Shirley McKie: The Price of Innocence

by Iain Mckie, Michael W. Russell

In a world obsessed with surveillance and where fingerprinting and DNA testing are routine, what happened to Shirley McKie could happen to anyone. Policewoman Shirley McKie's decade-long fight for justice led to her trial for perjury, the loss of her job and brought her to the edge of suicide. Her crime? To refuse to accept the misidentification of her fingerprint, allegedly found at a murder scene she should not have entered. But because she spoke the truth Shirley McKie was persecuted for years by senior police officers, ex-colleagues, forensics experts, politicians and government ministers. Described as 'one of the worst miscarriages of justice in a generation', her case eventually left the reputation of the Scottish criminal justice system in tatters. As the issues reverberated around the world, apparent links were revealed to other cases including the Lockerbie bombing, and Shirley's case was even raised at the Michael Jackson trial. In telling the full story for the first time, this book uncovers new information about the brutal murder of spinster Marion Ross, offers wide-ranging evidence of official incompetence and dishonesty, and suggests a conspiracy which might have sent an innocent man to prison for life. This authorized account, introduced by Shirley herself, has been written by her father Iain—her strongest supporter during her fight for justice—and author and broadcaster Michael Russell, who has campaigned alongside the McKie family for over seven years.

208 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2007

Reviews

[Mr Allan Goldie · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a retired police officer I always remember this case. I needed to read this book so that I could figure out what the truth was relative to her fingerprints found in the locus. She was certainly given a hard time over her denial she had been in the locus. She certainly was not logged as entering…..however I know that can happen even though it is not right. The SCRO at the time were clear on their identification. The international experts who said the identification was wrong were trusted experts. To be honest…..it left me unsure of the exact truth. I acknowledge one side and also the other side….so in some way I’m sitting on the fence. The certainty is that she fought this strongly over a number of years with her father. She received a pay out which in some way makes me wonder about the strength of the SCRO stance on this. As I knew in my time in Service….mistakes can happen….and sometimes the full truth never comes out……and certain situations can be covered up. So I just wonder where truth is……and I leave it there. It is a good read though from my past police perspective.

[Vicki Orr · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Crown Office don't like to admit they have made a mistake. Great read!