Count down to the Court of Appeal for Scott Watson
It won't be difficult for the Court of Appeal to acknowledge that the identification evidence of Scott was flawed. It also will not be ground-breaking to agree that the previously "platinum" hair evidence is not up to scratch and never was. Furthermore the "prison confessions" it is alleged Scott made are gone.
So what remains? One thing is an institutionalized prejudice against Scott from police, Prosecutors, also for many years the Courts, Corrections, and the Parole Board. Whilst there is no way to determine how much of that is intact there are a few things that have changed in the 20 plus, years since Scott's arrest.
Forensic Science has marched forward and the "hair collection" in Scott's case was amateur at best purposefully negligent, careless, and most likely the major part of Scott being fitted up. That is no longer really an obstacle in a fair Justice System. The key police who ran the case are basically all gone apart from Tom Fitzgerald who it is doubtful any prosecutor would rely on again such are the activities he's been exposed for in recent years.
Less clear is why the Prosecution is holding on to that dead fish which is essentially its case now. There could be 2 reasons for that with the first being a misguided sense that the Solicitor General believes there is a chance to avoid the criticism the Crown clearly deserves or that it was possibly a mistake not to have shared with the Crown all the new evidence. "New", being mostly because it had previously been hidden in plain sight or not been melded into a narrative of complete innocence as it is now.
For that reason, Scott's evidence of innocence will not disappear for years whether the Court finds in his favour; or not - whether now or later. As his, was the most brittle of set-ups with so much left evident, including credible witnesses, ketch sightings, mystery man at the pool table who has now been identified as not being Scott or the offender. People that were frightened, or bribed into silence by police while others were emboldened as possible leads that led to them were lost or covered up.
And what does all this mean you may wonder. Well, firstly Scott should win, and secondly if he doesn't he won't be going away as there are many other doors open for him.
