Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Kathleen Folbigg; University of Newcastle Legal Centre joins the push for a judicial inquiry into her convictions for killing her four children; One of Australia's leading forensic science legal experts - Gary Edmond - says a review is called for because "Folbigg's case was tainted by unreliable, misleading and outdated medical evidence." The Newcastle Herald.


STORY: "Legal Centre in push for judicial inquiry,: Fight to free Folbigg," by reporter Joanne McCarthy, published by the Newcastle Herald on  October 25, 2013.

PHOTO CAPTION:  "Convicted child killer Kathleen Folbigg will seek a judicial inquiry into her case by late this year or early 2014 with the support of the University of Newcastle Legal Centre."

GIST:  "The  University of Newcastle Legal Centre will seek a judicial inquiry into Kathleen Folbigg’s convictions for killing her four children in a case that ‘‘may well have parallels with the Lindy Chamberlain case’’. The centre will lodge a submission with NSW Governor Marie Bashir and Attorney-General Greg Smith either late this year or early in 2014 seeking a judicial inquiry after ‘‘serious disquiet’’ over the 2003 convictions. The centre has acted for Folbigg since July. Director Shaun McCarthy, who has met with Folbigg in jail and communicated with her by letter, said it was ‘‘an appropriate case for the Legal Centre to be working on’’. ‘‘It’s restating our commitment to public interest advocacy,’’ he said. Folbigg was sentenced to 30 years’ jail for the manslaughter of her first child Caleb, 19 days, and the murder of Patrick, eight months, Sarah, 10 months, and Laura, 19 months, at Singleton between 1989 and 1999, but has always maintained her innocence......... Despite losing appeals including leave to appeal to the High Court, Folbigg’s questioning of her convictions gained support after a 2011 thesis by Australian academic lawyer Emma Cunliffe. She concluded Folbigg had been wrongly convicted of killing her children because of the lack of proof beyond reasonable doubt, and despite real expert disagreement at trial about the cause of death in each of the Folbigg children. One of Australia’s leading forensic science legal experts, Gary Edmond, supported a  review, saying Folbigg’s case was tainted by unreliable, misleading and outdated medical evidence.
Early this year Newcastle woman Helen Cummings confirmed she had appealed to Attorney-General Greg Smith about Folbigg’s case after visiting her in jail over a lengthy period."

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.theherald.com.au/story/1866540/legal-centre-in-push-for-judicial-inquiry/

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:

Dear Reader. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following this case.

I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located  near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.

The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:

http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith

Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:

http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html

I look forward to hearing from readers at:

hlevy15@gmail.com
 


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