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KEY POINTS: "Kathleen Folbigg spent 20 years in jail over the deaths of her four children. She was pardoned and released on Monday. Her lawyer described her release as a "huge moment in really long and painful journey".
GIST: "After 20 years in jail, Kathleen Folbigg says she is "extremely grateful", thanking friends and supporters in her first public statement.
Folbigg, who was convicted in 2003 over the deaths of her four children, was pardoned and released on Monday after an inquiry found there was reasonable doubt about her guilt.
"I am extremely humbled and extremely grateful for being pardoned and released from prison," she said in a video on Tuesday.
"My eternal gratitude goes to my friends and family, especially Tracy (Chapman) and all of her family, and I would not have survived this whole ordeal without them."
Folbigg described her release as a "victory for science".
"Today is a victory for science, and especially truth, and for the last 20 years I have been in prison, I have forever and will always think of my children, grieve for my children, and have missed them and loved them terribly."
New scientific evidence submitted to a second inquiry into her convictions ultimately led to Folbigg being unconditionally pardoned and released from the Clarence Correctional Centre in Grafton on Monday.
Kathleen Folbigg pardoned and released from prison
Earlier on Tuesday, Ms Chapman told reporters Folbigg harboured no hatred about her treatment and was overjoyed by her sudden freedom.
"She slept in a real bed, had a cup of tea in a real crockery cup, real spoons to stir with ... that sounds basic to you all, but she's grateful," Ms Chapman said.
"She said it was the first time she's been able to sleep properly in 20 years."
Ms Chapman said Monday was "pandemonium" and received just 40 minutes' notice her lifelong friend was about to arrive at her northern NSW farm gate.
There was no time to cook the dinner of T-bone steak Folbigg had dreamed of for years in jail. Instead, the party of about 12 settled for pizza.
Folbigg did get one special request.
"She asked for a Kahlua and coke. It was a flashback to the last 20 years," Ms Chapman said, laughing.
Folbigg's lawyer Rhanee Rego said her client's story was an example of issues in the legal system.
"The state has done the unimaginable to Kathleen Folbigg, they have put her in prison when she lost her four children," Ms Rego said.
"This is a tragic story but Kathleen is an example of a broader problem in the system.
"If Australia really wants to make some good from a tragic story, they'll seriously consider reviewing the system of post-conviction review, the same system that took too long to get to today."
Tracy Chapman never gave up on her friend Kathleen Folbigg. Finally, after 20 yrs , Kath’s voice has been heard and has been granted a pardon. This picture taken moments after 2 best friends were reunited. It’s been a privilege to be involved with this.
The next hurdle for Folbigg's legal team is to get her convictions quashed in the Court of Criminal Appeal, followed by compensation.
"Ms Folbigg has two options, she can pursue civil action against the state, or an ex-gratia payment," Ms Rego said.
"She's trying to focus on taking one step in front of the other and not rushing into things."
Ms Rego said the team would not push Folbigg to do anything "until she's ready”.
Kathleen Folbigg pardoned and released from prison
"She has just been waiting to feel the grass on her feet, look at the sky, and watch a sunrise for the first time in 20 years," she said.
"And we won't be rushing her and pushing her to do anything she doesn't want to do, until she's ready."
Will Kathleen Folbigg receive compensation?
Just as Lindy Chamberlain adamantly protested her innocence, Folbigg always denied responsibility for the deaths of her children Caleb, Patrick, Sarah and Laura, who were all under the age of two when they died between 1989 and 1999.
She now faces the prospect of joining a select few in Australia including Ms Chamberlain awarded seven-figure sums in light of their wrongful convictions.
Robyn Blewer, director of the Griffith University Innocence Project, pointed to two recent cases to indicate how Folbigg could be compensated for her 7,300 days in jail.
West Australian man Scott Austic in May received $1.3 million on top of an earlier payment of $250,000 after serving nearly 13 years for murdering his pregnant secret lover.
He'd sought $8.5 million after being acquitted in 2020 on appeal.
Both payments were ex gratia, unlike David Eastman who was awarded $7 million in damages by the ACT Supreme Court in 2019.
Mr Eastman served almost 19 years over the 1989 shooting murder of federal police assistant commissioner Colin Winchester, only to be acquitted at a second trial.
"The difference is it was in ACT which has a human rights act and under that, there is an entitlement for compensation under human rights," Dr Blewer told AAP.
"Mr Eastman was then able to sue because there was a right to compensation.
"The court assessed his damages in the same way they would a tort ... the court went through every time he was injured."
Like Mr Austic, Ms Chamberlain was awarded an ex gratia or grace payment. The $1.3 million awarded in 1992 now equates to about $3 million.
Given NSW lacks a human rights act like that of the ACT, Folbigg will need specific legal advice about whether a civil claim is possible.
Dr Blewer said she could end up reliant on what the government was willing to pay.
"Twenty years is a substantial amount of time lost," she said.
"It might depend on the good grace of the NSW government."
Before that bridge can be crossed, Folbigg's lawyers will await the final report of former chief justice Tom Bathurst into her convictions.
An application to the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal to quash her convictions will likely follow."
The entire story can be read at:
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. 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 Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;
SEE BREAKDOWN OF SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG, AT THE LINK BELOW: HL:
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985
FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
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FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;
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YET ANOTHER FINAL WORD:
David Hammond, one of Broadwater’s attorneys who sought his exoneration, told the Syracuse Post-Standard, “Sprinkle some junk science onto a faulty identification, and it’s the perfect recipe for a wrongful conviction.”
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