PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Kathleen Folbigg wants her convictions for killing her four children overturned. Folbigg was convicted in 2003 and ordered to serve a minimum 25-year sentence for the suffocation murders of three of her children and manslaughter of a fourth. The children, Caleb, Patrick, Sarah and Laura, died between 1989 and 1999 at ages ranging from 19 days to 18 months. But Bathurst found Patrick’s death was likely caused by a neurogenetic disorder rather than suffocation, while there were also plausible explanations for the deaths of Sarah and Laura. “Although no identifiable cause of Caleb’s death was identified (the other evidence means) that in his case the reasonable possibility that he died of unknown natural causes has not been excluded,” he said. Folbigg was released after the inquiry heard there was credible evidence her children could have died from natural causes and the director of public prosecutions accepted there was reasonable doubt about her guilt."
STORY: "Kathleen Folbigg could have convictions for killing her four children officially overturned," by Australian Associated Press, published on October 8, 2023.
SUB-HEADING: "The final report from an inquiry into the deaths of Folbigg’s children found there was an ‘identifiable cause’ for three of the deaths."
GIST: "An appeals court will be asked to consider overturning Kathleen Folbigg’s convictions for killing her four children after an inquiry found there was reasonable doubt of her guilt.
Folbigg received an unconditional pardon in June and was released from jail after a New South Wales inquiry heard new scientific evidence indicated she might not be responsible for her children’s deaths.
In his final report, released on Wednesday, the inquiry commissioner, Tom Bathurst, found there was as an “identifiable cause” for three of the deaths and Folbigg’s relationship with her children did not support the case that she killed them.
The former NSW chief justice added that the mother’s diary entries – controversially used during her trial to help secure her conviction – did not contain reliable admissions of guilt.
Kathleen Folbigg wants her convictions for killing her four children overturned.
Folbigg was convicted in 2003 and ordered to serve a minimum 25-year sentence for the suffocation murders of three of her children and manslaughter of a fourth.
The children, Caleb, Patrick, Sarah and Laura, died between 1989 and 1999 at ages ranging from 19 days to 18 months.
But Bathurst found Patrick’s death was likely caused by a neurogenetic disorder rather than suffocation, while there were also plausible explanations for the deaths of Sarah and Laura.
“Although no identifiable cause of Caleb’s death was identified (the other evidence means) that in his case the reasonable possibility that he died of unknown natural causes has not been excluded,” he said.
Folbigg was released after the inquiry heard there was credible evidence her children could have died from natural causes and the director of public prosecutions accepted there was reasonable doubt about her guilt.
The NSW attorney general, Michael Daley, in June said he accepted that preliminary finding and had recommended the governor, Margaret Beazley, grant the 55-year-old an unconditional pardon.
Bathurst said he had agreed to a request from Folbigg to refer her case and his report to the NSW court of criminal appeal to consider quashing her convictions.
Her lawyer, Rhanee Rego, previously said the next step after her release would be to have her convictions overturned, followed by compensation from the state."
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/120008354894645705/47049136857587929
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.”
https://deadline.com/2021/11/alice-sebold-lucky-rape-conviction-overturned-anthony-broadwater-123488014\
