The Herald
July 2 2003

The Ellis case
Letter to the Editor
by Sandra Coney, (Viaduct Harbour)

Your editorial was right to point out that unlike the several court cases which have subjected the defence case of Peter Ellis to intense objective scrutiny, the campaign claiming his innocence has had no such testing.

I have been mystified as to how Lynley Hood's book "A City Possessed" has come to be seen as the key argument for Ellis' innocence.

The book is highly manipulative in its use of material. Attention to the referencing for this book reveals a lamentable lack of rigour in the support which Hood provides for her thesis. For instance, the reference given for one sweeping generalisation about the women's movement is "Broadsheet 1975 - 1985".

As the principal editor of Broadsheet from 1972 -84, I had a policy of publishing a wide range of views. Hood uses only those views that suit her case and ignores the others.

I wonder if Hood or other Ellis supporters spare a thought for the children abused by Ellis who are growing to adulthood in a climate in which their experience is constantly denied in the media. This has been going for 10 years now, which is a long time in a child's life.

It should stop.