Author Archives: andrew

New York takes the wrongful conviction cake

Andrew L. Urban. Bypassing the police with her rape allegation, the complainant publishes it in a book, some 37 years later. But it may have been 36 years …The case goes to trial in a civil court. 

Posted in General articles | 4 Comments

Mark Tedeschi KC “impermissibly straining for a conviction”

To date, we have published 37 negative comments from readers on this blog about the former NSW Senior Crown Prosecutor Mark Tedeschi KC, adding to our own criticisms of his prosecutorial behaviour in several cases. Tedeschi finally resigned in 2018 … Continue reading

Posted in General articles | 10 Comments

CCRC – how NOT to do it

Andrew L. Urban.  The worst possible failure of a Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) is to TWICE refuse to review a case on the request of the accused before DNA proves the accused was wrongfully convicted in the first place … Continue reading

Posted in CCRC | 3 Comments

Remember Robert Xie, another murder by the prosecution

Andrew L. Urban. ANNIVERSARY OF SHAME: On February 4, 2015, nine years ago this weekend, the third trial began of Robert Xie for the brutal murder of five members of his wife’s family. Eleven months later, it became the longest … Continue reading

Posted in Case 11 Robert Xie | 18 Comments

The myth of criminal justice in Australia

Marco Rusterholz is serving a 45 year jail sentence in Tasmania for a double murder, a conviction that is demonstrably unsafe. The trial judge, the jury and the appeal judges all failed in their respective duties to deliver justice. 

Posted in Case 19 Marco Rusterholz, General articles | 5 Comments

Child sex offenders in SA face indefinite detention

Andrew L. Urban. Repeat child sex offenders would be subject to indefinite detention and potentially lifetime electronic monitoring under new laws that will be fast-tracked through South Australian state Parliament. Premier Peter Malinauskas described his government’s proposed amendments to the Sentencing … Continue reading

Posted in General articles | 4 Comments

Wanted: Attorneys-General to help right wrongful convictions

Andrew L. Urban. If you could do one thing as an Attorney-General that would profoundly improve the criminal appeal system and reinforce the separation of powers … why not do it? Why haven’t they done it? Will they do it?

Posted in CCRC, General articles | 14 Comments

Convicted for Cash – false sexual abuse claims as cash cow

Speaking on camera from his New Hampshire prison, Fr Gordon MacRae details how unscrupulous claimants and lawyers can swindle the system out of hefty cash payouts with false claims of sexual abuse. He should know: it happened to him. That’s … Continue reading

Posted in Case 24 Fr Gordon MacRae | 3 Comments

Say-so evidence of sexual assault against Greenaway underpins crimen exceptum

Andrew L. Urban.  Noel Greenaway, a model citizen of impeccable character in his late 70s, is convicted of 18 nasty sexual and physical abuse offences alleged to have occurred in the 1960s – half a century in the past – … Continue reading

Posted in Case 22 Noel Greenaway | 3 Comments

Week of Pell’s ‘resurrection’

Andrew L. Urban Within the space of a couple of days this week, several voices were heard in the public square ‘resurrecting’ the late Cardinal Pell, dismissing the notion that he was guilty of sexual abuse, a notion that some … Continue reading

Posted in Case 07 George Pell | 13 Comments