Community Care victory in the tribunal "would prove that not only did the States of Jersey dismiss me without good reason, but they also dismissed me in a manner which failed to follow due process and breached their own policies".....
.... Bellwood, previously manager of a secure unit in Essex, went public with his concerns in Community Care last August and attracted widespread media coverage.
After his dismissal, Bellwood appealed to Jersey's health and social services minister, Stuart Syvret, who was then also sacked after raising child protection concerns. Syvret claimed the system used at Greenfields amounted to "torture".
The Jersey government appointed UK social work consultant Andrew Williamson to carry out an independent review of children's services on the island.
Source: Community Care:
Linked Story: UK social worker blows the whistle on Jersey
Supporters of a Buckinghamshire woman jailed for shaking a baby to death have handed a petition in at Downing Street, asking for a change in the law.
Childminder Keran Henderson, of Iver Heath, was jailed for three years in November 2007 for the manslaughter of 11-month-old Maeve Sheppard.
Maeve died of brain injuries in March 2005 while being looked after by the 42-year-old mother-of-two.
Experts for the prosecution claimed the injuries were caused by Mrs Henderson shaking the baby in anger when she soiled her nappy.
Mrs Henderson maintains her innocence and claimed during her trial that Maeve, who lived in Iver Heath, suffered a seizure. Two jurors have since come forward to express their doubts about the conviction.
Mrs Henderson's supporters, including husband Iain and their two children, have been campaigning for her release with local events and by selling yellow ribbons.
They marched on Wednesday through the streets of London and presented a copy of their petition to Beaconsfield MP Dominic Grieve, who is also shadow Attorney General, at the Houses of Parliament, and delivered other copies at the Ministry of Justice and at Downing Street.
The petition, which calls for "a change in the process which allows wrongful convictions based solely on unscientifically proven theories", was signed by 350 adults.
A separate petition designed for children to sign attracted 150 names. Supporter Alison Roper said: "It has given everybody a real boost."
An appeal against Mrs Henderson's conviction is due to be lodged by the end of the month.
Source: Hastings Observer
The following article by Foina Audley appeared in the Irish Post (here) on 20th February 2008.
A controversial book penned by an Irish journalist claims to show a fellow author’s autobiographical tome to be full of false allegations, although she continues to stand by her story.
Irish Daily Mail on Sunday journalist Hermann Kelly highlights the compensation culture he believes is fuelling false allegations made against the Catholic Church in Ireland and Britain, in his book Kathy’s Real Story.
His contentious tale is being released in Britain next month and is likely to court controversy with claims that best-selling author Kathy O’Beirne, who in Don’t Ever Tell claims to be a child victim of sexual, mental and physical abuse, is lying.
Mr Kelly, 39, said: “I read Kathy’s book when it was released in 2006 and continually found myself thinking ‘how could so many bad things happen to one person in one lifetime’ — I felt if you were a betting man you would not put money it.
“When I later interviewed Kathy, which I have done a number of times now, I started to uncover discrepancies between her story and what she had said previously.”
The book, which was released in Ireland last November, promises to systematically refute the plethora of allegations made in Ms O’Beirne’s novel, including being raped as a child and giving birth in a Magdalene Laundry at just 14 years old.
But the journalist insists: “Kathy and her publishers have no evidence to show that her claims in that book are true, yet I have plenty of documents and witness statements to back up my claims and show that what this woman has really been up to is far worse than what she says in her book.”
He added: “I have also included many other cases in Ireland and Britain where false accusations and huge miscarriages of justice have come to light, as there are quite a number of them.”
Tensions between the warring writers are already infamously strained and physically erupted last November when a live television debate ended in a physical scuffle between the two on Irish channel TV3’s Ireland AM.
But Dublin-born Ms O’Beirne, whose misery literature was snapped up by 350,000 readers in just a year, refuses to continue in the battle of the books.
Her Edinburgh-based publishers, Mainstream Publishing, told The Irish Post: “We at Mainstream and Kathy have been clear from the start in our decision to make no statement with regards to Mr Kelly’s book as we do not feel it warrants one.
