A copy of the Royal Commission Report is available below. You will need to download it and read the pdf file.
Royal Commission of Inquiry into Chamberlain Convictions, Report, Commonwealth Parliamentary Papers (1987), volume 15, paper 192
Prisoners are often categorised as either mad, bad or sad. What does this mean really and should compassionate treatment be available to all prisoners?
Table of Contents Sue Higginson, a member of the NSW Parliament for the Greens, has called on the Attorney General, the Hon. Michael Daley and the Premier, to ensure the immediate release of Kathleen Folbigg. Ms Higginson points out that…
Probably the most infamous case in Australia, certainly the case that has received the most publicity, which revealed the fragility of the criminal justice system, is the Chamberlain case. On 17 August 1980 Azaria Chamberlain went missing from a camp…
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.
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.
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. …