Wrongful Convictions Report

Andrew L. Urban.

Within two days, a new website, www.savesue.com has propelled interest in a petition calling for a Royal Commission into the case of Sue Neill-Fraser. It has so far attracted over 2,500 signatories. Launched by filmmaker Eve Ash and a dedicated team, the website and the petition mark a further intensification of the campaign for an independent review of the case, coming amidst the launch of two new books and a 6-part TV series**, all examining the case and coming to the same conclusion: the police investigation was woefully inadequate and the conviction is wrong.

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Andrew L. Urban.

At the risk of ‘spoiling’ the hottest yarn on television this year, it can be said that Seven’s new true crime series, Undercurrent (9pm Wednesdays x 6 from January 30, 2019), shows up the most miserable chapter in Tasmania’s crime investigation history, contrasting with a text book case of ‘how to’; it points the finger at the suspects in the decade old cold case of Bob Chappell’s murder. The police and the legal system should rejoice. But they are shitty. (And trigger happy, threatening anyone pursuing this line with legal action. The series is not showing in Tasmania for legal reasons. Even this review is embargoed from the hapless Isle.) Continue reading →

Andrew L. Urban.

Southern Justice (Hachette, Jan 29, 2019, rrp $32.99, ebook $14.99)
by Colin McLaren

Colin McLaren’s cold case book into the 2009 disappearance and suspected murder of Bob Chappell and the 2010 conviction of Sue Neill-Fraser for his murder comes after years of agitation and disquiet about that conviction. It’s an itch that won’t be calmed.

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Andrew L. Urban.

In the wake of the Tasmanian Government’s dismissal today to consider a Royal Commission as urged by Civil Liberties Australia, we respectfully put forward this draft proposal for public discussion to form the basis of such a Royal Commission or an Independent Commission of Inquiry into the murder conviction of Sue Neill-Fraser, to shine a light on matters of public concern surrounding the entirety of the case. We do not share the Tasmanian Government’s ‘full confidence’ in the Tasmanian justice system.

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Andrew L. Urban.

Why have prosecutors in the Office of the Tasmanian DPP insisted on referring to Colin McLaren, investigative author / documentary filmmaker working on the Sue Neill-Fraser case, as ‘an unlicenced private investigator’ – a criminal offence? Is he being intimidated to silence him?

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Andrew L. Urban.

January 26, Australia Day, 2019, marks the 10th anniversary of the disappearance and probable murder of Bob Chappell, a catastrophe to her partner Sue Neill-Fraser and the two Hobart families – and the beginning of the legal process that led to the catastrophic failure of the justice system in convicting her of his murder. 

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Andrew L. Urban.

A veritable frenzy of media investigations into the Sue Neill-Fraser conviction is due to reach the public beginning on Australia Day, the 10th Anniversary of Bob Chappell’s disappearance, of whose murder she was convicted in 2010. And in the middle of it all, the February 5 Supreme Court hearing of her seeking leave to appeal …

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Andrew L. Urban.

Two new books and a 6-part documentary series on the Seven Network – all investigating the murder conviction of Sue Neill-Fraser – will become available before and after the February 5, 2019, Tasmanian Supreme Court hearing into her seeking leave to appeal for a second time. None find evidence in favour of her conviction.

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