A Second Inquiry for Kathleen Folbigg

Fourteen months after the request for a pardon was presented, the Governor of NSW, the Hon Margaret Beazley, has announced that a second inquiry would be held into the conviction of Kathleen Folbigg.  This recommendation was made by the Attorney General, Mark Speakman who announced the inquiry yesterday in a press release.

Speakman’s press release states that while the new scientific evidence was available at the inquiry in 2018, the research available at the time remained incomplete.  However, his statement says: “…this new evidence, and its widespread endorsement by scientists, cannot be ignored.”

In fact, the scientific evidence has been building over time.  Highly regarded experts from the fields of genetics and psychology have provided ample and compelling evidence that there is considerable doubt in relation to Ms Folbigg’s original conviction. 

The matter has also been a focus on interest in local and international media and following the Speakman’s press release, another flurry of media activity has occurred.  This is a matter of intense scrutiny and not surprisingly, this will prove to be Australia’s worst miscarriage of justice, described in the Australian by McDermott as the “mother of all injustices“.

The inquiry will  be conducted by the Hon. Thomas Bathurst AC QC although the time line for the inquiry is not yet published.