A killer who spent 13 years behind bars over a fatal party brawl has protested his innocence and called for his conviction to be overturned.
Khalid Baker, 32, recently walked free from prison for the 2005 murder of 22-year-old Albert Snowball.
Snowball fell through a window to his death when an all-in brawl erupted at a Melbourne dance party.
Baker was found guilty of murder, but has always maintained his innocence.
Despite recently walking free, Baker wants his conviction overturned to move on with his life.
‘I served 13 years for something I didn’t do. Yes, I’m out now but I want to clear my name,’ he told 60 Minutes.
A jury found Khalid Baker guilty of Albert Snowball’s murder during an all-in brawl at a Melbourne dance party in 2005. Pictured: back on the scene of the crime
Albert Snowball, 22, fell through a window to his death during the dance party in Brunswick, Melbourne. Khalid Baker was convicted of the murder, despite his friend confessing to the crime
A campaign is gaining momentum with a petition for judicial mercy raised with the Victorian Attorney-General.
‘When you know you’re innocent, you will fight to the day you die,’ he said.
Baker’s childhood friend LM – who cannot be identified for legal reasons – admitted in his very first police interview that he was the last person to touch Snowball before he died.
To this day, LM’s story hasn’t changed. He made it clear to police from the beginning that Baker wasn’t even on the stair’s landing where the fatal fight happened.
Another two witnesses backed up LM’s version of events.
‘I feel responsible for it, definitely. I was the last person that was fighting him,’ LM told the television program.
‘It was an accident, we were just kids. It was not murder.
‘I am saying Khalid wasn’t there when me and Snowball were fighting, but yet they won’t believe that.’
Despite recently walking free, Baker wants his conviction overturned to clear his name and move on with his life
Lawyer Michele Ruyters, who has spent thousands of hours reviewing the case, believes Baker’s conviction in most part came down to his race
Despite both men being charged with Snowball’s murder, a jury found LM not guilty and convicted Baker; sending him to jail for 17 years with a non parole of 12 years.
Due to laws at the time, LM’s confession didn’t prove Baker’s innocence as he made the admission outside of court.
Michele Ruyters from the Innocence Initiative at RMIT University submitted Baker’s petition, and believes his case is simple.
‘It’s an extraordinary miscarriage of justice. There’s absolutely no doubt Khalid Baker is innocent.’
Ms Rutyers and her team have spent thousand of hours working on his case and going over evidence with a fine-toothed comb.
Because there was no forensic evidence of the murder, the jury had to rely on witness’ hazy memories of the night.
Now a talented boxer, Khalid Baker (right) is waiting for a decision from the attorney general to grant his petition for mercy and refer his case to the Court of Appeal
But no two accounts were the same, and no one saw Snowball being pushed through the window.
‘There are a whole lot of inconsistencies between what they say, and that’s understandable because it was an intense moment in a really short period of time,’ she said.
Ms Rutyers believes Baker’s conviction in most part came down to his race.
‘The prosecution pretty much said this themselves, they said this is a case of black versus white,’ Ms Rutyers said.
‘I have no other option but to say I think [the jury] chose to believe the white witnesses.
Because there was no forensic evidence from the murder, the jury had to rely on witness’ hazy memories of the night, and ultimately found Khalid Baker guilty
‘The white witnesses who were on the landing largely identified Khalid as the person who pushed Albert Snowball. The black witnesses said that Khalid did not get onto the landing and supported a case where LM was responsible for pushing Snowball.
Ms Rutyers said she believes the jury found the white witnesses more credible than the black witnesses.
Baker agrees that race was a factor behind the jury pointing the finger at him.
‘They couldn’t tell who was who, it was just black guys who all looked the same. That’s what I believe,’ he said.
During the 2008 trial, LM asked if he could plead guilty to manslaughter. But the prosecution would only allow him to if Baker pleaded guilty as well.
But Baker refused to plead guilty to manslaughter.
‘I would never plead guilty. I haven’t done nothing wrong, I’m not going to plead guilty for something I didn’t do,’ he said.
His family fears he will never truly be free until his name is cleared and his conviction overturned.
‘He’s on the outside but he still has the title of a convicted murderer so he’s not free,’ his sister Muna said.
‘So he’s not free, he’s on parole. He’s 100 per cent tainted by that because it’s on his record.
‘It affects everything, it affects every aspect of his life.’
Baker is waiting for a decision from the attorney general to grant his petition for mercy and refer his case to the Court of Appeal.
Baker and his family fear he will never truly be free until his name is cleared and his conviction overturned. Pictured with media personality Eddie McGuire