"Ms Folbigg's current lawyer Rhanee Rego thanked a collective of legal and scientific experts, "all of whom contributed to the understanding of how Caleb, Patrick, Sarah and Laura died". She said Ms Folbigg's time in jail should be analysed, and was a reflection of a "broader issue" in the legal system. "If we really want to make some good and something to come from this tragedy, New South Wales will evaluate critically their system of post-conviction review," Ms Rego said. "And Australia will consider moving to an independent body for review such as a Criminal Case Review Commission like those established elsewhere in the world." A spokesperson for the NSW Attorney-General Michael Daley said no Australian jurisdiction has established a commission of the sorts, but that NSW legislation provides an "avenue for ad hoc inquiries with similar functions and powers". "The attorney-general has previously indicated that he is open to considering the issue," they said."
STORY: "Kathleen Folbigg has convictions for killing her four children overturned, by Reporters Penny Timms, Millie Roberts and Giselle Wakatama, published by ABC News, on December 13, 2023.
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Key points:
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Kathleen Folbigg had convictions of three counts of murder and one of manslaughter quashed -
Chief Justice Andrew Bell said there was reasonable doubt as to Ms Folbigg's guilt -
Ms Folbigg said she had "hoped and prayed" to be able to clear her name
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GIST: "Kathleen Folbigg, once labelled the nation's worst female serial killer, has had the convictions for killing her four children quashed by the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal.
Now 56, Ms Folbigg spent 20 years in prison after being found guilty of causing the deaths of Caleb, Patrick, Sarah and Laura Folbigg.
They were just babies or toddlers when they died between the years of 1989 and 1999 in the Hunter region.
She has always maintained her innocence but was convicted at trial of three counts of murder and one of manslaughter.
It comes after a landmark Special Commission of Inquiry found reasonable doubt over her guilt due to the emergence of new medical evidence, leading to her being pardoned by the NSW attorney-general.Part of the new evidence included the possibility that natural causes may have played roles in at least some of her children's deaths.
Speaking outside court on Thursday, Ms Folbigg said she should never have been jailed and "the system preferred to blame me rather than accept that sometimes children can and do die suddenly, unexpectedly". "I hoped and prayed that one day I would be able to stand here with my name cleared," she said. "I hope that no-one else will ever have to suffer what I suffered. "I am grateful that updated science and genetics has given me answers as to how our children died. "However, even in 1999, we had legal answers to prove my innocence. They were ignored and dismissed.”
Court backs inquiry's findings
Chief Justice Andrew Bell read the judgement to the court and said the three appeal judges reviewed the report by retired chief justice Tom Bathurst and came to the same conclusion that there was reasonable doubt as to Ms Folbigg's guilt.
"First and most significantly, the 'substantial and extensive body of new scientific evidence' … diminished any probative force of what had been relied on at the original trial as powerful coincidence and tendency evidence," he told the court.
The inquiry also heard that it would be unreliable to rely on Ms Folbigg's diary entries as admissions of guilt.
"It may readily be understood how certain entries, viewed in isolation, had a powerful influence on the original jury in a manner adverse to Ms Folbigg," he said.
"Viewed in their full context, however, as they must be, and informed by the expert psychological and psychiatric expert evidence referred to extensively in the report and which was not before the jury, we agree with Mr Bathurst's conclusion that the diary entries were not reliable admissions of guilt. Experts who have since analysed them for the first time told the judicial inquiry they were the expressions of a depressed and grieving mother.
After the inquiry headed by retired chief Justice Bathurst, her case was referred to the Court of Criminal Appeal to rule on whether her convictions should be quashed.
The referral of her matter to the court was welcomed by the Australian Academy of Science, which had been vocal about the need for a more scientific approach to cases.
Last month, the academy issued a written statement calling for 'a more science-sensitive legal system in every Australian jurisdiction so that miscarriages of justice are not repeated.'
"We look forward to working with attorneys-generals across Australia to bring about law reform to create more science-sensitive legal systems," the academy's chief executive, Anna-Maria Arabia, said at the time.
Reactions from support network
Brian Doyle was Ms Folbigg's first legal representative, and watched the verdict via live stream from the Hunter region.
"It's been a long time ... justice for Kathleen Folbigg but she had to do 20 years in jail to reach this stage," he said.
"I just don't know how anybody can get their life together back to what it should have been before, after 20 years being locked up."
Ms Folbigg's current lawyer Rhanee Rego thanked a collective of legal and scientific experts, "all of whom contributed to the understanding of how Caleb, Patrick, Sarah and Laura died".
She said Ms Folbigg's time in jail should be analysed, and was a reflection of a "broader issue" in the legal system.
"If we really want to make some good and something to come from this tragedy, New South Wales will evaluate critically their system of post-conviction review," Ms Rego said.
"And Australia will consider moving to an independent body for review such as a Criminal Case Review Commission like those established elsewhere in the world."
A spokesperson for the NSW Attorney-General Michael Daley said no Australian jurisdiction has established a commission of the sorts, but that NSW legislation provides an "avenue for ad hoc inquiries with similar functions and powers".
"The attorney-general has previously indicated that he is open to considering the issue," they said.
Friend Tracy Chapman said a science-based and trauma-informed approach was needed in similar cases.
"I witnessed first-hand the extreme and lasting toll wrongful convictions can have on the person involved," she said.
Ms Rego said the legal team would pursue "substantial" compensation on behalf of Ms Folbigg.
"The government will carefully consider any submission that Ms Folbigg or her representatives put forward," Mr Daley's spokesperson said.
"After all that has happened over the last 20 years, it is impossible not to feel great sympathy for all involved.""
The entire story can be read at:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-12-14/kathleen-folbigg-court-of-criminal-appeal-charges/103224344
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;
—————————————————————————————————
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;
------------------------------------------------------------------
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://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-12-14/kathleen-folbigg-court-of-criminal-appeal-charges/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;
—————————————————————————————————
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;
------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
