Human Error

Professor David Wilson, the UK's leading criminologist, presents the third series of the crime talk show Crime Files. This season David is focusing primarily on Scotland's numerous Cold Cases. In episode 3, he and his guests tackle the complex issue of forensic analysis and whether human interpretation can lead to miscarriages of justice.
David travels to Kilmarnock. There he will try and untangle a complex tale where a woman's brutal murder was lost in the chaos of forensic mistakes. He is examining the case of Marion Ross, who was murdered in her home in 1997. Though a suspect was quickly found, David will dissect the evidence that mistakenly convicted him and whether there was a miscarriage of justice due to incorrect evaluation of the fingerprints.
In the studio, David speaks with renowned forensic scientist Jim Fraser who was essential in the re-analysis of the forensics which would help release the suspect from prison. He will explain in depth what evidence was found at the scene and why it all went so wrong.
David, this series, is joined in studio by our resident Forensic Scientist Helen Meadows. This week Helen will dissect both Marion's case and also examine the case of Pamela Hastie. Pamela was a 16 year old girl who was viciously attacked and killed on her way home from school. Her murder was supposedly solved quickly with the blame being placed on a local youth. However, Helen will show how many vital forensic clues were either ignored or mismanaged leading to the realisation that the youth was serving time for a murder they didn't commit.
David's final guest is Gordon Richie, he was the defence lawyer who led the appeal for the convicted suspect in Pamela's murder case. He will talk us through how he and his team focused on dismantling the original post mortem used in the crown case in 1982 to overturn the original ruling. He will explain that when forensics are mismanaged it can lead to devastating consequences. And begs the question if we rely too heavily on them for answers.