Australia: Mother Convicted of Killing Children Pardoned After 20 Years
The Facts
On Monday, an Australian mother who spent 20 years in prison for the deaths of her offspring was pardoned and released from her Grafton prison cell after a landmark inquiry concluded there was reasonable doubt about the guilty verdict.
Kathleen Folbigg, now 55, was jailed in 2003 on three charges of murder and one of manslaughter after all four of her children – aged between 19 days and 18 months – died separately between 1989 and 1999.
The Spin
Narrative A
The pardoning and releasing of Folbigg deliver a resounding message that Australia's judicial system is fully capable of serving justice, demonstrating that the rule of law is a cornerstone of the country's democracy.
Narrative B
The Folbigg case is just the latest miscarriage of justice to be acknowledged in Australia, reinforcing the need to establish a statutory body to investigate wrongful conviction claims instead of relying on inefficient and expensive ad hoc commissions of inquiry.
