The following lecture notes relate to a presentation give to ‘the floor’ of the Sir Owen Dixon Chambers by Dr Robert Cavanagh.
The presentation used the case of Kathleen Folbigg as a case example to examine the limitations of the criminal appeal process in Australia as it relates to victims of injustice and to propose an alternative approach – creating a Criminal Case Review Commission.
The most important requirement in all criminal trials is that the onus of establishing guilt is to the standard of beyond reasonable doubt. This standard of proof stays immovably with the prosecution throughout a trial. In Kathleen Folbigg’s case an essential element that needed to be proved beyond reasonable doubt was that she intended to kill or cause grievous bodily harm to her children.
The prosecution said that she smothered them, but failed to prove this was the case.
Finding out why a person has died, described in modern times as finding the ‘manner and cause’ of death has been the role of a coroner at least since the thirteenth century.
Their role has changed in the last century, with a greater focus on the growing relevance of death prevention and coronial recommendations. Governments have found this role particularly uncomfortable because it can expose obvious failures and require reform of systems.
Table of Contents On April 24, 2024, Dr Robert Cavanagh, barrister-at-law, presented a lecture to the bar association entitled: “Prerogative of Mercy, Pardons, and Criminal Law Review Commissions: Why bother changing a system that has been in existence for 100 years?”…
See the original article here. Exclusive: Australia’s most notorious female prisoner Kathleen Folbigg has handwritten a four-page letter to NSW Attorney-General Mark Speakman begging him to “soften your heart” and grant her a petition for pardon. Folbigg was convicted in…
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