The appalling vista opened with incompetence not
malevolence. A credentialed English scientist
subjected the Irish suspects to indisputable forensics
tests, which registered positive for explosives.
Word was quickly passed to crown constables, who
proceeded with a confidence borne of incontrovertible
scientific proof that they had guilty Irishmen
to beat into confessing. The English judge termed
the evidence the most overwhelming he had ever
heard, and commended the constables for their
conduct. Regrets would be later voiced that a
death sentence was not authorized by law. It would
be almost a decade before the indisputable scientific
tests were proven absolutely wrong and the case
would become widely recognized as a miscarriage
of justice. Sixteen years would pass before the
British would free the "Birmingham Six".
Now fears are being voiced that "Birmingham
Six" style justice is about to be meted out
to South Armagh Republican Sean Hoey, with suspect
DNA evidence being the lynchpin of the framework,
in a trial that will unfold even as the British
and Ian Paisley demand Sinn Fein backing for the
British courts and constabulary.
FRAMEWORK
The "Birmingham Six" case is today cited
as a classic example of a miscarriage of justice,
grounded upon flawed scientific evidence. No premeditation
was suggested. The six Irishmen, residing in Birmingham,
boarded a train and played cards in a newly varnished
club car as they journeyed to a ferry which would
take them to Ireland. Having Irish accents they
were detained and asked to undergo simple scientific
tests by top forensics man Frank Skuse. He quickly
informed constables that these Irish suspects
had handled explosives. His tests, he believed,
were incontrovertible. Constables proceeded to
beat confessions out of these Irish suspects,
convinced there was absolute scientific proof
that these were the right Irishmen. Defense testimony
that a false positive could have been triggered
by the varnish or the playing cards would be rejected
and ridiculed sneeringly, by the English judge
presiding. Only later, when the truth began to
emerge, did the British make a calculated decision
to continue to jail innocent men rather than release
the embarrassing truth about Britain's vaunted
justice, by admitting that these Irishmen were
tortured and framed. Only later did the "Birmingham
Six" framework move from incompetence to
malevolent cover-up and concealment of injustice.
TAUNTS
At its inception, the crown prosecution of Sean
Hoey may prove to be much more sinister. Before
he was charged and interned by remand, Mr. Hoey
was picked up in raids on his home. Such raids
afforded the British constables ample opportunity
to seize simple items such as combs, toothbrushes,
eating utensils and clothes from which Mr. Hoey's
DNA could be extracted. As early as 1999, constables,
including specifically one whose name is believed
to be Ann Nugent, taunted Mr. Hoey with boasts
that it would be an easy matter for the PSNI to
plant DNA evidence in order to charge and convict
him. Sean Hoey believed that these were hollow
taunts and threats designed to intimidate him.
For Mr. Hoey, moving beyond the pale of British
jurisdiction from Jonesborough to Dundalk or Ravensdale,
meant but a few minutes and few miles. He remained
in South Armagh until his arrest approximately
three years ago. Friends suggest that Mr. Hoey
may well be guilty of two things, namely trusting
in his innocence and underestimating the crown's
willingness to frame an innocent Irish Republican.
IMPUNITY
Nugent's threats about planting DNA evidence became
more sinister in light of cases in which the PSNI
was proven to have done just that in order to
frame suspected Republicans. In the best known
case, two men Mark Carroll and Martin Brogan were
arrested in South Down. Amidst press conferences
and headlines, they were pronounced guilty of
having explosives said to be found miles away
in the sole possession of someone never charged.
DNA evidence was heralded as indisputable proof
and the men's protestations of innocence were
ignored.
Aidan Carlin, from the office of solicitor Kevin
Winter took the unexpected step of visiting the
forensics lab and reviewing the forensics file
in depth. In scenes which seemed taken from the
script of the film "In the Name of the Father",
Mr. Carlin found and copied by hand, notes from
the forensics staff detailing that items had been
unsealed for contamination and the scientists
had been instructed to change their findings to
inculpate the suspected Republicans and delete
references to the British agent who actually possessed
the explosives.
Apparently the forensics staff was concerned about
being scapegoated in the event that this blatant
frame-up came to light, and wrote memos to exonerate
themselves. They need not have worried. When Mr.
Carlin returned to review the file, the memos
had been removed at the direction of the crown
prosecutor. No servant of the crown would be prosecuted,
dismissed or even demoted for this blatant attempt
to pervert justice and frame innocent men. The
crown was sending a clear message. You may plant
evidence against selected Republican suspects
with impunity. No new safeguards were introduced.
Having failed to frame Martin Brogan and Mark
Carroll and others the British could have decided
on a policy of "never again". Instead
the British seem to be saying "if at first
you don't succeed try, try again". Sean Hoey
seems to be the next try. A visit by Aidan Carlin
to the forensics lab disclosed notes instructing
laboratory staff to be on guard in case he would
appear and to limit conversation and access to
the file. If the crown had legitimate irrefutable
evidence what had they to fear?
CONVEYOR BELT
The British have resorted to a number of means
to keep the Diplock Court conveyor belt, running
smoothly. For years confessions extracted under
brutal beatings at holding centers like Castlereagh,
comprised the evidence in eighty percent of the
political cases. When this strategy became untenable,
because of the outcry from Amnesty International,
and human rights campaigners, the British shifted
to supergrass show-trials where one paid perjurer
gave scripted evidence against many suspects.
Forensics evidence in cases like the "Birmingham
Six" or that of another South Armagh man
Danny Mc Namee have been occasionally tried. Mr.
Mc Namee whose conviction was quashed after it
was shown that British experts claimed the same
fingerprint belonged to both him and another individual
to support charges of bomb-making, may be assisting
the defense.
TELLTALE
DNA has a number of advantages. It may be easily
gathered at any house raid. It leaves no telltale
signs such as visible injuries on a beaten suspect.
Most people will not understand or question ostensibly
incontrovertible scientific data, in a way that
a confession under torture is immediately understood.
If the British can establish a precedent by jailing
Sean Hoey based upon fabricated DNA evidence,
who will be next and how many others will follow?
STACKED
This case will be fought vigorously. Many people
believe that the charges should not have survived
the committal hearing and that there is not even
a case to answer. By charging Sean Hoey with virtually
every action undertaken by the Real IRA including
Omagh, the British feel they have stacked the
deck so high that no Diplock Court judge will
have the independence or courage to acquit.
There are political implications, as well. The
British and Ian Paisley are demanding full Sinn
Fein backing for the crown courts and constabulary.
Will the party give such an endorsement to the
British courts and constabulary who are even now
seeking to frame Irish Republicans? Will the party
expose and fight injustice on the same terms that
human rights campaigners who may not have endorsed
the IRA , fought miscarriages of justice in the
past? There is much at stake in the dock of the
British Diplock Court. The verdict may well be
an indictment of British justice and those who
endorse it.
