Heroin highway jury: defence says police compilation is an embarrassment to the prosecution

The way the police handled the case is an embarrassment for the prosecution, the defense said as it began its submission in the case of Herman McKay, 34, who was accused of spreading half a kilo of heroin in the street in 2007.

The defense attacked the testimony of Inspector Pierre Grech who said that although he was involved in the case, he did not go on site and did not see the evidence produced.

Read also: Heroin highway jury: defence questions validity of court experts’ testimony

Defence lawyer Franco Debono described the prosecution as being in a state of ‘confusion’ and ‘inconsistency’, explaining that the presumption of innocence in criminal trials is “one of the pediments of democracy in the West,”

“The accused’s life is in your hands,” he told the jury.

Furthermore, the defense pointed out that there was no DNA evidence and that the process of the substance being elevated was not photographed.

“Compilation of evidence is very important. How can it be that the police did not ‘compile’ everything?” the defence said. “It is a logical contradiction. The purpose of the compilation is to gather all the evidence.”

Read also: Heroin highway jury: defence questions arresting police officer's testimony

The testimony of forensic expert Mario Mifsud was challenged once again for presenting a conclusion without presenting the raw data which it is based on.

For this reason, the defense asked the jury to ignore the testimonies of the witnesses due to a severe lack of evidence.

The jury continues.

Lawyers Elaine Mercieca and Justine Cilia from the office of the Attorney General are leading the prosecution.

Lawyers Franco Debono and Mario Camilleri are defence counsel.