'ACID MURDERER' SEEKS TO REDRESS BIASED CRIMINAL REPORTING

Andrew Gardner, who was acquitted of murdering his girlfriend in 2000, has condemned the biased court reporting in the British media that has ruined his life and threatens the futures of other innocent victims. During the trial Gardner was dubbed the 'acid murderer by the press.

'ACID MURDERER SEEKS TO REDRESS BIASED CRIMINAL REPORTING
Andrew Gardner talks of beatings, prison wardens and endemic drug use in prisons

Andrew Gardner, who was acquitted of murdering his girlfriend in 2000, has condemned the biased court reporting in the British media that has ruined his life and threatens the futures of other innocent victims. During the trial Gardner was dubbed the 'acid murderer by the press. Even after his acquittal coverage took the stance of him 'getting away with murder.

Gardner maintains that his girlfriend, Karenina Longe, having been brought up as a strict Quaker, committed suicide by drinking drain-clearing fluid during her medical exams and being traumatised and depressed having undergone an abortion. Gardner, a committed family man who took custody of his children following the break-up of his first marriage twenty years ago, was against the termination.

Although Longe remained lucid in the ambulance, talking to paramedics and doctors on arrival at hospital, at no point did she accuse her boyfriend.

The pathologist who had changed his evidence four times after visits from the police, had his findings destroyed in court. It was proved impossible to trick" someone into drinking the liquid in a lethal cocktail", as was claimed. When mixed, the fluid causes a violent chemical reaction, heating to scorching temperature and emitting noxious fumes. Had Gardner forced his girlfriend to consume the liquid, there would have been burn marks to her clothes and around her mouth.

A qualified medical technician, Gardner is now unable to find work in the Health Service. He is seeking to restore his reputation, for the sake of his children who received a torrid time at school as a result of the biased reporting. Gardners son, now aged 18, was held for questioning by police for two days at the time of arrest.

As with the case of the recent child murders, many of the tabloids -- whose reports are then featured on TV and radio -- are prepared to try, convict and then call for a capital sentence before hearing any evidence, with no concern for prejudicing any subsequent trial.

Anyone reading the court reports of Gardners trail could not be help to believe in his guilt. This is because many of the accounts only reported the prosecuting barristers lurid accusations, then gave scant regard, if any, to the defence lawyers account which clearly discredited those claims.

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Similarly, in the case of professional footballers who were recently acquitted of serious offences in a London nightclub, the media sensationalised the prosecutors claims and witnesss evidence. Headlines such as 'my face exploded in blood, belied the fact that no stitches were required to treat the resultant abrasion.

Gardner has called for the Press Complaints Commission to insist that, in the interest of justice, equal coverage be given to both the defence and the prosecution cases.

Under police interrogation, Gardner reports of an out-of-body experience" in reverse as he experienced what he believes was his soul (unable to cope with the situation) leave his body and watch the questioning from across the table.

Whilst in remand in Winson Green Prison, widely believed to be one of the worst gaols in Europe, Gardner speaks of appalling conditions. The Dickensian conditions have been described as a disgrace" by Judge Ramsbottom. Upon arrival Gardner was stripped and left naked in a bare cell with nothing but a concrete bed. It was four months before he was allowed any reading material.

He also recalls the agonising screams of prisoners being beaten in the middle of the night and of one prisoner who died in what he believes to be suspicious circumstances. Gardner says that much of the violence is attributable to widespread drunkenness by prison staff at weekends. As a category 'A prisoner however, Gardner was 'untouchable during his trial but believes had he been found guilty he would have been murdered in prison, because of the way the media handled the case.

Gardner, who was held on remand for over eight months, claims that a grass" was put in to share a cell in the hope of a cell confession, which for the guilty are said to be cathartic as telling the Pope.

Gardner also said that drug abuse, despite claims of random testing, is widely condoned in prison, because prisoners need little supervision whilst in a state of stupor. He describes the two-hour process endured by prison visitors as a sham", with only a token amount of drugs being seized about once every two weeks. He says that the vast majority of visitors smuggle in drugs. Although visitors, many of whom travel for many hours (in Gardeners mothers case all the way from Zimbabwe) only to have their visits limited to a few minutes by obstructive warders.

Contacts: George Shaw, Shaw PR T: 020 7226 9177 M: 07860 695555 E: geo@joshaw.co.uk