At 2:47 a party starts at Michael Barrymore’s house: there are nine people present. At 5:08 emergency services are called. ibid. caption
The immediate assumption for everybody was that the victim was gay. Because who the hell would go home with Michael Barrymore and a group of young men? It certainly seemed to be a pretty nasty gay poolside party. ibid. reporter
‘There was no third party involved in the death … This was a case of immersion, as I call it, or drowning … I would describe the injuries to the anus as horrific.’ ibid. pathologist
‘This may not be drowning and you should be aware of that.’ ibid. pathologist #2 to rozzers
The Essex Police investigation into Stuart Lubbock’s death concludes with no criminal charges. A coroner’s inquest is held to determine the cause of death. ibid. captions
‘The entertainer Michael Barrymore has refused to answer questions about alleged drug taking at his home on the night a man was found dead in his swimming pool.’ ibid. BBC news
‘Stuart had been the victim of a serious sexual assault.’ ibid. pathologist
Do you ever want to see Michael Barrymore on television again. Yes 090 190 44 41 No 090 190 44 42. ibid. Richard & Judy Show phone-in
Essex Police launch an investigation into Michael Barrymore’s public claims that Stuart Lubbock’s anal injuries were inflicted at the hospital after his death. ibid. caption
‘Stuart was assaulted quite possibly in the Jacuzzi … To make it look like a drowning thrown in the swimming pool. I believe very much that Stuart Lubbock was raped and murdered that night. ibid.
I’m working for the drug lab in Amherst … mostly to perform chemical analysis of suspected narcotics. Though I also help maintain some instrumentation. Do quality control. Testify in court. How to Fix a Drug Scandal I, Farak to rozzers, Netflix 2020
In the United States, if you’ve been arrested on illegal drug charges, the evidence against you is sent to a laboratory for testing. In Massachusetts, two labs handled most of the drug cases in the state. This is the story of what went wrong. ibid. captions
25-30,000 cases have been dumped in our laps. ibid. state attorney
In Massachusetts tonight a drug lab scandal … A state police chemist is suspected of altering drug samples, faking test results and listing some drug samples as positive even though she never tested them. ibid. television news
People were in prison based on drugs certificates signed by Sonja Farak. ibid. lawyer
I knew the Amherst lab was underfunded and didn’t have sort of basics. ibid. insider
35-year-old Sonja Farak was arrested on two counts of evidence tampering and two counts of drug possession. How to Fix a Drug Scandal II
Annie Dookhan: classifications that were going on that weren’t completely accurate. ibid. lawyer
Dookhan: she was faking, she was cheating … she was simply signing off and getting these cases out the door. ibid. dude
[Judge] Kinder decides that these criminal acts of Farak’s only go back to July 2012. ibid.
2011: I’d already exhausted the methamphetamine, amphetamine and ketamine standards, and then I did start trying to smoke crack cocaine … There was not a lot of it … and quickly became very addicted … I actually smoked in the evidence room. How to Fix a Drug Scandal III, Farak
She began cooking powdered cocaine into crack at her work station. ibid. dude
Chemist Annie Dookhan was sentenced to a three-to-five year prison term for falsifying drug tests affecting tens of thousands of criminal cases. But there has been little movement to deal with all of the convictions based on the lab’s testing. ibid. news report
Northampton chemist Sonja Farak gets 18 months in jail. ibid. newspaper headline
It took years to work out what cases she [Farak] had worked on. How is this possible? ibid. defense guy
They [the state] argue they [victims] can all be retrialled one at a time. How to Fix a Drugs Scandal IV, news report
There were thousands and thousands of criminal cases whose convictions are probably invalid. ibid. defence dude
She [Farak] was definitely a drug addict. And my natural tendency is to really sympathise with drug addicts, and feel like they are suffering. ibid.
Judge Carey issued his decision – the Carey Report – it vindicated Luke Ryan and found that Anne Kaczmarek and Kris Foster had committed ‘a fraud upon the court’. ibid.
Judge Carey dismissed the charges against Rolando Panate ‘with prejudice’. After 5 years in custody, Rolando was released. Rolando was among the last defendants to be released from prison because of tainted drug evidence from the Amherst lab. ibid. caption
But there were still tens of thousands of people with felony convictions on their records based on drug evidence tested by Sonja Farak or Annie Dookhan. ibid.
The largest mass dismissal of criminal convictions in US history. ibid.
Keeler/Profumo/Ward is one of those ageless stories that I just cannot let go … Much of it is relevant today. Keeler, Profumo, Ward & Me, Tom Mangold, Daily Express, BBC 2020
With huge profits as the prize, Fleet Street reporters like me, who thought ethics was a county near London, were unleashed. ibid.
I saw for myself how that old order operated to make the innocent Stephen Ward a public scapegoat … ‘The worst case of wrongful conviction that I can remember in our history.’ ibid. Geoffrey Robertson QC
War Minister Shock. ibid. 15th March 1963
At the preliminary hearing, every prosecution smear against Stephen – abortionist, brothel-keeper, spy – crammed the front pages, finally trashing his reputation. ibid.
Sarah Ferguson: the outspoken and often outrageous duchess who can’t stop putting her foot in it. And her other half, Prince Andrew, the Queen’s second son and by all accounts her favourite. Together they make up the most controversial couple in the royal family. High profile problems have plagued them. They reeled from one disaster to the next. So why has it gone so wrong for this royal couple? Is it about craving attention? Or are they just out of touch? Fergie & Andrew: The Duke & Duchess of Disaster, Channel 5 2021
‘One of Andrews biggest biggest failings is his singular lack of judgment. And that’s bound up in a sense of entitlement and arrogance that he’s always had frankly.’ ibid. Richard Kay, Daily Mail
The Ferguson family always had close links to the royal family. Her father, Major Ron, was polo manager initially to the Duke of Edinburgh and later Charles. Sarah and Prince Andrew were friends as youngsters. ibid.
Fergie threw herself into London life; she went on to have serious relationships … She enjoyed the jet-set lifestyle. ibid.
In 1985 she found her prince … Randy Andy … He was one of the country’s most eligible bachelors. ibid.
On a hot July day in 1986 the country celebrated: Fergie’s 17-foot train had the initials A & S intertwined and sewn in silver beads. ibid.
In 1987 she took part in the now infamous It’s a Royal Knockout. ibid.
A new controversial chapter in his life was about to start … For over a decade, Prince Andrew has been engulfed by the biggest controversy of his Royal life, a life that’s been beset by scandals. ibid.
Despite the grainy and low quality image, she can be heard offering access to Prince Andrew … ‘Five hundred thousand pounds, when you can, to me … open doors.’ ibid. Fergie
The Plaza Hotel 18 August 1992: I am greatly saddened … [by] allegations instigated by her of child abuse on my part. Allen v Farrow I, Woody’s press conference, Sky Documentaries 2021
For the longest time I’ve been trying to set the record straight. ibid. Dylan Farrow
That’s the great regret of my life that I wasn’t perceptive enough. It’s my fault. I brought this guy into our family. You know, there’s nothing I can do to take that away. ibid. Mia
I had seven children and he didn’t want to meet them at all. ibid. Mia