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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Burglary (including aggravated) |
Sentence: |
1 year suspended for 18 months |
Years Imprisoned: |
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Year Crime: |
2004 |
Year Convicted: |
2005 |
Year Cleared: |
2017 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Australia |
County or Region of Crime: |
Western Australia |
City of Crime: |
Perth |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated |
Summary of Case: |
"Alan Staines was wrongly convicted in 2005 of burglary in Perth, Western Australia, Australia. The crime was committed in 2004. The burglar cut himself breaking into the home, and the burglar's blood was collected by the police for DNA testing. The 21-year-old Alan Stephen Staines insisted he was innocent and had a solid alibi for being elsewhere at the time of the home invasion: Staines was with two friends and a picture of the three of them together had a date and time stamp for that night. However, Staines pled guilty on the advice of his lawyer that the testing of DNA evidence from the scene was matched to him, and he faced up to three years in prison if convicted after a trial. Staines was given a one year jail sentence suspended for 18 months of good behavior. In April 2016 the Western Australian police were informed that in 2004 Staines' had incorrectly been identified as the source of the crime scene DNA because his name matched that of the man whose DNA was actually matched to the crime scene. In 2004 the government owned and operated laboratory that did the testing, PathWest, misapplied the postive DNA test result to the wrong man because it did not notice there were two men with the same name, and the lab failed to check the two men had different birth dates. However, the Western Australian police did not inform Staines of the new evidence of his innocence until almost a year later on April 21, 2017, and the prosecution service was also notified on April 21. With the support of the prosecutors, Staines filed a petition to quash his conviction based on the new DNA evidence of his innocence. As a consequence of the discovery, it was announced in May 2017 that the Public Sector Commission would review results of the Forensic Biology Department of PathWest from 2002 to 2017 to ensure compliance with protocols and procedures. The Alan Staines whose DNA matches the blood recovered from the burglary scene is 13 years older than his namesake, and he is a career criminal whose record of offenses is 10 pages long, and includes multiples convictions for home burglaries, and his escape from Karnet Prison Farm in 2013. PathWest discovered the error when the actual culprit was arrested for a crime that resulted in the testing of his DNA, and the lab discovered there were two Alan Staines -- and the wrong one had been linked to the 2004 burglary. On November 13, 2017 the Supreme Court of Western Australia quashed Staines conviction, with the prosecution conceeding his conviction was a miscarriage of justice based on the new DNA evidence of his innocence. Staines can seek compensation from the government of Western Australia." |
Conviction Caused By: |
Lab error confusing his name with the actual culprit. |
Innocence Proved By: |
"On November 13, 2017 the Supreme Court of Western Australia quashed Staines conviction, with the prosecution conceeding his conviction was a miscarriage of justice based on the new DNA evidence of his innocence." |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
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Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
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Age When Released: |
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Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
White |
Information Source 1: |
"WA shearer Alan Staines outlines his agony after being wrongly convicted through DNA, By Grant Taylor, The West Australian (Perth, Aus.), April 28, 2017" |
Information Location 1: |
https://thewest.com.au/news/wa/innocent-man-still-haunted-by-stain-on-name-ng-b88459752z |
Information Source 2: |
"Review to look at 15 years of DNA in WA, By AAP, Brisbane Times (Brisbane, Australia), May 10, 2017" |
Information Location 2: |
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/wa-news/review-to-look-at-15-years-of-dna-in-wa-20170510-gw1x3m.html?deviceType=text |
Information Source 3: |
"DNA bungle: WA police chief thinks human error delayed advice to man wrongly convicted, By Eliza Laschon, ABC.net.au, May 1, 2017" |
Information Location 3: |
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-05-01/dna-bungle-delay-blamed-by-wa-police-chief-on-human-error/8486926 |
Information Source 4: |
"Name cleared: Perth man's wrongful conviction quashed after DNA bungle exposed, By Heather McNeill, Western Australia News, November 13, 2017" |
Information Location 4: |
http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/name-cleared-perth-mans-wrongful-conviction-quashed-after-dna-bungle-exposed-20171113-gzk6yf.html |
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Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org