Friday, November 25, 2016

Susan Neill-Fraser case: Major Development: Bulletin: In a surprise move - in a case which has been paralleled with the notorious wrongful conviction and imprisonment of Lindy Chamberlain, famous for telling police a dingo had stolen her 10-week-old baby Azaria from a tent in Central Australia in 1980 - a judge has accelerated her appeal to March, 1917, reports "ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)"..."Pressure for an inquiry into the case came from Tasmanian federal independent politician Andrew Wilkie and QC Robert Richter, who in 2013 wrote to Attorney-General Brian Wightman claiming key witnesses and documents were not drawn to the jury's attention.Mr Richter likened the case to that of Lindy Chamberlain, whose conviction for murdering daughter Azaria at Uluru was quashed. "There's no dingo, but there's significant DNA and other evidentiary material to require answers which are not circumscribed by the adversarial and limited appellate processes," Mr Richter told documentary filmmakers. Attorney-General Wightman rejected Mr Richter's call and said if Neill-Fraser had new evidence she should take it to the courts. She will get that chance in March, 2017."


PUBLISHER'S NOTE: The past two weeks have been marked by a mind-blogging series of 'Major Developments; in cases this Blog has been following. First, in Louisiana,  Rodricus Crawford won his appeal on first degree murder charge in the death of his son Roderius, and was freed on bond, while prosecutors determine if they will proceed with a  new trial. Second, Kirstin Lobato,  Nevada, won a reversal of a lower court decision denying her appeal. The door has been opened for her for an evidentiary hearing before a new judge which will  consider grounds relating to  forensic evidence,   police and prosecutor misconduct issues, and issues involving ineffective assistance of counsel. Third, the San Antonio Four, Elizabeth Ramirez, Cassandra Rivera, Kristie Mayhugh and Anna Vasquez, (Texas) were declared innocent and exonerated. And now,  in a surprise move, Susan Neill-Fraser's has had a date set for her appeal made possible under Tasmania's new right-to-appeal legislation. Quite a fortnight! 

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog,

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http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2016-11-25/bob-chappell-convicted-killer-susan-neill-fraser-appeal-date-set/8056718?pfmredir=sm