Presumed Guilty: When Cops Get It Wrong and Courts Seal the Deal

by Bret Christian

When newspaperman Bret Christian stumbles across the heartbreaking true story of Darryl Beamish’s wrongful death sentence for the murder of Melbourne socialite Jillian Brewer, little does he know how the case will take a hold of him and not let go.Presumed Guilty, the result of a lifetime’s passionate search for the truth, is a groundbreaking and often confronting exploration of how and why justice can go wrong.From the Cottesloe killings to Lloyd Rayney’s sensational trial, Christian uses famous cases and never-before-published material – such as a serial killer’s riveting confession as well as the author’s own extensive interviews – to build a compelling case against juries, along the way exposing ‘copper’s instinct’ for what it really is.Bret Christian began his career on Perth’s Daily News, working in Melbourne and Sydney before returning to WA to start his own suburban Post newspapers group at 28. The territories his newspapers service have been the hunting grounds for three separate serial killers.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction

408 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 2013

Reviews

[Lyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bret Christian's book Presumed Guilty is enlightening. It looks at a wicked and tragic series of wrongful convictions and police corruption here in Perth. Could it be he has drawn our attention with his meticulous research and interesting story telling, to something we already partially knew but were not honest enough or caring enough to acknowledge? Maybe we accepted police corruption here in Western Australia in the "they keep us safe" bargain we have with cops. I found it shocking that no policeman in Western Australia has been charged over all the wrongful convictions and evidence tampering and false or forced confessions. Christian makes a good argument about scrapping the jury in trials, and looks at the swaying of public opinion and perception of guilt. The description of our court system with jury, prisoner in dock and the prosecutions bad-mouthing the “guilty” accused before any evidence is presented makes us question the chance of ever getting a fair trial.
Christian points out it is a disgrace how we in WA repeatedly lock up innocent people. Once the evidence is tampered with by police it is a shambles. I was so saddened by the Beamish case and his poor deaf mate and how police stitched up Mr and Mrs Beamish over the alibi. There is so much detail and it is told well. The use of language is clever, clear, flows well and is interesting. The book is a wonderful if exhausting read.I think there is a documentary or film in this book.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bret Christian’s book about injustices in WA makes a solid case for a broken judicial system and how an initial hunch can lead to police and the community ignoring such burdens as proof.

Much of the book centres on Darryl Beamish, who was wrongly convicted for one of Eric Edgar Cooke’s many random slayings. While it paints a picture of Beamish’s background in much the same manner as Estelle Blackburn’s Stolen Lives does for John Button, the second half of the book is where it really stands out.

Illustrating how WA came to be and how our police system started tells yet another story about how our society repeatedly fails those less fortunate. It also demonstrates how those wrongly convicted put themselves in catastrophic debt just to clear their names, but despite all of this, the mud still sticks.

[Sean Harding · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an important book, and by gosh does it make you angry.
That creep Owen Leitch, such a dodgy copper, and the judge Wolff and the other dodgy cops.
Uncaring, corrupt and just dealing in injustice and you wonder why people are angry with the police and justice system.
Infuriating and so important for our nation and for us to have a true and noble justice system.
Thank goodness we do not have the death penalty.
If you want it read this book first.

[Joanne, drinker of tea, reader of books, servant to cats · Rating 2 out of 5]

For me, this book went downhill very early in the piece when the author strongly attests (as evidence to the cruelty against deaf people) that the term 'deaf and dumb' meant 'non-hearing and stupid', when it actually meant 'non hearing and non verbal' or mute - consider the word dumbstruck which means shocked to the point of speechlessness.

That's not to say the Deaf community was treated well in 1930's and 1940's Australia, but for a man of words to get this wrong is a bad failing, as is his constant repetition of the words in relation to Darryl Beamish, to the point of utter stupidity.

This is not a linear book. The writing veers across time and events which results in repetition and time line confusion.

Using the examples in the book, the author makes some very good points about societal bias against certain members of our community, the evidential twistings to fit a crime to a chosen suspect, the willful blindness by some police away from evidence that points to the innocence of the chosen suspect, and the inherent faults within our judicial system.

He certainly makes a solid argument as to why the death penalty should never be returned in Australia, and why our judicial system should be fully reviewed and updated.

Overall and sadly, this was not, in my opinion, a great book. But, his book 'Stalking Claremont' makes up for it.

[Nicky · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fascinating and well written book about injustices in Western Australian history and the flawed system that allows it. The first part of the book centres on the conviction of Darryl Beamish, convicted of a murder he did not commit and his unsuccessful appeals even after the real killer confessed. The rest of the book looks at all the factors that contribute to wrongful convictions including the history of the police force and the role of mateship in cover ups, errors in cognitive reasoning, the adversarial nature of our court system and the flawed jury process.

It is very thorough which I like and even goes as far back as looking at the development of law enforcement from before and during colonisation of Western Australia. Having lived in Perth my whole life I also appreciate that it centres around Western Australia although it's not a requirement to enjoy this book - just a bonus. He explores cognitive biases that affect people everywhere and makes a compelling argument against the use of juries which are commonly used in many countries; wherever you come from there is enough to keep you interested. He also looks at the personal costs to those wrongful convicted.

I also recommend this author's book about the Claremont Serial killer.