That's No' Ma Fingerprint Your Honour

The clamour for a public inquiry in Shirley McKie's case grows. Letters in today's Herald from Robert Johnstone, a former fingerprint examiner in the SCRO, Les Brown, a former Senior CID officer in Strathclyde Police, and Ian Hamilton QC, the former liberator of the Stone of Destiny. To be honest, I'm not sure I understand what Les Brown is suggesting, but the other two are calling for an inquiry. Disturbingly, Ian Hamilton recounts a more recent High Court case where the Crown evidence initially included fingerprint evidence, which was not used, apparently after it was called into question by Northern Ireland experts. No doubt the 'establishment' will regard these correspondents as 'the usual suspects' and certainly wee Ian Hamilton is a professional stirrer. But, in my opinion, he's a stirrer of things that need to be stirred. This is one of them. Robert Johnstone, by the way, confirms my belief that whatever it was that happened here it was not an 'honest mistake' - for that would have involved 6 different individuals having independently made precisely the same mistake. Not even Jack McConnell can expect us to swallow that one. Let me reiterate my concern about all this - if it was an 'honest mistake' as claimed by the Executive, then, by definition, no case can ever be proved by fingerprint evidence alone because there will always be a reasonable doubt. Worse, every case which ever has been proved by fingerprint evidence alone is, by definition, a miscarriage of justice. Once you admit the possibility of error, the whole system immediately collapses. It troubles me that I may have unwittingly assisted in the conviction of innocent persons because of 'honest mistakes'.