Andrew L. Urban.
As 2020 begins, we look forward to Tasmania’s Supreme Court finally hearing Sue Neill-Fraser’s new appeal against her 2010 murder conviction in May. Also during the year, the NSW the Supreme Court is expected to hear Robert Xie’s appeal against his 2017 multiple murder conviction. In Part 1 of this series we examine these two cases where tunnel vision was a key element in securing unsafe convictions. Continue reading
The support group for Sue Neill-Fraser, convicted of the murder of her partner Bob Chappell on Australia Day, 2009, is organising a vigil on the Parliament Lawns in Hobart. “The vigil is to remember Bob Chappell and to show our ongoing support for Sue Neill Fraser,” the Support Group said in a statement.
SATURDAY 25 JANUARY 2020
11am – 1pm
Parliament Lawns, Hobart
Andrew L. Urban.
Eleven years ago this month, at 12.10pm on Friday, January 28, 2009, a day after her partner Bob Chappell had disappeared from their yacht, Four Winds, Sue Neill-Fraser began making a Statutory Declaration at her Allison Street home in Hobart. It contained information – clues – that would have been useful to the police investigation, but were ignored. Read it below. Continue reading
After a trial conducted behind closed doors, a criminal court in Riyadh on Monday (23/12/19) sentenced five people to death for the murder in Istanbul of Jamal Khashoggi in 2018; three others were sentenced to a total of 24 years. Khashoggi’s fiancee Hatice Cengiz (pictured) has condemned the process and wants the world to demand full transparency as to who ordered the murder. Continue reading
Andrew L. Urban.
A man accused of rape has evidence of 12 incidents in which his alleged victim had made previous false claims about sexual abuse – but the court cannot allow that evidence to be heard, due to the catch-all nature of section 293 of the Criminal Procedure Act. The judge is calling for the section to be amended. Continue reading
The Sue Neill-Fraser Support group is organising a vigil in Hobart’s Parliamentary Gardens tomorrow (Saturday, December 21, from 11 am), as Neill-Fraser faces her 11th Christmas in prison. Continue reading
Paul Galbally, acting for Sue Neill-Fraser at a directions hearing at Hobart’s Supreme Court today, requested that the court agree to a change of date for the new Appeal as Tom Percy, who has been leading Sue’s defence, is not available for the original proposed Appeal date of 2 -13 March 2020. Mr Galbally requested the date be changed to 25 May 2020, with two weeks being set aside, reports Rosie Crumpton-Crook of the Neill-Fraser Support Group. Continue reading
Andrew L. Urban.
They have come to be known as The Baby Deaths. Three unrelated babies who died between October 1992 and August 1993 in Adelaide, were each victims of physical abuse but the State’s Chief Pathologist (1968 – 1995), the insufficiently qualified Dr Colin Manock, reported the cause of death in each case as natural: bronchopneumonia. It was the start of a 20 year chain reaction that began with a wrongful conviction which should have never happened. Continue reading
Invitation to readers of wrongfulconvictionsreport: please join Andrew for Movies Now, a series of six new movies prior to their commercial release, followed by a discussion with a film industry practitioner; Wednesdays from Feb. 5, 2020. Continue reading
Andrew L. Urban.
Juries are human. Fallible, often under stress, especially in trials of serious crime, collectively uninformed in law, forensic science or other relevant disciplines. Juries ingest what the prosecution and defence feeds them. Having served on a jury, I know from first hand experience how hard it is to sift evidence, to assess witnesses and to avoid the natural bias of the police, the pleadings of the accused and to weigh court theatrics against what the lawyers say are cold facts. Continue reading