About the Campaign
Would you like to support a good cause? Ambrose Clarke is appealing against his wrongful conviction.
The father of six was originally charged with the murder of his ex-business partner, Peter Davis, whom he had not seen for over two years prior to May 2011. At the first trial, the jury was told Ambrose had badly assaulted and “done something” to deprive Mr Davis of oxygen, causing severe permanent brain damage, then placed him still alive but unconscious in the back of Mr Davis’ own car, wrapped in plastic; which eventually, after more than 6 hours, resulted in his death.
At the first Appeal, the judges heard that the State Neuropathologist mislead the court; Mr Davis was not deprived of oxygen, did not suffer any brain damage, but rather had died suddenly due to heart failure. The court found that Mr Davis had severe pre-existing heart disease. Several national and international medical experts confirmed these findings.
After winning his Appeal, a retrial was called in order to settle other pieces of evidence that had not been dealt with during the Appeal [CLICK HERE for more details]. The new jury even heard from medical, DNA, telecommunications and other experts not heard in the first trial, which favoured the Clarke brothers’ innocence. The defence showed that police had other lines of investigation in which other suspects, with known serious criminal activities, had been dropped because they had no relevant connection to Ambrose Clarke at the time of the suspicious death. Police witnesses that had not been called to the stand by the prosecution because their evidence contradicted the prosecution’s narrative, had to be called by the defence. The judge spent 2 days giving clear directions to the jury, stating the importance of the presumption of innocence, the fact that they could only convict the accused if they had been satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the prosecution’s case was the only explanation open to them on all the evidence – he even went as far as mentioning the other reasonable explanations given by the experts and other witnesses supporting the defence case.
After the 17 weeks trial involving very complex scientific and forensic evidence, in less than 9 hours the randomly selected lay jury members came back with a guilty verdict. It seemed like the jury had disregarded completely all the experts and all the directions given by the judge, but had only listened to the dramatic words ushered by the prosecutor.[For more information on the case please CLICK HERE]
Outside the court, the family promised to fight on and to Appeal the wrongful conviction yet again. The entire court drama has cost the family and their supporters millions of dollars. Ambrose Clarke’s family has asked for our support. Your contribution will make an impact, whether you donate a lot or a little. Anything helps. Thank you for your support. The money will be used to help fund legal and paralegal expenses.
All donations are Tax deductible since the Miscarriage of Justice Support Fund Inc. is a registered charity endorsed by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) as a Deductible Gift Recipient under Subdivision 30-BA of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997. MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE SUPPORT FUND INC. ABN 35 949 140 465; ATO Endorsement Date 30 October 2018.