Fourteen academics from law faculties in universities of NSW have co-signed a letter for the Attorney General, Mr Michael Daley, to immediately release Ms Folbigg from prison pending the further steps that will be taken for her complete exoneration.
The letter is reproduced in full below.
On Monday this week, the Attorney General, Michael Davies, issued an unconditional pardon and immediately released Ms Folbigg from prison. Ms Folbigg had been incarcerated for 20 years after being convicted for killing each of her four children. She has…
In response to instances of miscarriages of justice and a need for better post-conviction review mechanisms, the United Kingdom (in 1997),[i] Scotland (in 1999),[ii] Norway (in 2004)[iii] and New Zealand (in 2020)[iv] have established a Criminal Cases Review Commission. On…
Read the complete copy of the grounds and submissions supporting the pardon petition for Kathleen Folbigg
The submissions for coincidence regarding Kathleen Folbigg were prepared by Robert Cavanagh and Rhanee Rego as the effort to convince the Attorney General to recommend a pardon continues. Read the full submissions here.
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.
In February 2025, the SA Law Society held their annual conference. Dr Cavanagh presented a video presentation about the Prerogrative of Mercy for the attendees. You can watch the presentation below. https://youtu.be/XF1APjm23DI