Jeff NEEDS Justice

We’ve started to release our information about the Crown’s circumstantial case against Jeff and the details of our findings on the evidence.

While the Crown’s case is not new – it is a matter of public record from the trial, a biased book on the subject, and a telemovie – the errors and flaws in their arguments haven’t previously been published.  We are also releasing details of some of our findings related to the evidence and which form part of our appeal submission.

This release of information is not the complete collection of our material – there is still more to come.
On the topic of our findings related to the evidence, it is worth remembering that all of the pieces of physical evidence that could have supported Jeff’s account were either not subjected to any forensic testing, or were lost or destroyed before his first trial in 2008.  No physical evidence remains at all now.  The best we have are transcripts, statements, and recordings.

Highlights of this announcement are:

• The Circumstantial Case against Jeff
• Our new Evidence summary page and key findings:
  • Similarity of Stab Wounds
  • Fire Evidence
  • Blood on the Intercom
  • Cassette Tapes
  • Problems with Christopher
• An Alternative Theory

We’ve also released the start of an FAQ section and will fill this with more information as we collate the most commonly asked questions about the case. We’ll try to respond to those here as a more ‘permanent’ record, as well as on Facebook and/or Twitter, or any other channel where questions or comments about Jeff Gilham might be posted.

As the spotlight is turned once again on Jeff Gilham’s case as we approach the appeal hearing, we’re asking for help to uncover more of the details about the family in the period leading up to late August, 1993.

Our “6 Degrees” project is a search for the truth, based simply on what and who people know.

Although there are only a very small number of people that can give us tiny pieces of information about those involved directly in the Gilham family tragedy, these people are connected, formally or not, to more people.  In theory, all of us are connected by six degrees or less.

So if we can spread our message through enough people, and just have a few respond to us with even apparently trivial pieces of information, it could take us a long way to filling in the gaps in our knowledge.

The details of our “6 Degrees” request are right here, and are also echoed on our Facebook site.

Thanks to all who can help spread the word, and to those that can share anything, even small.

Mr Lloyd Babb begins his new job today, as the NSW Director of Public Prosecutions.

We’ve sent him an open letter, congratulating him on his new appointment.  We’ve also called on him to take a model litigant approach with the upcoming legal appeal.

Just about everyone understands that our legal system is adversarial.  The defence and the prosecution take opposing sides and generally use whatever legal means necessary to win their arguments (or to prevent their opponents winning theirs).

In contrast, the model litigant approach is about integrity, openness and fairness.  It is about truth in its purest form.

In his new role, Mr Babb now has the opportunity to take this approach and be part of a system that successfully corrects some of the mistakes of the past.  If he succeeds in doing this, we will see Jeff returned to his family sooner rather than later.

Our brief press announcement, as well as the letter to Mr Babb, can be found in our press releases section.

Robecca and the whole Jeff NEEDS Justice team are very pleased to announce that the Supreme Court has now set a date to hear Jeff’s appeal!

The appeal hearing will commence on Monday, November 28, 2011.
A brief statement on this has been released to the press.

The announcement of this date is another major milestone in our campaign to see Jeff returned to his family and his name cleared.

We welcome your continued feedback and support! And for more announcements, please join the conversation on our Facebook site.

On Tuesday of this week, Jeff’s legal team filed its submissions with the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal. This is a significant milestone in the campaign to see justice restored for Jeff.
It has been a monumental task to prepare and finalise the appeal material. The whole team is pleased to have finally reached this point and we’re confident of a successful outcome.

The appeal was mentioned in the Court today (June 2nd) and we had all hoped that the judge would set a date for the appeal hearing. However, he granted the Crown until June 30th to review the Defence submissions. When the matter goes back into court on this date, we hope that the judge will finally be able to set the date of the hearing.

Until then, while we still can’t discuss many of the details about our fresh evidence in the appeal, we still have plenty of work to do. Over the coming weeks we plan to release some more background information about the case. And of course we continue to invite your feedback and support.

Our press release on the appeal submission is here.