NO CASES AGAINST HOEY: QC
No cases against Hoey: QC
THE prosecution case in the Omagh bomb trial came to a close after three months yesterday - immediately followed by a defence bid to have it thrown out.
During the 47 days in which evidence was presented, Mr Justice Weir, sitting without a jury, has heard from dozens of witness and seen close to 500 exhibits.
As the Crown case closed at Belfast Crown Court, Orlando Pownall QC, defending, opened his with an application for the charges to be dismissed.
The London-based barrister, in claiming that Hoey has no case to answer, initially attacked DNA evidence presented against the 37-year-old electrician from Molly's Road in Jonesborough, south Armagh.
He told Mr Justice Weir: "If my lord finds force in the submissions we make then the DNA evidence, the foundation stone of the prosecution case, can no longer be brought to bear, and in its absence there is no evidence to support the contention that Sean Hoey was involved in any of the 58 counts against him."
The charges include the murders of the 29 people, including a woman pregnant with twins, killed in the Omagh bomb atrocity as well as other bomb, mortar and hoax bomb attacks across the north in 1998.
Mr Pownall claimed there was no fibre evidence to connect Hoey with any of the devices.
He said the thrust of the Crown case was that each was "manufactured by the same hand" and therefore the same person was responsible for the Omagh bomb.
The lawyer claimed that while this approach was made out of "understandable desperation" to catch those responsible for the Omagh atrocity, it was "fundamentally flawed".
Mr Pownall said "for tragic reasons" little or nothing of the bomb used was recovered from Omagh.
"So we submit that the Crown argument is significantly flawed. It involves a chain of logic not substantiated by the evidence," he said.
Attacking DNA evidence submitted by the Forensic Science Services (FSS) in England, Mr Pownall said the important question was one of "validation" for the techniques involved.
He contrasted evidence from FSS experts Dr Peter Gill, the inventor of the Low Copy Number DNA system, and Dr Jonathon Whitaker, who produced the DNA evidence, saying the "account of one lies uncomfortably with the other".
Mr Pownall said while it was accepted that Low Copy Number was still a "developing science", there was no worldwide consensus on its operation and the American FBI used it only for intelligence, not in court.
He said in the absence of such validation or scientific consensus the court could not rely upon the DNA evidence presented.
Mr Pownall will continue with his application to have the trial aborted today.
THE prosecution case in the Omagh bomb trial came to a close after three months yesterday - immediately followed by a defence bid to have it thrown out.
During the 47 days in which evidence was presented, Mr Justice Weir, sitting without a jury, has heard from dozens of witness and seen close to 500 exhibits.
As the Crown case closed at Belfast Crown Court, Orlando Pownall QC, defending, opened his with an application for the charges to be dismissed.
The London-based barrister, in claiming that Hoey has no case to answer, initially attacked DNA evidence presented against the 37-year-old electrician from Molly's Road in Jonesborough, south Armagh.
He told Mr Justice Weir: "If my lord finds force in the submissions we make then the DNA evidence, the foundation stone of the prosecution case, can no longer be brought to bear, and in its absence there is no evidence to support the contention that Sean Hoey was involved in any of the 58 counts against him."
The charges include the murders of the 29 people, including a woman pregnant with twins, killed in the Omagh bomb atrocity as well as other bomb, mortar and hoax bomb attacks across the north in 1998.
Mr Pownall claimed there was no fibre evidence to connect Hoey with any of the devices.
He said the thrust of the Crown case was that each was "manufactured by the same hand" and therefore the same person was responsible for the Omagh bomb.
The lawyer claimed that while this approach was made out of "understandable desperation" to catch those responsible for the Omagh atrocity, it was "fundamentally flawed".
Mr Pownall said "for tragic reasons" little or nothing of the bomb used was recovered from Omagh.
"So we submit that the Crown argument is significantly flawed. It involves a chain of logic not substantiated by the evidence," he said.
Attacking DNA evidence submitted by the Forensic Science Services (FSS) in England, Mr Pownall said the important question was one of "validation" for the techniques involved.
He contrasted evidence from FSS experts Dr Peter Gill, the inventor of the Low Copy Number DNA system, and Dr Jonathon Whitaker, who produced the DNA evidence, saying the "account of one lies uncomfortably with the other".
Mr Pownall said while it was accepted that Low Copy Number was still a "developing science", there was no worldwide consensus on its operation and the American FBI used it only for intelligence, not in court.
He said in the absence of such validation or scientific consensus the court could not rely upon the DNA evidence presented.
Mr Pownall will continue with his application to have the trial aborted today.
Further Information
Publisher: THE IRISH NEWS
Ref: IN/0823
Published Date: 15-Dec-06
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