Andrew L. Urban.
Over the past 14 years under Justice Chris Maxwell’s reign as its president, 18 of the judgements of Victoria’s Court of Appeal have been overturned by the High Court, while in the previous decade, 10 of its judgements were reaffirmed and reversed only twice by the High Court. The analysis is in a report released today, by Victoria’s former chief crown prosecutor Gavin Silbert QC. Continue reading
Andrew L. Urban.
When juries in a circumstantial case are told of DNA, they assume that it’s a solid piece of evidence, unquestionable. The prosecution relies on this assumption and tells its story as if every DNA sample was like a brick. The case of Bradley Murdoch’s conviction for the murder of Peter Falconio is a strong example of why this is not so; even DNA can lead to unsafe convictions, as revealed in Channel 7’s investigative documentary mini series, Murder in the Outback,* which concluded on Sunday, July 19, 2020. Continue reading
He had an alibi. Why was he charged, tried and convicted? Robert Xie and his wife Kathy have always maintained he was in their bed beside her at the relevant time on the night of the Lin family murders, for which he was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole in 2017. As the three learned judges retired last week to consider his appeal against the five murder convictions, they will come face to face with the single most crucial aspect of the case: Xie’s alibi – which the Crown has not disproved beyond reasonable doubt. Phillip Chapman’s July 3, 2020 comment on this is published here (with a background briefing) to bring it to greater prominence for our readers. Continue reading
In his book, Murder by the Prosecution (Wilkinson Publishing) ANDREW L. URBAN reports on murder trials that relied exclusively on circumstantial evidence and how these resulted in convictions – since overturned or under appeal. Through exploring these cases he came to recognise a pattern, secret strategies. He now adds the case of Robert Xie to the three examples in his book. Continue reading
The directions hearing in the Tasmanian Supreme Court before Justice Wood on Friday, July 3, 2020 was unable to settle on 17 August as the start date for the long awaited appeal against her 2010 murder conviction, reports Rosie Crumpton-Crook, Secretary of the Sue Neill-Fraser Support Group. Continue reading
Andrew L. Urban.
Of the 12 member jury at Robert Xie’s third murder trial in 2015, (the longest in NSW history), most voted NOT GUILTY. Some didn’t, resulting in a hung jury and a fourth trial, in 2016/17. Triggered by the 2020 appeal, two of the 2015 jury are voicing their deep concerns following their experience of the legal system. Highly critical of what they saw and heard as jurors, their anger is directed at fellow jurors, the prosecutor, witnesses and the judge in equal measure. Continue reading
Andrew L. Urban.
As his appeal hearings draw to a close this week, Robert Xie’s fate lies in the hands of the judges. But how the legal system (mis)treated him over several years is also deserving of scrutiny. Convicted in 2017 of the five brutal murders of his wife’s family in July 2009, Xie has always maintained his innocence, and the case against him was circumstantial – and “not overwhelming” even in the words of the prosecutor. Continue reading
Andrew L. Urban.
26 June, 2020: With the backdrop of the appeal against his conviction, (started 22 June, 2020), a proposition emerges that it wasn’t Robert Xie who killed five members of the Lin family in 2009, but at least two killers with two weapons.The claim is the result of a detailed examination of the autopsy reports, by a group of interested Chinese-Australians, including Dr Roland Zhang, a former neurosurgeon. Continue reading
Andrew L. Urban.
“I am innocent,” Robert Xie called out in court before being led away to a lifetime in jail for the brutal and bloody murder of five of his wife’s family, with whom he had dinner the night before their deaths. He and his wife Kathy Lin both maintain he was framed – framed by a system they say unfairly pursued and prosecuted him. Written submissions of the grounds of appeal cast some light on why he might think that … here are just two extracts. Continue reading
Andrew L. Urban.
Robert Xie’s barrister, Belinda Rigg SC, continued on Day 2 of the hearing to pull apart the expert evidence around the DNA, arguing to the appeal court that the uncertainty of forensic testing outcomes were never properly and clearly put to the jury. The evidence presented had “the capacity to mislead the jury”. Continue reading