Australia: Mother's Convictions for Killing Children Overturned

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Facts

• On Thursday, the New South Wales Criminal Appeals Court in Sydney overturned the convictions of Kathleen Folbigg after she spent two decades imprisoned for the deaths of her four children.¹
• In 2003, Folbigg was found guilty of three counts of murder and one count of manslaughter in the deaths of her young children. The evidence provided was circumstantial and the case was made on the assumption that it was highly unlikely her four children all died of natural causes.²
• Folbigg’s first child, Caleb, died 19 days after being born in 1989; Patrick, her second child born in 1991, died eight months after birth; while her third and fourth children, Sarah and Laura, died at 10 months old in 1993 and 19 months old six years later, respectively. The prosecution argued that Folbigg smothered all four children, resulting in their deaths.³
• In 2018, scientific evidence suggested that three of her children likely died from genetic disorders. Both of Folbigg's daughters were carriers of the CALM2 genetic variant, with Laura having possibly died of myocarditis, and her son likely died of a neurogenetic disorder.³
• Although an inquiry was opened in 2019, it upheld her conviction. However, a second inquiry published this year found 'reasonable doubt' of her guilt, with Folbigg freed and pardoned in June.⁴
• After having her convictions overturned, Folbigg will seek restitution from the New South Wales government, claiming that while updated science and genetics were what vindicated her, there were methods available to prove her innocence in 1999.⁵

Sources: ¹Washington Post, ²CNN, ³CBS, ⁴Guardian (a) and ⁵Guardian (b).

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by Reporter. The case of Kathleen Folbigg — which has largely played out in the press — should force Australia to pursue legal reforms to its broken system, which failed to keep up with the science. With the speed of scientific advancements, the courts must evolve just as quickly to ensure that no one else sits unjustly in prison as their life passes by.
• Narrative B, as provided by Guardian. This gross miscarriage of justice stems from far beyond just a failure to keep with the science: efforts to prove her innocence were actively stifled by a complacent legal system that negligently relied purely on circumstantial evidence. It's time that Australia implement an independent post-conviction review commission to increase the effectiveness and trustworthiness of the criminal court system.