An Australian mother who spent two decades in prison after she was wrongly found guilty of killing her four children had her convictions formally quashed Thursday, as her lawyers called for legal reform and “substantial” compensation.
Kathleen Folbigg was pardoned and freed in June on the recommendation of retired judge Tom Bathurst, who re-examined all the evidence put to her 2003 trial and found “reasonable doubt” as to her guilt.
But clearing her name required a formal ruling by the New South Wales Court of Criminal Appeal, and on Thursday, a panel of judges agreed she should be acquitted of all charges, concluding one of the country’s most prominent miscarriages of justice.
Outside the court, an emotional Folbigg thanked supporters who worked tirelessly to convince the NSW government and legal system that new scientific evidence warranted closer scrutiny of her convictions.
Folbigg was jailed in 2003 on three counts of murder and one of manslaughter following the deaths of her four babies over a decade from 1989.
Credit: cnn.com
