Sue Neill-Fraser ‘much loved and respected’ by inmates

Posted on August 2, 2020 by andrew

Two former prison inmates attending the Hobart vigil held on Saturday August 1, 2020 to mark the 4,000 days Sue Neill-Fraser has spent in jail, were interviewed by the Hobart Mercury’s Sally Glaetzer and the story was headline news in the paper’s online edition later that day. Neill-Fraser, the story said, made pavlovas on prisoners’ birthdays and gave legal advice; she is “much loved and respected by her fellow prisoners”. Continue reading →

Posted in Case 01 Sue Neill-Fraser | 5 Comments

The Honourable List – in Australia

Posted on July 31, 2020 by andrew

Previously, we held up as examples some prosecutors and judges who had Honourably taken responsibility and apologised for mistakes and malpractice causing some innocents to suffer wrongful convictions. They were (almost) all in America; we couldn’t find any examples in Australia. But now we have – and one of them of no less stature than revered former High Court judge, The Honourable Michael Kirby AC CMG. Continue reading →

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The Honourable List – a start

Posted on July 30, 2020 by andrew

Doing the honourable thing by accepting responsibility for mistakes within the criminal justice system stands out as a novelty, it sometimes seems to us. So we want to recognise some of those who have done the honourable thing, apologising for mistakes and/or malpractice that sent people to prison. That’s a start – but The System must reduce the need to apologise. Reforms to The System would help, but The System is not reforming itself. Continue reading →

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How to fix Australia’s biggest legal scandal

Posted on July 29, 2020 by andrew

Andrew L. Urban.

It could be the start of a black joke: ‘have you heard the one about the chief forensic pathologist of a modern Australian state who was not qualified to do his job, was discredited by the legal establishment, yet he continued over decades to perform thousands of autopsies and the like, including 400 serious criminal cases….’ The people of Massachusetts might reply, ‘that’s not a scandal … THIS is a scandal…’  Continue reading →

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Was Joanne Lees’ hair tie a smoking gun?

Posted on July 28, 2020 by andrew

Andrew L. Urban.

In the wake of our July 21, 2020 story covering the CJZ produced Channel 7 documentary mini series, Murder in the Outback, in which Bradley Murdoch’s conviction for the murder of Peter Falconio was examined, several readers commented on the fact that the series didn’t mention the hair tie found on Murdoch’s holster – which some see as compelling evidence against Murdoch. It allegedly belonged to Falconio’s girlfriend, Joanne Lees. Murdoch had it in his possession … gotcha! Not quite.  Continue reading →

Posted in Case 12 Bradley Murdoch | 16 Comments

Innocence Files reveals the really guilty

Posted on July 26, 2020 by andrew

Andrew L. Urban.

Justice at the hands of ‘The System’ is sometimes no justice at all, it seems, as the new 9-part series The Innocence Files (Netflix) reveals how police break the rules, forensic experts use junk science, prosecutors withhold exculpatory evidence and judges fail the wisdom test. But some witnesses also contribute to wrongful convictions – which can take decades to correct, if ever. Continue reading →

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Sue Neill-Fraser trial flashback – the defence closing submission

Posted on July 25, 2020 by andrew

Marking 11 years since her arrest (August 20, 2009) and while awaiting the oft-delayed start of Sue Neill-Fraser’s further appeal against her conviction for the murder of Bob Chappell (now scheduled for November 2, 2020), we publish the transcript of the closing submission of her defence barrister, (the late) David Gunson SC, as a case briefing for those not familiar with it, but also as an opportunity to re-examine the various elements that give rise to serious concerns about the safety of the conviction. Continue reading →

Posted in Case 01 Sue Neill-Fraser | 6 Comments

Expert Witness 101 – inform, not advocate

Posted on July 24, 2020 by andrew

Andrew L. Urban.

Eve Ash, the Melbourne filmmaker whose documentary, Shadow of Doubt, opened a Pandora’s Box on the Sue Neill-Fraser (many say wrongful) murder conviction, has produced a 4-part eLearning course, Giving Expert Evidence, which has now (July 23, 2020) been released on OPENSESAME.com an acclaimed online learning library based in USA. It begins by urging expert witnesses not to advocate but inform. Oh, and beware of ego …  Continue reading →

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Victoria’s Court of Appeal – too many judgements overturned, bring on a CCRC

Posted on July 23, 2020 by andrew

Andrew L. Urban.

Over the past 14 years under Justice Chris Maxwell’s reign as its president, 18 of the judgements of Victoria’s Court of Appeal have been overturned by the High Court, while in the previous decade, 10 of its judgements were reaffirmed and reversed only twice by the High Court. The analysis is in a report released today, by Victoria’s former chief crown prosecutor Gavin Silbert QC.  Continue reading →

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Bradley Murdoch – how DNA may have misled the jury

Posted on July 21, 2020 by andrew

Andrew L. Urban.

When juries in a circumstantial case are told of DNA, they assume that it’s a solid piece of evidence, unquestionable. The prosecution relies on this assumption and tells its story as if every DNA sample was like a brick. The case of Bradley Murdoch’s conviction for the murder of Peter Falconio is a strong example of why this is not so; even DNA can lead to unsafe convictions, as revealed in Channel 7’s investigative documentary mini series, Murder in the Outback,* which concluded on Sunday, July 19, 2020.  Continue reading →

Posted in Case 12 Bradley Murdoch | 33 Comments