Andrew L. Urban.
The so-far secret review of the Henry Keogh case conducted between 2003 and 2006 by then Solicitor General Chris Kourakis (now Chief Justice) will finally be made public, following a far reaching decision by a trio of Victorian supreme court judges, delivered today. Continue reading
Andrew L. Urban.
Sue Neill-Fraser, Australia Day 2009
Fully 99% of the 85,000 pageviews on this blog in the past two months were of stories about the Sue Neill-Fraser case. In that period, we published 24 new articles on the case (60 articles altogether). Average time spent reading each page was over 3 minutes. Comments on these pages run into the hundreds.
Unsurprisingly, the majority of pageviews were generated by readers in Australia, but there were hundreds of readers all over the world, notably the US, the UK, New Zealand, Canada and Japan, as well as readers in (among other places) Brazil, Sweden, Ukraine, Solomon Islands, Hungary, Cambodia and even the Dominican Republic – with 2 readers.
In America, the Charles Smith Blog follows the case through our articles and the Sue Neill-Fraser deep archives of Networked Knowledge (published by legal academic Dr Bob Moles) contain references, detailed information and links to all the cases we report.
Our first report on the Neill-Fraser case, Another Lindy Chamberlain miscarriage of justice, was published on August 15, 2013 – five days short of the 4th anniversary of her arrest.
Sue Neill-Fraser could be freed … IF … a hypothetical by legal academic Dr Bob Moles*. Continue reading
Our readers are angry. They want her released NOW. The long simmering sentiment is fuelled by Meaghan Vass’ eye witness testimony : obviously she didn’t do it, they say. This in spite of the upcoming appeal against her conviction for the murder of her partner, Bob Chappell, on Australia Day 2009. Continue reading
Andrew L. Urban
In 2012, following her 2010 conviction for the murder of Bob Chappell on their yacht on Australia Day 2009, Sue Neill-Fraser’s appeal against the verdict was refused by Crawford CJ, Tennent and Porter JJ. In light of a new appeal to be heard later this year, it is instructive to look at (some of) the reasons behind that refusal. Continue reading
Andrew L. Urban
Meaghan Vass (fb 2019)
When Meaghan Vass finally identified herself to the court in March 2019 as an eye witness to Bob Chappell’s 2009 murder, confirming the evidence of her DNA at the crime scene, the prosecution’s circumstantial case against Sue Neill-Fraser fell apart. The new appeal is due to be heard later this year, but Vass has already changed everything. Continue reading
Andrew L. Urban
Australians concerned that Sue Neill-Fraser is destined to spend her tenth year in prison despite it being now known for sure by the legal system* that she is innocent of the murder conviction that put her there, would agree that reform across the legal system is badly needed. Former High Court judge, Michael Kirby would also agree. Continue reading
Andrew L. Urban.
You will be caught. You will be charged. You will be convicted. You will be heavily sentenced. But you can shave years off your sentence. Continue reading
Andrew L. Urban.
The biggest irony in yesterday’s granting of leave to appeal by Supreme Court of Tasmania’s Justice Brett in Sue Neill-Fraser’s case is that it is based on exactly the subject – the impact of DNA at the crime scene – on which the 2012 High Court leave to appeal failed. But then the High Court was not properly informed. And there are many other grounds that can be cited to overturn the conviction. Continue reading
Andrew L. Urban.
What are the ramifications of keeping Sue Neill-Fraser in jail as a convicted murderer when the whole world has heard she is innocent of the crime? What excuse can Tasmania’s slow-lane legal system have for allowing an obviously unsafe murder conviction to loll about the courts for eight years (since first appeal)? At what cost protect the conviction? Which judges will sit on the appeal bench? Continue reading