Temple Camp on Mark
Lundy Fact or Fiction.
To this observer, the Temple
Camp book that in part features the Lundy case is increasingly looking like
fiction from a man who is uncertain about Lundy’s guilt as he well should be.
Starting at the beginning TC is effectively claiming credit for convicting Mark
Lundy. That is, one would assume, after the first trial which has been ruled a Miscarriage
of Justice, none of which is explained or apologised for by TC, and
credit also for the second trial in which TC, in his
own mind a ‘leading NZ Pathologist’, was not required. Forgive me for thinking
that he was considered by the Crown to be a liability perhaps even the person
that led the way, at least at the beginning, in what remains internationally a
very controversial case. In my opinion,
Mark Lundy’s 2nd conviction resulted from
a further Miscarriage of Justice that started off in a Palmerston North
laboratory where Temple Camp was a big noting celebrity in his own mind.
He was asked what
he could see on a slide taken from the Lundy shirt. In his own words responding
to Grantham from police that it was brain matter and was told that
it didn’t sound like something that could be used in court.
"It doesn't sound like something we could use in
court."
"Well, no, but you asked me what it was. I've done
both things. I've done an Aunt Minnie on it, but I've also
crosschecked." We moved to sit at the multi-headed microscope in the
lab. There were three pathologists present, as well as two registrars, and
they all had a look at the slide. We all reached the same
conclusion.
The file tells a different story from Grantham himself:
Grantham didn't mention T-C in his evidence about the
identification of brain on the slide. He said that Thompson and
Beathwaite thought they could 'possibly' see one or two what appeared to
be glial cells, and Pang said he 'thought' they might be glial cells, and
this was after visiting Medlab and meeting Pang and T-C.
So 2 pathologists, Thompson and Beathwaite saying they thought
they could possibly see 1 or 2 what possibly might be glial cells, and the
third pathologists Pang, saying the might be glial cells after Grantham had
visited Miller (the IHC specialist in Texas) and met with Pang and T-C. That’s
a lot of might’s, possibly, vague, might, but not the same conclusion as T-C
wants his readers to believe.
In fact Miller
(the American IHC practitioner) would later explain
the total absence of glial cells, yes the
absence, so much for those possible confirmatory sighting of glial cells, and
less so for the confirmation T-C claimed he
got from the 3 men – as being for the reason that the sample came from deep
within the brain. All parts of the brain have glial cells, they are less
frequent deeper into the brain, but with 5 million or so of them they are
spread out. So why write a book and make false claims? Or as we’ll see
mislead the Court.
So, whose story is not correct. The man belatedly taking credit
for solving the Lundy case but who wasn’t required for the retrial or the other
witnesses who didn’t back up T-C Palmerston North laboratory slide observation results
which he freely admitted he couldn’t prove his opinion was correct. “I’m
right, but I can’t prove it.” Pathologist or idiot? Perhaps something worse a
person willing to take part to gain a false conviction. I have no idea if T-C told
the Jury that he couldn’t prove his opinion but one wonders why the Crown would
use such a witness, unless they were desperate. Some of that desperation is later
shown here in papers hidden from the first Jury.
In his new book, T-C talks about the psychology of pathology. Reading some details
of his account I wonder about the psychology of self- importance or
manufactured credit. More on that later.
Important issues in the Lundy conviction are whether or not diagnostic science using known samples,
liver, brain, lung etc can be transferred to forensic science where the sample
is not known. Internationally this is of interest in a situation described by
one seasoned scientist that it is always the establishment that accept change
and new methods very slowly and cautiously, no doubt because of their years of
experience, teaching and immersion into improving standards. A second leg of
this is that IHC relies upon known samples, so indeed is therefore a
fundamentally differing starting point beginning with all the details of sample
to be examined known. Forensic science has no
such advantage although of course in most cases there is visual physical proof
taken from a body, indeed whole body examination.
