Andrew L. Urban.
What has the criminal justice system learnt from the wrongful convictions decades ago of Lindy Chamberlain, Derek Bromley, Henry Keogh, Andrew Mallard, Gordon Wood and many others? With at least three murder convictions currently under a cloud (Neill-Fraser, Xie, Folbigg), and the near miss of the Singh* case, exhibiting failures that were contributing factors in past convictions, we have to conclude that the answer is: nothing. Continue reading
Follow ‘the science’? So far, as we reported in March 2021, the courts have resisted that call in the case of Kathleen Folbigg, convicted of murdering her children and in prison for the past 19 years. With more new expert evidence that is claimed to exonerate her, the conflict between ‘the science’ and ‘the courts’ has reached a point that reveals the weaknesses of both. Below, we publish extracts from Quentin McDermott’s exclusive report in The Australian (Oct 8, 2021). Continue reading
Where is the case that screams the need for a federal ICAC, asks MARGARET CUNNEEN SC *? Continue reading
Andrew L. Urban.
If the three judges considering Sue Neill-Fraser’s appeal decide that Meaghan Vass’ DNA was there by secondary transfer (as the Crown argues) and thus she was not at the crime scene on board Four Winds … they have to accept the logical conclusion of their decision: the homeless young Vass took enormous risks by willingly inserting herself into the case after the trial … for what? Continue reading
This week 11 years ago, Sue Neill-Fraser entered the witness box to give evidence at her trial for murdering Bob Chappell. This week also marks seven months since her latest appeal hearings before the judges (Wood, Escourt, Pearce) who are yet to deliver their decision. Continue reading
To mark International Wrongful Conviction Day, Harold Levy *, publisher of The Charles Smith Blog in Toronto, invited Dr Bob Moles of Flinders University in Adelaide to provide his insights into the case of Derek Bromley, which, he says, features “the most disturbing feature” of any wrongful conviction in the Anglosphere. (Also see our post marking the day, October 2 – yesterday Australian time.) Continue reading
International Wrongful Conviction Day began as an effort of the Innocence Network in the US, an affiliation of organisations dedicated to providing pro-bono legal and investigative services to individuals seeking to prove innocence of crimes for which they have been convicted, working to redress the causes of wrongful convictions, and supporting the exonerated after they are freed. This is the eighth annual day. Continue reading
The inside story of the troubled inmate who befriended Sue Neill-Fraser ‘inside’ – and how the police used her. Continue reading
The Etter/Selby papers reveal ‘what a difference a dinghy makes’ in the 2010 Sue Neill-Fraser murder trial – and how at the 2021 appeal, the DPP insists that the grey dinghy described by an eye witness turns white on the water. And it shrinks… (Paragraph numbers refer to the Etter/Selby papers dated August 12, 2021.) Continue reading
Andrew L. Urban
The entire Tasmanian legal and law enforcement establishment is under the cloud of the 2010 Sue Neill-Fraser murder conviction, which many claim is not proven beyond reasonable doubt. Continue reading