Andrew L. Urban
It was in the main street of Mintabie, 980 kms northwest of Adelaide, the remote opal mining community (now closed). It was 1978 and an Aboriginal man had been found dead, in mysterious circumstances. The Coroner sent a team to investigate. Refusing an offer of a cool room for the procedure, the State’s forensic pathologist set up a make shift morgue in the street and proceeded to perform his gut wrenching task. After Dr Colin Manock had removed the bodily organs from the chest, he used a ladle to scoop up some of the body fluids and quipped, ‘does anybody fancy a slurp?’
The report of this incident is part of an affidavit sworn by a former police officer who witnessed the event. That tabloid moment illustrates that Manock was unqualified for the job of the State’s forensic pathologist. Astonishingly, the State of South Australia knew this and did nothing.
The late Kevin Borick KC and Flinders University legal academic Dr Bob Moles have repeatedly over the years raised serious concerns about Manock’s unreliability and lack of appropriate qualifications – which caused extensive harm to the administration of justice in South Australia. We have published several articles detailing their concerns. Along the way, Manock’s path was strewn with serious failures by others in the legal system.
The Manock files:
Flinders University legal academic Dr Bob Moles has written extensively about Manock and has a dedicated section on his networked knowledge website. We have published several articles by him; this is one, calling for a Royal Commission. Giving explosive evidence before the Budget & Finance Committee of the South Australian Legislative Council (November 5, 2018), Moles outlined why he believes a Royal Commission is needed into the State’s several failures in allowing the unqualified and discredited forensic pathologist Dr Colin Manock to continue his work – unchecked for decades.
Dr Colin Manock and the Baby Deaths
Three babies who Dr Manock said had died from bronchopneumonia in fact had been beaten to death.
More pressure to mitigate Manock harm
In the case of Dr Manock, proper procedures have not been followed and the question of the outcomes in 10,000 autopsies and over 400 criminal convictions have been brought into question
How to fix Australia’s biggest legal scandal
Dr Moles and I (Urban) submitted to SA Attorney General The Hon Vickie Chapman that the State had to address Dr Manock’s legacy of forensic malpractice. For one thing, convictions based on his work were (and remain) all clearly unsafe. Those convicted have a right to be assured or relieved…. legally and morally. Many will have served their time, but the convictions remain on the record. Some may well have died, some will still be in prison, perhaps.
Our correspondence in 2018-19 included argument that being pro-active in the matter and tackling the issue head on would be in the public interest as well as politically advisable.
Chapman concluded the correspondence (19 February, 2019) thus: “I do not consider that investigation of the many cases in which Dr Colin Manock conducted pathology work over many years is necessary or that the associated expenditure of public funds would be justified.
I reiterate that any concerns arising from Dr Manock’s conduct or evidence will be appropriately dealt with on a case by case basis.”
In other words, it has been left up to the convicted and/or their families to begin proceedings to request a review of Dr Manock’s evidence. Individually. How fair is that? How practical is that? How does this decision sit with the administration of justice? How much confidence does it inspire in the justice system?