So that is one difference between the 2 disciplines, the 2nd
is the condition of the known or unknown samples as to whether they are
necrotic or not. Forensics scientists have to no choice while IHC examiners
have a label identifying the specimen, the full
history of the patient and fresh samples. IHC
relies on freshly gathered samples. In research
often such samples are immediately preserved particularly in the case of
brain or central nervous system material which deteriorates at high speed, a
whisper of death and it’s shape and condition begins to change, so much so that
medical staff will pump preservative through the body of a person who passes so
that the brain might be fixed, that is preserved for observation in it true
form before it has surrendered to its death, frozen for the duration of time.
This later procedure is used in the case of samples taken for consented
research, not live minute samples taken from a patient in theatre to
immediately determine disease or other medical conditions.
The police case in Lundy asks for acceptance that long dead cells
to be a reliable transmitter of type of cell, but they ask for it to be
accepted without a skull or bones, even mummified remains obvious to the
eye, they ask for it with samples that can only be seen under magnification after
being washed with particular antibodies in order for
their change of colour to reveal the source. Even then things can be tricky,
contamination is fatal to true results.
Everything must be handled to avoid contamination, from a crime scene human
material may already be contaminated or become contaminated upon discovery,
handling, storage or testing. The IHC specialist does everything from within a
cocoon of contamination safety in ideal conditions, knows the sample, how it
has been handled and handles it themselves in a forensically and contamination
secure environment recording every step as a Doctor or Surgeon does with
a live patient. This is the difference and why T- C and Rodney Miller are pissing in the wind. They don’t
have apples to compare with apples let alone
being able to know how to safely compare them.
As we will see T-C actually altered his notes when transcribing them to
evidence, left out critical points, deliberately.
To show TC’s inability to understand the argument even now, of like
meeting like, is this from his book
where he’s talking about samples taken from an
operating theatre and comparing them with a 59-day old speck that was first of
all kept in the boot of a car, then in a safe rather than the freezer in the
police station exhibit’s area or far more appropriately surrendered
immediately to the forensic specialists.
Speaking about criticism of himself and Dr Miller at the Privy Council, T-C reveals some of the
argument forward by Professor Sheard of Otago University in the following way:
A
critical part of Professor Sheard’s argument was that the shirt tissue had to
be compared with identically prepared brain and thus he thought Rod Miller’s
controls were invalid. As I explained to the Crown Counsel, this was
perplexing. We used an identical control system to diagnose dozens of cancer
patients every month. On the basis of these diagnoses, they were started on
life-altering chemotherapy or radiotherapy.
Even after almost 2 decades T-C can’t understand
the basic science of comparing like to like, rather than like to what might or
might not be the same. He’s stuck in a lab doing routine sampling, unable to
comprehend that forensic science is a completely different discipline with
samples the could come from anywhere and which may have no label of identity
unlike those given to an IHC specialist.
The
anti-body manufacturers specifically instruct IHC practitioners that their
products are not to be used on necrotic material. This brings us to the second
core issue. Was the shirt sample necrotic or not. The starting point with this
is Dr Teoh who said It was rotten before the first trial and whose opinion was
hidden by police for over a decade. As a reader, will see by this point (the determination
of the ‘health of the sample) T-C had divorced himself from his own notes and
the rules of the anti-body manufacturers, and would never go back to the truth,
remaining instead in his manufactured for evidence truth. Later herein, we will
read about the savaging his evidence was given at the Privy Council something
Temple-Camp seems unable to absorb as being the result of changing his
observations to suit his opinion.
Despite
the anti-body manufacturer’s instructions about necrotic material, which T-C
has observed in his own notes he says the shirt material was fine for analysis
using IHC even though he is not a specialist in IHC but rather a pathologists
who blows his own trumpet. Was he being truthful? Let’s look at the case notes
sent by a correspondent.
Here we have two copies of Temple-Camp’s Briefs, one is labelled DRAFT
and is undated, the other labelled FINAL and dated February 15th. From the
evidence available, we can only assume that the differences between the two are
the “one typographical error” Temple-Camp referred to in Court.
DRAFT : “I examined the slide under a microscope and found components of tissue
including blood vessels and cellular material which was poorly preserved but
appeared to be brain tissue”
FINAL : “I examined the slide under a microscope and found components of tissue
including blood vessels and cellular material which was adequately preserved
and appeared to me to be brain tissue”.
