Sue
Neill-Fraser’s lawyers will head to court today in a second attempt to
show they “have fresh and compelling evidence” about what they claim is
her wrongful conviction for murder. "In what has become one
of Tasmania’s most high profile and polarising legal cases, Neill-Fraser
was jailed over the 2009 murder of her partner Bob Chappell. The body of Mr Chappell, who was last seen aboard their yacht on the River Derwent on Australia Day 2009, has never been found. Successive
attempts, including an appeal and a High Court bid, have failed to see
Neill-Fraser freed from the Mary Hutchinson Women’s Prison, where she is
serving 21 years. But another avenue for freedom opened up last year when new right-to-appeal laws were introduced. The
legislation allows the Court of Criminal Appeal to order an acquittal
or retrial if a convicted person can show “fresh and compelling
evidence” and a substantial miscarriage of justice has occurred.. In
April, Neill-Fraser’s lawyers were given a spray by Director of Public
Prosecutions Daryl Coates SC, who said their submission was full of
inadmissable material.........Ms Etter has told the Mercury she hopes the documents would result in a landmark appeal going ahead. Papers
lodged by Ms Etter earlier this year identified three other people the
defence said could have killed Mr Chappell, including a contract
killer, a man living in a car on the Sandy Bay foreshore at the time and
a person apparently implicated by DNA evidence."
Monday, November 7, 2016
Sue Neill-Fraser: Tasmania; Bulletin; Hearing today: Her lawyers will head to court today in a second attempt to show they “have fresh and compelling evidence” about what they claim is her wrongful conviction for murder...The body of Mr Chappell, who was last seen aboard their yacht on the River Derwent on Australia Day 2009, has never been found. Successive attempts, including an appeal and a High Court bid, have failed to see Neill-Fraser freed from the Mary Hutchinson Women’s Prison, where she is serving 21 years. But another avenue for freedom opened up last year when new right-to-appeal laws were introduced. The legislation allows the Court of Criminal Appeal to order an acquittal or retrial if a convicted person can show “fresh and compelling evidence” and a substantial miscarriage of justice has occurred."... "In April, Neill-Fraser’s lawyers were given a spray by Director of Public Prosecutions Daryl Coates SC, who said their submission was full of inadmissable material. “It is not up to us to magically work out what their case is from hundreds of pages of irrelevant material,” Mr Coates said. Justice Shan Tennent agreed with the DPP adjourning the case for three months so Neill-Fraser could get her case in order. Since then her lawyer, Barbara Etter, has filed an updated brief of evidence with the court. Ms Etter has told the Mercury she hopes the documents would result in a landmark appeal going ahead. Papers lodged by Ms Etter earlier this year identified three other people the defence said could have killed Mr Chappell, including a contract killer, a man living in a car on the Sandy Bay foreshore at the time and a person apparently implicated by DNA evidence." The Mercury; November 6, 2016.
