Poisoned Evidence Trail

Bacon, W

Poisoned Evidence Trail

Bacon, W

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Publisher:: Reportage, UTS
Citation:: Sydney Morning Herald,, 2004, pp. 1 - 2
Issue Date:: 2004-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Bacon, W	en_US
dc.date.issued	2004-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Sydney Morning Herald,, 2004, pp. 1 - 2	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	0312-6315	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/12269
dc.description.abstract	Background The stories in this portfolio are a significant part of a major investigation into a NSW miscarriage of justice, which the journalist began before 2003 and continues now. The journalist uncovered fresh evidence which helped lead to the release of Roseanne Catt, and which now forms part of a legal case against the State. Wendy Bacon is the only journalist who has followed the case in a sustained in-depth way. The articles were published in the Sydney Morning Herald and the Australian Centre for Independent Journalism's online magazine Reportage. Contribution. Criminal convictions fix the' truth' in way that penetrate bureaucratic and media systems. Significant fresh evidence must be unearthed to destablise that truth. This research analysed thousands of documents using computer-based transcript analysis software and interviews with confidential and other witnesses to reveal the methodologies by which prosecution witnesses had fabricated evidence and drawn on gender stereotypes to achieve a guilty verdict. The researcher tracks the case to produce a continuing narrative of the injustice, including terror tactics used against defence witnesses. The journalist has used the development of new knowledge in this investigation to explore the unique contribution which the methodologies of investigative journalism can make in the broader context of knowledge production. Significance This practice based research was the only continuing media investigation and narrative of a grave injustice. It demonstrated the importance of independent and critical research to an understanding of the criminal justice system.	en_US
dc.publisher	Reportage, UTS	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Sydney Morning Herald,	en_US
dc.title	Poisoned Evidence Trail	en_US
utslib.location	Sydney, Australia	en_US
utslib.for	190399 Journalism and Professional Writing not elsewhere classified	en_US
utslib.for	190301 Journalism Studies	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access
pubs.place-of-publication	Sydney, Australia	en_US

Abstract:

Background The stories in this portfolio are a significant part of a major investigation into a NSW miscarriage of justice, which the journalist began before 2003 and continues now. The journalist uncovered fresh evidence which helped lead to the release of Roseanne Catt, and which now forms part of a legal case against the State. Wendy Bacon is the only journalist who has followed the case in a sustained in-depth way. The articles were published in the Sydney Morning Herald and the Australian Centre for Independent Journalism's online magazine Reportage. Contribution. Criminal convictions fix the' truth' in way that penetrate bureaucratic and media systems. Significant fresh evidence must be unearthed to destablise that truth. This research analysed thousands of documents using computer-based transcript analysis software and interviews with confidential and other witnesses to reveal the methodologies by which prosecution witnesses had fabricated evidence and drawn on gender stereotypes to achieve a guilty verdict. The researcher tracks the case to produce a continuing narrative of the injustice, including terror tactics used against defence witnesses. The journalist has used the development of new knowledge in this investigation to explore the unique contribution which the methodologies of investigative journalism can make in the broader context of knowledge production. Significance This practice based research was the only continuing media investigation and narrative of a grave injustice. It demonstrated the importance of independent and critical research to an understanding of the criminal justice system.

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:

http://hdl.handle.net/10453/12269