The Australian Academy of Science has called for the establishment of independent post-conviction review bodies in Australia in response to the case of Kathleen Folbigg, who was convicted in 2003 of the murder of three of her children and the manslaughter of her firstborn son.
The inquiry into the convictions, led by former NSW chief justice Tom Bathurst, concluded hearing evidence last month and will receive written submissions from affected parties such as Folbigg, the NSW Director of Public Prosecutions and others within weeks.
The academy sought and was granted leave to appear at the inquiry to make submissions on issues including appropriate experts to give evidence. It will not suggest to Bathurst what findings he should make.
If Bathurst finds reasonable doubt about Folbigg’s convictions, “it will make the Lindy Chamberlain case pale into insignificance”, said Anna-Maria Arabia, the CEO of the Australian Academy of Science.
Lindy Chamberlain was convicted in 1982 of murdering her infant daughter Azaria and spent three years in prison before being pardoned in 1987 after a royal commission examined new evidence.
Folbigg’s childhood friend Tracy Chapman said that “sometimes the system doesn’t work, and we need mechanisms like the Criminal Cases Review Commission” to examine cases at arm’s length. Chapman believed the establishment of such a body would be the legacy of the Folbigg case.
Under the NSW system, people who believe they have been wrongly convicted but have lost appeals may petition the Governor for a review or pardon, or apply to the Supreme Court for an inquiry.
The Governor acts on advice from the Attorney-General and may direct an inquiry be set up, as occurred in the Folbigg case following a May 2021 petition for a pardon.
Scientific evidence has played a key role in high-profile inquiries into convictions in Australia, such as the Chamberlain case and the case of Douglas Harry Rendell, convicted in 1980 of the shooting murder of his partner Yvonne Kendall, who was pardoned in July 1989 after an inquiry concluded his conviction was unsafe.
Alexander McLeod-Lindsay spent nine years in prison after being convicted in 1965 of the attempted murder of his then-wife, Pamela, who was found bashed in their home. He was pardoned in 1992 and his conviction was formally quashed in 1994.
»Kathleen Folbigg’s convictions over the deaths of her four children revisited«
↯↯↯Read More On The Topic On TDPel Media ↯↯↯