DRAFT : “The preservation of the cells on the slide was suboptimal and I was
concerned that it would not be suitable to carry out the antigen studies which
would unequivocally identify the cells”
FINAL: Whole sentence deleted.
Compare what Temple Camps notes say or didn’t say to what he claims in
his book where suddenly the shirt material is well preserved, rather than being
poorly preserved or the substance suboptimal:
Where writing
about the Privy Council case which was won by Mark Lundy:
These new
experts seemed to believe that any brain would have decayed beyond recognition
in that time. I thought that was just nonsense. The dried brain-matter was
preserved within minutes of the murder and was still preserved 59 days later
and will still be so 59 years from now.
His excuse now for altering his evidence shows the arrogance of the man. He
cannot accept that lab notes and all other such material are the duty of the
specialist witness to the Court. In fact, he says a ‘wise’ pathologists keeps
his thoughts (and therefore his observations) to himself. T-C has no concept of
the truth or an expert’s duty to the Court.
I had never
given written evidence when I had first examined the dab slide, nearly 14
months beforehand. I realised that the defence were comparing a first draft of
the affidavit I had prepared at Ben’s request with the final draft written a
day later, after I had fully investigated the issue. It is an occupational
hazard in homicide investigations that any preliminary comments, rough notes or
drafts will be sifted through and minutely compared by astute defence lawyers.
They will search for any changes in wording and these will be used to raise the
spectre of reasonable doubt. A wise pathologist keeps his thought to himself
until the evidence is ready in its final form.
Later he offers
advice about the truth that apparently, he feels does not apply to him, though
he may not have realised, his admission about pathologists not always being
right applies to him.
But evidence
is evidence too, and the truth never changes, no matter how much people wish it
might. Pathologists are certainly not always right and not even always unbiased
The conclusions arising from this.
In 2 instances relating to evidence TC prepared on the slide material he
said firstly that it was poorly preserved. In one of those instances he later
said 1 was adequately preserved – he’s gone from poor to adequate about the
same material. On the other he said the cells on the slide were suboptimal
(poor), later he dropped that description entirely. How can poorly preserved,
sub optimal cells, be properly ‘air dried,’ as he claimed in both his book and
in Court. They are either preserved or not preserved. His case notes say not
preserved, his book and testimony in the first trial say preserved. Someone is
cheating and perpetuating a continuing Miscarriage of Justice and according to
Temple-Camp it is not him. Note that ‘air drying’ is not used in IHC analysis,
however it is claimed by Temple-Camp that particles flying through the air are
somehow air dried in the same manner using an air dryer in a control laboratory
situation. Temple-Camp imposes chance of science, he scoffs out the basic
science of recording all findings and keeping them to be provided to all
personnel that may be involved in a trial including the Judge and the Defence.
Temple Camp broke the rules, hid evidence and then claimed it was something
that it was not according to his own notes. No surgeon, doctor, pilot, or
scientist would do that because they have accepted the duty of faithful
recording and telling the truth.
This point about air drying was made by T-C’s idol Dr Miller himself
where in a talk he said the following:
Miller gave a talk about the handling of thin
smears and he said “they have to be fixed immediately to prevent air
drying. T-C said at trial one that tissue has to be fixed or else it is not
possible to examine it and make a diagnosis.”
At the PC and we finally get a picture of why TC had not been called at
the retrial and perhaps the real reason he wrote a self-congratulatory book:
It was hard
enough listening to the lawyer for Lundy pounding and shredding my credibility
and my evidence, without feeling I was under scrutiny as it happened. I could
only grind my teeth in frustration and wait on events.
I was really pleased the Law
Lords had said my evidence was ‘trenchantly asserted’. It sure was, and I did
so because I knew it was right. For all that meagre personal satisfaction, I
was depressed by the outcome. I had genuinely expected the reason and logic of
what we had put forward would prevail. ‘What will happen now?’ asked Victoria.
‘Does this mean that Mark Lundy will be acquitted?’ ‘No, there’ll be a retrial.
We’ll have to go through everything all over again and a new jury will decide.’
