Andrew Mallard
To keep our legal system fair, equal and unbiased, rules and regulations are put in place. These rules are known as the principles of justice. The principles of justice help to ensure that everyone has the same rights no matter their race, gender, ethnicity etc and are also used to keep the justice system in line. Some examples of principles of justice include, right to bail, right to silence, equality before the law, high quality evidence and many more. I will be explaining how some of the principles support my case and also how it negatively affected the case. The case in question, the infamous Andrew Mallard case where he was wrongfully convicted of murder. Mallard was sentenced to life imprisonment before freedom was granted by the high court 12 years later. Details of the case were later released which rocked WA and flipped the police department upside down.
The Mallard case was about Andrew Mallard, at the time a 33 year old Perth man. As he left the supreme court to his life sentence in prison he said, “I am an innocent man … you have not heard the last of this.” This ended up being true. Andrew mallard was an innocent man convicted of murder that he did not do. Andrew mallard allegedly murdered Pamela Lawrence, a jewellery shop owner. Mallard was suffering from being mentally unstable and was living on the streets. This made him an ‘easy target’ for police. Details were recently released that showed that during the trial and investigation phase, police held back evidence and would say things to Mallard during interviews to make him confess and say statements that he didn’t want to. With Mallard being mentally unstable, he would confess unknowingly. This meant that the court and the prosecutors could twist his words against him in order to prove something. The trial then took place in the Supreme court of WA where a judge and jury sentence him to life imprisonment. After spending nearly 12 years in the highest prison in the state, the appeal to the high court was finally accepted. Mallard would then walk out of the high court a free man.
All of the principles of justice were present in this case. The principles of justice that I will be focussing on is; Equality before the law, high quality evidence and right to appeal. These four principles were not upheld by the court, and I will be showing and proving why and what could be change.
The first principle of justice is equality before the law. Equality before the law means that everyone is equal in the court system no matter their race, gender, ethnicity, and many other factors. This principle of justice was used in the Mallard case, but it was not used effectively. I will explain furthermore. When the case started, Mallard was living on the streets and was at a very poor mental state. He didn’t know what was happening around him or what to do. This made him an ‘easy target’ for some police. Once calling Mallard a suspect, interviews and investigations was conducted. Taking advantage of the mental state of Mallard, the police got him to confess to things that was not true, but Mallard did not know what was going on. In this case it is clear that equality before the law was not used as it was meant to, and that Mallard was not treated equally as he should have been.
The next principle of justice that I will be talking about is the principle about high quality evidence. High quality evidence is one of the most important factors in a case as it can prove whether someone is guilty or innocent. In Mallard case there was a mix of evidence that proved Mallard innocent and also proved Mallard guilty. The evidence for being innocent was a very high level and most definitely benefitted Mallard. The other evidence is what I will be talking about. Details after the trial were released showing that the police held back vital information that would have benefited the accused in being innocent. The police also corrupted the evidence bringing the high quality evidence down to poor evidence that helped no one. Both corruption of evidence and holding back evidence made Mallard spend 12 unnecessary years behind bars. These two prohibited actions violated the principles of justice and made an innocent person give up 12 of his years. When these details were released, the public was shocked and ashamed of our police department as they were using there power against others in bad ways.
The next and final principle of justice is the right to appeal. The right to appeal is that everyone has the right to appeal to a higher court. This could be magistrates to district, district to supreme and in this case, supreme to the high court. Having the right to appeal is necessary and everyone can appeal but whether this appeal is accepted or not is to the court’s decision. The first trial was held in the supreme court of WA where Mallard was proven as guilty and sentenced to jail. For the entire time Mallard was locked up his team and lawyers were appealing to the high court of Australia because they knew that Mallard was wrongfully convicted. It took over ten years for this appeal to be accepted which was way too long for a person who was innocent. The reason it took that long is unknown, but it does not change the fact that the appeal needed to be accepted earlier. If the appeal was accepted earlier, then Mallard could have spent much less time in prison and losing time from his life. Mallard instead spent 12 years in his cell. Just think about it. If Mallard was accepted his appeal 10 years earlier and was proved innocent, then he could have spent only a year or two in a grimy old prison.
Andrew Mallard spent 12 years in jail for doing a crime he did not commit. 12 years of his life lost. 12 years to raise kids. 12 years so find love. Some of his best years of his life could have been in those 12 years, but no. It was spent in jail. All of this was because some minor and major evidence was held back, appeals were not accepted, and he was not treated equally. This report has shown that the principles of justice was not upheld, and you cannot expect things to go your way in court. Mallard was unfairly treated. The police department did not do the right thing. The court sentenced an innocent man to jail. No money could make up for it. This case and this essay has shown statistics and facts that many people might not have seen. It has shown that life isn’t fair and that rules can sometimes not be followed and how lives can be affected.
Thankyou for reading my report about the wrongfully convicted man. Andrew Mallard.
