When Justice Goes Wrong

When Justice Goes Wrong

In the early 1960s two young Perth men, John Button and Darryl Beamish, were wrongfully found guilty of crimes committed by notorious serial killer Eric Edgar Cooke. This exhibition examines their long path to exoneration in the early 2000s, specifically the evidence that proved instrumental for each man in overturning the conviction that has left lifelong psychological scars.

  • Watch footage of pedestrian crash testing, carried out in Perth in February 2000, by crash test specialist William ‘Rusty’ Haight, that was to provide compelling and convincing evidence of John Button’s innocence.
  • Read documents from Darryl Beamish’s case file, generously loaned by the Supreme Court of Western Australia, including a copy of the Reverend Jenkins’ statement of Eric Edgar Cooke’s final words before he was hanged in 1964, which were to confess to the crimes Beamish and Button had been incarcerated for.

Photo credits:

  • Darryl Beamish emerging from Court embraced by John Button after his exoneration, 1 April 2005. Courtesy Post Newspaper Group
  • Pedestrian crash testing at Claremont Showgrounds 9 February 2000, using a Simca vehicle like the one driven by John Button the night of Rosemary Anderson’s murder. Courtesy Bret Christian
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