Professor David Wilson and guests tackle the complex issue of forensic analysis, and whether human interpretation can lead to miscarriages of justice.

David travels to Kilmarnock, where he tries to untangle a complex tale where a woman’s brutal murder was lost in the chaos of forensic mistakes. He examines the case of Marion Ross, who was murdered in her home in 1997. Though a suspect was quickly found, David dissects the evidence that mistakenly convicted him to establish 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 reanalysis of the forensics which helped release the suspect from prison. Jim explains what evidence was found at the scene and why it all went so wrong.

David is also joined by resident forensic scientist Helen Meadows. Helen dissects Marion’s case and also examines 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 shows how many vital forensic clues were either ignored or mismanaged, leading to the realisation that the youth was serving time for a murder he didn’t commit.

David’s final guest is Gordon Richie, the defence lawyer who led the appeal for the convicted suspect in Pamela’s murder case. He talks 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, explaining that when forensics are mismanaged, it can lead to devastating consequences. Show less