What’s two months of wrongful imprisonment worth in Sydney, Australia? Apparently nothing. But, attribute it to police negligence and suddenly it’s worth, well, also nothing. John Cran, the wrongfully imprisoned of the story, is miffed.

Cran’s tale began when police picked him up carrying 128 squares of paper that they believed were tabs of blotter. Cran told them they were mistaken. No LSD here. They charged him anyway and locked him up at the Silverwater Remand Centre, where he sat for two months awaiting trial and repeatedly being assaulted by other inmates. When his case was heard, prosecutors revealed that lab results of the paper squares determined they were indeed only paper squares. Cran sued for negligence in not having the papers tested prior to filing charges.

Sydney District Court Judge Anthony Puckeridge ruled that police were not liable for such oversights, though he did suggest Cran could try filing for not being protected while in custody. :

» Scott Saxon