‘Not Mercy, Justice’

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31322, 18 March 1967, Page 3

‘Not Mercy, Justice ’

Mr K. Ryan, in his final address, said Davis did not ask for mercy; all she wanted was justice.

He asked the jury to recall the evidence of Sister Petley’s foster sister, Mrs Taylor. The defence did not suggest that Sister Petley was a monster. He considered Sister Petley was a good woman and an efficient nurse, but unfortunately she suffered from a psychiatric disorder which caused her in moments of stress to become a hunting lesbian. Hidden Side

This was a side to her character which her sister did not know. An instance of this was Mrs Taylor’s evidence that Sister Petley did not take tablets. The defence accepted that Sister Petley did not take drugs in her normal life, but what Mrs Taylor did not know was that her foster sister had 11 types of drugs in her room. He recalled the evidence of Matron Traill, who said that Davis’s posting to Wigram had been ordered about October 26 and that Davis was not happy about this.

“1 don’t know whether the motive suggested here is that she (Davis) murdered Sister Petley because she was being posted away,” Mr Ryan said. “This was one of the reasons the accused went into the witness box. She had, unbeknown to Matron Traill and the Air Force authorities, a little boy in Christchurch and that child was with her sister.” The father of the child was at that time living in Burnham Military Camp and Davis was concerned that if she went to Wigram she would see him once more.

Mr Ryan submitted that Davis’s reaction to her posting to Wigram in these circumstances was that she would naturally be unhappy and would explain to some extent the stresses that were in her mind during October and November. Witness’s Answers Mr Ryan said the Crown relied very strongly on the evidence of Sister Phipps. “She was cross-examined at some length and what did we find out?” asked Mr Ryan. “On 19 occasions in crossexamination Sister Phipps replied, *1 can’t remember’.” Sister Phipps could not re-

call that she had been in the company of Sister Petley for some considerable time in September last year, but this was revealed to the jury in letters which had been produced.

He asked the jury to consider why on the morning Sister Petley was found dead Sister Phipps forgot that only a few hours before, she had been at the window of the room and that it had been open. Sister Phipps had said she heard thumps and scuffling noises coming from the room and a desperate high-pitched voice calling for help. Other Version But her escort, Gillingham, did not say in evidence that he heard scufflings and thumpings, and he referred in his evidence to a low voice repeating, “Help me. help me.” The Crown's evidence even between Sister Phipps and Gillingham differed. The Crown alleged that Davis had left Sister Petley’s room after committing murder, but no evidence had been brought of fingerprints found on that window. Ifi Davis had got out of that | window, as she is alleged to have done, she would have left fingerprints all over it Mr Ryan said Davis’s automatism was put to the jury to explain the stresses and strains on her brain when| she saw the cut on Petley. In her evidence she remembered everything up to that point; what happened after was not really important if the jury came to the conclusion that this was a left-handed suicidal cut. Accused’s Struggle She could not answer all the questions put to her because she could not remember. She was struggling with her mind to remember what I happened after the cut. I “This case falls short ofi proof beyond all doubt that, Davis did inflict this cut on I Sister Petley,” he said. Without the evidence oft Sister Phipps and Gillingham the Crown had no case that the wound could not have been self-inflicted. Davis was entitled to a not guilty verdict.

Mr Justice Moller will sum up to the jury of nine men and three women on Monday morning.