“Kathy has now taken more than one lie detector test, which have showed her to be telling the truth and we stand by her book as the truth.”
Kathy’s Real Story: A Culture Of False Allegations Exposed, by Hermann Kelly, is published by Prefect Press. It costs £9.99 and will be available from Gardners Books at www.gardners.com from Monday, March 3. For more information or to order a copy contact info@prefectpress.com
A former high school teacher from Boothbay Harbor, Portaland, USA has agreed to a $320,000 settlement with the town and school district over false allegations accusing him of having a sexual relationship with a student. Longtime shop teacher Fred Lewis won a jury verdict in Lincoln County Superior Court in July in his defamation lawsuit. The parties signed off on a settlement last week after the school district decided against an appeal.
Besides the payout, the settlement includes an apology from the school superintendent and high school principal who knew the allegations were false but failed to inform Lewis and allowed him to quit.
Lewis said he has spent much of the past six years trying to clear his name in court.
People Appealing Convictions of Sexual Offences (PACSO) - Justice Stuffed! have launched their new website which also includes a useful forum for exchanging information and views.
A Scottish Truth and Reconciliation Forum is to be set up to support adults who suffered childhood abuse, initially focusing on the needs of survivors of historic abuse in residential care. The move was among a package of support for adult survivors of abuse announced by Children's Minister Adam Ingram today.
Mr Ingram unveiled plans for:
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A Scottish truth and reconciliation model
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A national service framework to support survivors of historic in-care abuse
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Improvements to the residential child care system, including
better staff training and development
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A review of the law to address shortcomings in public records held on children in care
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The specific remit of the joint Scottish Government and
Glasgow City Council inquiry into abuse at Kerelaw residential school
Mr Ingram said:
'None of us should forget the physical, emotional and sexual abuse that has taken place in Scotland's residential care homes - perpetrated by the very people who should have been providing support. 'The system let these young people down in the most terrible way and it would be inexcusable for us not to confront what happened. 'It's now time for us to demonstrate our commitment through actions and that's why we're driving forward with the measures announced today.'
Minister for Public Health Shona Robison, who will oversee the creation of the forum, said: 'The move towards a Scottish truth and reconciliation forum will benefit victims of historical abuse by providing them with a platform to voice their experiences whilst also giving public acknowledgement to what happened to these children. 'Through close working with survivors and the organisations that represent them, we have come to understand that for many survivors an acknowledgement of the abuse they have suffered would be more beneficial than monetary compensation.
'It is on this basis we have begun to explore the use of a truth and reconciliation model. I hope that through that process there will be an opportunity to give survivors a chance to speak about their experiences but also learn lessons to ensure that children in the future are better protected.'
Survivor Scotland member Helen Holland, who suffered abuse in residential care during her childhood, said:
'What many survivors want is acknowledgement of what happened to them and a truth and reconciliation forum can help them to achieve that. 'What we are now seeing is actions, not just words and that has
to be positive.' Today's announcement is the Scottish Government's response to recommendations in a review of historical abuse of children in residential care by independent expert Tom Shaw.
Independent Kerelaw Inquiry
Ministers have accepted recommendations from the Scottish Law Commission that prescribed personal injury claims (pre-September 1964) cannot be revived.
Further details from
Elizabeth Lloyd
Head of Press and Research - SNP Parliamentary Group
M4.01, Holyrood, Edinburgh, EH99 1SP elizabeth.lloyd@scottish.parliament.uk
Tel 0131 348 6228
Truth and Reconciliation
07/02/2008
A Denton woman has been jailed after falsely accusing a man of raping her.
Stacey Challoner, 20, told police John Mullholland had taken her to a wood and raped her against a tree in April last year.
In fact the pair had a fling, but she made up the rape claims after her partner demanded to know if she had been unfaithful while he was in prison.
The court was told Challoner, from Moorfield Avenue, Denton, had made up the allegations last August after being quizzed by her long-term boyfriend who suspected her of cheating.
