New South Wales Attorney General Michael Daley called for the convicted killer to be released
Member of the House of Lords Jeremy Buckingham of the Legalize Cannabis Party said he was concerned about the “open nature of the inquiry”.
“There is a woman who is literally wrongly in prison right now.”
Green Party MP Sue Higginson on the Kathleen Folbigg case.
“Before we vote on any motion, I think it’s the Attorney General’s job to draw a line on when this investigation will be reported,” Buckingham said.
He said he would support the motion and Folbigg’s parole release if the inquest report is not imminent.
“A day in jail for someone wrongly convicted is a day too long,” Buckingham said. “I don’t think there’s a huge risk to the community if she’s paroled.”
Animal Justice Party MP Emma Hurst said she would support the motion.
“Criminal proceedings must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Given the new findings, that’s simply not the case,” Hurst said.
A younger Kathleen Folbigg and her children (clockwise): Patrick, Sarah, Caleb and Laura.Credit: AAP, included
“It is devastating to think that someone could lose four children and be innocently imprisoned for murder. Any further delay in taking action is unjustified.”
The leader of the Folbigg Inquiry, former Chief Justice of New South Wales Tom Bathurst, KC, said at the last hearing a month ago that “there is now a substantial body of evidence suggesting reasonable possibilities of identifiable natural causes “. Bathurst is preparing his final report to the Governor.
Higginson said it was a “politically and legally untenable position for”. [Daley] … nothing to do now” to free Folbigg from prison.
“We received advice from Kathleen’s attorney that Kathleen is really, really not doing well,” Higginson said.
Former New South Wales Chief Justice Tom Bathurst, KC, led an inquiry into Kathleen Folbigg’s convictions.Credit: James Alcock
“It is hard to imagine that she would feel anything but the deepest and gravest injustice.”
Higginson said Daley was “the only person in the country right now who stands between justice and the gravest injustice.”
Folbigg, 55, was convicted in 2003 of murdering three of her children, Patrick, Sarah and Laura, and manslaughtering her first child, Caleb. She was also found guilty of intentionally causing grievous bodily harm to Patrick. Every child died suddenly between 19 days and 19 months of age between 1989 and 1999.
The lawyer assisting the investigation led by Sophie Callan, SC and the DPP said last month Bathurst was free to have reasonable doubts about Folbigg’s convictions in light of new evidence.
The assisting counsel said in written submissions that “the evidence suggests that Ms Folbigg was generally a loving and caring mother to her children.”
Expert opinions prior to the investigation suggested that a novel genetic variant shared by Folbigg and her daughters, discovered after their trial, could cause abnormal heart rhythms and sudden, unexpected death.
The investigation also found evidence that Patrick may have died as a result of an underlying neurogenetic disorder such as epilepsy.
Loading
The attorney supporting said expert evidence about possible natural causes of death for Patrick, Sarah and Laura undermined the trend and coincidence reasoning that was part of the case against Folbigg over Caleb’s death.
The inquest also heard for the first time psychological and psychiatric evidence interpreting Folbigg’s diaries, which concluded that they contained no clear admissions of criminal guilt.
Higginson said the submissions from the supporting lawyers, who work closely with the head of an investigation, were “not just the submissions of a lawyer” and “additionally, the DPP has approved the submissions”.
“It is highly, highly unlikely that Tom Bathurst would find counsel unconventionally,” she said.
Loading
Taylor said, “As a former Secretary of State for Mental Health and Women, I find it interesting that the reading of Kathleen’s diaries in 2023 is viewed from a very different perspective than when it was first read at the trial in 2003.”
“Now, 20 years later, we as a society are much more open to maternal grief, post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. I know these issues are still stigmatized and certainly weren’t talked about extensively 20 years ago,” Taylor said.
“We know now too [that just] Just because a mother doesn’t cry openly doesn’t mean she doesn’t grieve.
“The statement from Attorney Sophie Callan, SC was very revealing when she said the evidence showed that Kathleen Folbigg was a loving and caring mother.”
NSW Nationals deputy leader Bronnie Taylor said the case officer assisting the Folbigg inquiry and the DPP agreed that reasonable doubts about her conviction were “profound”.Credit: Steven Siewert
Sydney lawyer Felicity Graham, an experienced human rights and criminal lawyer and a member of The Wigs’ legal podcasting team, wrote to Daley this month urging him to act now. She said: “The release of Kathleen Folbigg is now inevitable.”
“I am writing to urge you to exercise your important powers immediately and take action to secure her early release,” Graham wrote.
“Your tenure as Attorney General will be compromised if you fail to do so, but more importantly, a person whose guilt cannot be established by criminal law will remain incarcerated.”
Daley’s office reiterated that he was awaiting the Bathurst final report.
Our breaking news alert will notify you about important breaking news when they happen. Get it here.
