that he murdered Rebecca Middleton, we called for an inquiry into the handling of the case.

Today, we repeat the call. Regardless of the time that has lapsed since 17-year-old Rebecca's brutal murder in Ferry Reach Park in 1996, an inquiry remains the only course open.

Today, Justis Smith is a free man. Some people will feel, given the handling of the case and the nature of the circumstantial evidence against him, that that is the right decision. Others, given the nature of the evidence, will feel that justice in this case has not been served.

The Privy Council decision in this case is ambiguous and the judge concerned with the case came in for harsh criticism. Indeed, the Privy Council found it "astonishing'' and "surprising'' that Puisne Judge Vincent Meerabux felt there was insufficient circumstantial evidence to place Mr. Smith at the scene of the crime. Nonetheless, Bermuda's highest court ruled that on legal grounds, there could be no appeal.

That paves the way for an inquiry into this case in which nothing seemed to go right for the prosecution.

A deal was made with one of the suspects, who later turned out, based on DNA evidence which only came to light months later, to have had a far greater role than he testified to at the time. That negated his evidence against Mr. Smith and drastically weakened the Crown's case.

A year ago, we said: "This case has damaged the reputation of Bermuda's criminal justice system. That one of the most important cases of the decade should collapse like this shows that there were major problems in how this case was handled by the Police and the Attorney General's Chambers.'' That holds as true today as it did then. Without an inquiry, the public cannot know what happened or what steps have been taken to ensure it is not repeated.

Those responsible for the collapse of the case must be held accountable.

This is essential for the Middleton family, whose grief over the death of their daughter must be as unrelieved today as it was in 1996. They may never know now who was responsible for Rebecca's murder, but they are entitled to know who was responsible for bungling the case.

In today's newspaper, Mr. Middleton asks important questions about the Island's criminal justice system, including how it was that Kirk Mundy, who received a five year sentence for his role in the crime, was on bail for armed robbery at the time of the murder, why any agreement was made before DNA testing was completed and how it is that the final result of this trial is one person serving a five-year sentence in prison.

For the sake of the Middletons and for the sake of the restoration of the reputation of Bermuda's criminal justice system, an inquiry must be held now.