Author Archives: andrew

‘Learned friends’ learn little from errors

Posted on February 26, 2018 by andrew

Andrew L. Urban What went wrong? That’s the question that the criminal justice system does not often ask and therefore doesn’t answer when wrongful convictions are revealed.   Prevention is so much better than cure, especially in a legal system … Continue reading →

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Survivors Guide to Prison – a movie as a movement

Posted on February 19, 2018 by andrew

By Andrew L. Urban. American filmmaker Matthew Cooke says of his 2018 film Survivors Guide to Prison: “This is not just a film, but also a movement. We hope to swing the pendulum on legislation. We want prison reform, specifically … Continue reading →

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The costs of injustice

Posted on February 18, 2018 by andrew

By Andrew L. Urban She is wheeled into the clinical surrounds of the Supreme Court in Hobart in a wheelchair and positioned in front of the empty jury benches, facing the witness box. Sue Neill-Fraser’s demeanour is low key, her … Continue reading →

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Gordon Wood – convicted of murder in 2008, acquitted in 2012, suing the State in 2017/18

Posted on February 17, 2018 by andrew

By Andrew L. Urban. Gordon Wood is suing the State of NSW and the DPP for malicious prosecution. The trial was held in March 2017, before Justice Elizabeth Fullerton. Judgement is still awaited at time of writing (February 17, 2018) … Continue reading →

Posted in Case 04 Gordon Wood | 3 Comments

Lloyd Rayney & how tunnel vision blinds police

Posted on January 31, 2018 by andrew

By Andrew L. Urban The WA police defamed an innocent man by publicly naming him soon after starting their investigation as the only suspect in his wife’s murder. He was eventually (three years later) charged, tried and acquitted. Twice. He … Continue reading →

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Bare faced lawyers: confessions of the legal profession

Posted on January 13, 2018 by andrew

Innocent people – at least 71 known*, the total unknowable – have been held or are stuck in Australian jails on lengthy sentences for murders or rapes they did not commit. This comes as no surprise to those who, like … Continue reading →

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Securing murder convictions without evidence

Posted on November 20, 2017 by andrew

By Andrew L. Urban. As Gordon Wood, acquitted in 2014 of murdering his girlfriend Caroline Byrne in 1995, awaits the decision (expected by end of 2017) on his recently concluded malicious prosecution case against the State of NSW, at least … Continue reading →

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The wrong arm of the law

Posted on November 20, 2017 by andrew

By Andrew L. Urban A man convicted of murder is still in jail after 33 years, 11 years after he was eligible for parole, because he will not relent on his claim of innocence. He has always maintained that he … Continue reading →

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Sue Neill-Fraser’s final appeal – Part 1

Posted on November 4, 2017 by andrew

By Andrew L. Urban. Shortly after 10 am on Monday October 30, 2017, a slight young woman with blonde hair up in a bun and breathing nervously, took the witness stand in the packed Court 1 of Hobart’s Supreme Court. … Continue reading →

Posted in Case 01 Sue Neill-Fraser | 2 Comments

Not Guilty Exoneration Project launched in Sydney

Posted on February 26, 2016 by andrew

By Andrew L. Urban. Not Guilty: The Sydney Exoneration Project is a new psychology and law research program at The University of Sydney that reviews cases of possible wrongful convictions, founded by Dr Celine Van Golde in the Faculty of … Continue reading →

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