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…
In colonial times the emphasis was on controlling convicts, eliminating bushrangers, and expropriating Aboriginal land by force frequently involving murder. These activities paid little, if any, attention to due legal processes or fundamental legal rights.
The legal rights outlined are particularly important in providing safeguards against abuses by governments and their agents. The fundamental rights, developed over hundreds of years, have been adopted in international treaties. Some of the rights along with the reasons for their existence are detailed to provide an understanding of their importance and fragility.
Justice is not a not a simple concept that is only employed by those sitting in judgement on others in courts. Its application can be by any person in authority whose decision impacts positively or negatively on an individual. Judges,…
This article provides an historical review of injustice in the Australian legal system.
Turner contends that there was a complex relationship between the government, the judiciary and the police that involved ‘an unacknowledged agreement’ where ‘law enforcement is based on violence [that] almost necessarily involves malpractice’ and ‘[y]et none of this can be admitted by Government or Bench, because to do so would be to undermine an institution on which the power of judges and politicians depends’. In the end, corruption provides the foundation for injustice to occur.
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.
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…
The media has followed the case since its inception. While the earlier reports were demonising, the later scientific evidence has raised the obvious question – did the court get it wrong? This question is not only raised in the Australian…
Colin Ross’s Background Colin Ross was born in Melbourne, Australia and had a difficult life. With four siblings, his father died when he was just eight years old, leaving he and his siblings to be cared for by his mother. …
The media has followed the case since its inception. While the earlier reports were demonising, the later scientific evidence has raised the obvious question – did the court get it wrong? This question is not only raised in the Australian…