‘That’s terrible!’ Victoria said. ‘After all these years in jail and now to
have another trial about the same stuff, all over again. Why not just let him
go?’ ‘Well, it would be a much cheaper and easier option for us all,’ I agreed.
‘But I’m looking forward to a proper retrial for purely selfish reasons. I
would like to know one way or another whether I was right or wrong."
"I'm looking forward to
a proper retrial for purely selfish reasons. I would like to know one way or
another whether I was right or wrong."
Finally T-C breaks free of the
thin veneer he previously tried to cover his intentions with. The whole case is
about him being right, not about the truth, or about Justice, about experts
honestly and faithfully recording their observations rather than as he said
above: A wise pathologist keeps his thought to himself until the evidence is
ready in its final form.
I take that observation as
meaning be careful what you record until you have thought about it. Does a
scientist, examiner, or honest person not need to choose their words where
doing a job for Justice, but just simply record what they see? Apparently not
in T-C’s world.
On multiple occasions T-C echoed Miller's 100% certainty. Yet on the other hand
he has described the Aunt Minnie method where you just know it is Aunt Minnie
without hard science to support your sighting, to tell us it is brain (or Aunt
Minnie). The ramblings of a dangerous idiot, that wants his ‘truth’ to emerge
by keeping his thoughts to himself in it’s final, albeit manipulated, form.
So, which is it? Let a jury determine and settle for Dr Temple-Camp, or
encourage Dr Temple-Camp to show truthfully his workings. Speaking about this
above he says “keeps his thought to himself until the evidence is ready in
its final form.” The shirt had no final form, it was as observed in the
first instance, not something manufactured until it was “ready in its final
form.”
For example at location 3974 he says
"Even medical students can recognise brain tissue at a glance".
So, let us put this together from his own words.
1. Even medical students can recognise brain tissue at a glance.
2. I'm looking forward to a proper retrial for purely selfish reasons. I would
like to know one way or another whether I was right or wrong
Remembering that according to
him it was brain but he couldn’t prove it, it was also poorly preserved and
suboptimal at the same time as being ‘air dried.’ No wonder the man doesn’t recognize the opposing
elements in his own logic and writing. He’s off his rocker on this.
Above where Temple-Camp is
talking to his daughter (Victoria) who expresses concern for what Lundy has
been through he still unable to grasp anything other than the importance of him
being right. His whole book is about his being right despite not being called
as a witness after his fall from grace for altering his observations from
working notes to the form of evidence. For most people, honest people that is,
notes form the basis of the truth, particularly where they are written
observations of what was seen. Most people don’t need such observations to
distil in silence and off the written page, but then again Temple-Camp is not
most people. Earlier is mentioned his delight in phrasing the term
psychological pathology. He might well have considered a more seasoned term
pathological liar.
On a final note, I return to
Doctor Pang and the remarkable changing times of death. Remember 7 to 7.15pm
not a minute later for 13 years only to become from 6pm to 9am the following
morning. Reminding readers again that T-C was Doctor Pang’s boss. Many people
will have thought that Doctor Pang was pressured somehow to change his time of
death, a reasonable conclusion taking into account how insistent he was about
it prior to the retrial. I find it interesting that Temple-Camp found it
necessary to agree with Pang’s new TOD (see previous blog below for full
details as to stomach contents etc. per T-C.)
Temple Camp has said he
accepted the evidence of Dr Sage at the retrial who gave the opinion that
Christine and Amber were not prisoners in their own home, and could have
snacked into the night and following morning as an explanation as to why
digestion had not started according to Pang’s autopsy report. Temple-Camp was
quite happy with that change, it was perfectly reasonable and a sharp thought
or similar, according to him. But what he didn’t explain, as a father and
parent himself, was if his own children as 7 going on 8 year olds were allowed,
or indeed could get up at 1 am in the morning and feed themselves on McDonald’s
already 7 hours old. Or if he knew any children who had done such a thing or
parents that would allow that. Here I recall from evidence Amber’s grandmother
talking about Amber as always in bed by 8 and like all 7 year olds a sound
sleeper. That’s not from changed notes by the way.