The mother, who has three children to care for, admitted attempting to pervert the course of justice at an earlier hearing.
Prosecuting, William Donnelly said Challenor’s partner first made a complaint to police when she became distressed after he had asked "did he force himself on you."
Later she was interviewed and claimed that after having too much to drink at a friend’s house she began walking home and bumped into Mulholland who led her to woodland and raped her.
When police quizzed Mr Mulholland they became suspicious of Challoner’s story and she was spoken to again.
She then admitted her claims were false but said she had made them up because she lived in fear of her "bullying" partner, and admitted having consensual sex with Mr Mullholland once at her home.
In mitigation, Carolyn Smith said Challenor had no previous convictions and had made the allegations out of fear. She said the whole relationship with her partner had been "peppered with manipulation and violence."
She added that Challoner was "genuinely sorry" for making the allegation and asked for any custodial sentence to be suspended.
But Judge Iain Hamilton told Challoner: "I have no sense that you understand the gravity of what you have done — there is no real sense of remorse, although I accept that you pose a low risk of committing a further offence.
"The allegation that you made is of such a serious nature that any person — both women and men — must be deterred from making such an allegation. I have thought long and hard about giving you a suspended prison sentence but I can't do so and be consistent with my public duty."
Challenor was given a four-month sentence at Manchester Crown Court.
Source: Tameside Advertiser
this story also appears in the Daily Mail (here)
Following on the previous story about the NSPCC we have been reminded about another story which appeared in Daily Mail on the 11September 2007.
How the NSPCC faked child abuse stories to generate cash Daily Mail (UK), 11th September 2007
Children's charity the NSPCC has become the latest high profile organisation to be involved in a faking scandal - this time with made-up examples of child abuse.
In a letter sent out to generate donations, the society used a number of shocking examples of cruelty to young people. These featured a young girl who rang the service and talked of a baby-sitter "doing things to her she didn't like". Shocking: But the NSPCC used made-up stories to get donations Another described a boy's drunk and abusive father "punching" his step-mother. The distressing letter, sent to 200,000 supporters, looked like a genuine call transcript between operators and desperate children. But it has now emerged that the examples, used to raise cash donations for the telephone counselling service ChildLine, were made-up after several recipients complained to watchdogs about the "upsetting" content.
The Advertising Standards Authority slammed the NSPCC for its actions.
In a damning summary, it upheld the claims of three recipients who complained the letter looked like a genuine example taken from a case of a child who had been abused, which could cause distress to young children who might have picked them up. A spokesman for the watchdog said:
"We considered that in the absence of clarifying text the log sheet did not make clear that the details were examples of the type of calls received. We considered that some recipients could believe the log sheet was genuine and, because it could be the first thing they would see and it wasn't clear who it was from, the mailing could cause undue fear and distress."
Mum-of-three Kelly Winters, 34, from Gravesend, Kent, said:
"If any of my children had picked up these letters I would be very angry.
"They have some very graphic descriptions which could easily upset them. I can understand awareness of child abuse does need to be raised but to send out these blanket mailings without any thought for who might pick them up is negligent to say the least."
The NSPCC, famed for helping children who suffer the abuse of violent parents, said it would amend future mailings about ChildLine, which was launched by telly favourite Esther Rantzen in 1986 with the memorable 0800 11 11 slogan.
An NSPCC spokesman said:
“We have reviewed the ad and now believe it was not clear in the letter that the log sheet gave examples, rather than factual accounts, of the type of calls ChildLine volunteers received."
See also
According to the Daily Mail the NSPCC has admitted that it spends at least 50% of its total income on publicity, campaigning and administration. But a spokesman said those activities were vital for protecting children as well.
The NSPCC has defended its spending record after figures revealed that half of the money it receives does not go directly on services for children.
The charity admitted that it spends at least 50% of its total income on publicity, campaigning and administration. But a spokesman said those activities were vital for protecting children as well.
The charity said nearly £53 million, which is 86% of the money it received last year, went "directly" towards helping children. Of that figure 59% went on its local services for children while the rest went mainly on publicity and campaigning.
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