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Kathleen Folbigg pardoned after 20 years behind bars

Jailed in 2003 and considered at the time to be Australia’s most prolific female serial killer, Kathleen Folbigg has now been pardoned over the death of her four children and will be released without delay. Folbigg, 55, was convicted of killing her three children Patrick, Sarah and Laura, and was also found guilty of the manslaughter of her firstborn Caleb between 1989 to 1999. Her babies were aged between 19 days and 19 months. The historic convictions have not been quashed as that can only be done through the Court of Criminal Appeal. Folbigg has always maintained her innocence, insisting that her children had each died of natural causes, and as a result she has served 20 years of a minimum 25-year prison sentence. NSW Attorney General Michael Daley announced the pardon, saying Folbigg had endured “a terrible ordeal” and there was a possibility she could sue the government if the convictions were quashed, a legal step which goes beyond a pardon. "What is the difference between today and what has transpired in the past? New evidence has come to light," he said, referring to new scientific evidence submitted in an inquiry into the death of the babies. Former NSW Chief Justice Tom Bathurst KC is leading the inquiry and is now writing up a final report for the NSW governor. Daley said he had received a phone from Chief Justice Bathurst last week that "he had come to a firm view" about what the outcome of his report would be. Prosecutors argued Folbigg smothered her children during periods of frustration and insisted that some of her diary entries were admissions of guilt. New scientific evidence has now cast sufficient doubt on her guilt. Folbigg and her two daughters were found to carry a rare genetic variant, CALM2-G114R, which can cause cardiac arrhythmia and sudden death. According to cardiology and genetic experts, the genetic verity was a “reasonably possible cause” of Sarah and Laura’s death. The variant was not found in Caleb or Patrick. Images: Facebook

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Lynette Dawson's family responds to guilty verdict

Lynette Dawson’s family have called for one final request from Chris Dawson after he was <a href="https://oversixty.com.au/news/news/stunning-chris-dawson-verdict-handed-down" target="_blank" rel="noopener">found guilty of murdering his wife</a> after she “disappeared” 40 years ago. Justice Ian Harrison found Chris Dawson guilty of Lynette’s murder - 40 years after she went missing from the family home in Sydney's Northern Beaches in January 1982. The trial, which gained worldwide traction thanks to the podcast Teacher’s Pet, saw the incredible decision handed down following a seven week trial and a marathon four hour ruling. Lynette’s brother, Greg Simms has said justice has finally been served after she was murdered by someone who loved her. “I’m a little emotional - after 40 years, my sister has been vindicated,” he said. “This verdict is for Lyn. Today her name has been cleared. “The court has found what we believed to be true for so many years: Chris Dawson took the life of our beloved Lyn back in 1982.” Unfortunately, Lynette’s parents and other brother passed away in the years following her murder, not knowing what would come out of the case. Mr Simms has since called on Dawson to do the right thing and reveal where he buried Lynette so she can finally rest in peace. “We would also love to remember those who loved Lyn who are not here to see this judgement,” he said. “She is still missing, we still need to bring her home. “We would ask Chris Dawson to find it in himself to finally do the decent thing and allow us to bring Lyn home to a peaceful rest, finally show her the dignity she deserves.” When the case reopened, Dawson requested a judge-only trial due to the popularity of the Teacher’s Pet podcast, stating that the jury would have their decisions impacted by it. This required Justice Harrison to outline the reasons behind his decision also saying that the prosecution had to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Lynette was dead, that Dawson had killed her with the possible involvement of assistance of others, and that he disposed of her body. The Supreme Court justice shared several findings to support his decision and weighed in on evidence presented during the trial, including ruling that Lynette had died on the date alleged by the prosecution and dismissing claims from Dawson that he contacted his wife as “lies”. Justice Harrison said it was “simply absurd” and defied “common sense” that Lynette would be in contact with the person “who was the reason for her departure” from her home. He also ruled that Lynette didn’t leave home voluntarily, with the prosecution providing multiple reasons that were “strongly persuasive” when considered together, including that she adored her children, hadn’t taken any clothing or personal items with her, was mentally stable, and was dependent on her husband to drive her everywhere. “Lynette Dawson is dead … she died on or about 8 January 1982 and she did not voluntarily abandon her home,” he told the court. Justice Harrison dismissed claims from the defence that Lynette was spotted after January 8. He found that Dawson told JC, “Lyn’s gone, she’s not coming back, come back to Sydney and help look after the kids and live with me”, when he picked her up from a camping trip at South West Rocks with friends between January 10 and 12. However, he said that he disagreed with claims that Dawson was motivated to kill his wife because of financial reasons, nor that he had in his mind that he would kill her when he left with JC. “That decision was made following their return and after the teen had left for South-West Rocks,” Justice Harrison said. He said that he was “satisfied” that Dawson resolved to kill Lynette while JC was camping. Following the verdict, Dawson was taken into custody, with his lawyer, Greg Walsh, telling Justice Harrison that Dawson would likely apply for bail before his sentencing hearing, a date for which hasn’t been set yet.

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George Floyd deserved a better life

George Perry Floyd, Jr. was murdered when Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin sank his knee into Floyd’s neck for nine minutes and 29 seconds. Video footage went viral within hours, helping to inspire protests against racism and police violence that lasted all the American summer of 2020. But while the size of the protests was unprecedented, the activism of that summer had <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-fury-in-us-cities-is-rooted-in-a-long-history-of-racist-policing-violence-and-inequality-139752" target="_blank" rel="noopener">deep roots</a>. Journalists across the United States and indeed the world, focused attention on that history of protest, as they had done during the 2014 police killings of Eric Garner, choked to death in New York, and Michael Brown, shot in Ferguson, Missouri. At the Washington Post, reporters and researchers devoted significant resources to a six-part series, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/10/12/george-floyd-america/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">George Floyd’s America</a>. Now, two of those journalists, Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa, have expanded the work into a book: <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/703358/his-name-is-george-floyd-by-robert-samuels-and-toluse-olorunnipa/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">His Name Is George Floyd: One Man’s Life and the Struggle for Racial Justice</a>. When Floyd was born in 1973, 200,000 people were incarcerated in the US. By the time of his death, as Samuels and Olorunnipa point out, that number exceeded 2 million. The proportionate rate of growth of that number in <a href="https://usafacts.org/data/topics/security-safety/crime-and-justice/jail-and-prisons/prisoners/?utm_source=usnews&utm_medium=partnership&utm_campaign=fellowship&utm_content=bracketed_link" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Texas</a>, where Floyd grew up, is even worse. <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/articles/2021-10-13/report-highlights-staggering-racial-disparities-in-us-incarceration-rates" target="_blank" rel="noopener">African Americans are locked up at 4.75 times the rate of white Americans; Latinos at 1.3 times the rate</a>. This <a href="https://www.sentencingproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/intl-rates.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener">extraordinary rate of incarceration</a> is a political choice rather than a reflection of more violent criminals being locked up. Rates of incarceration <a href="https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download;jsessionid=ED19CF648065ABC51FE1605ED5D77E32?doi=10.1.1.462.6544&rep=rep1&type=pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">increase</a> with political conservatism and the increased rates of poverty, income inequality and unemployment that accompany that conservatism. Extensive investment in prisons, jails and police forces has created a self-perpetuating system that evolves by producing the very criminals it locks up. This life-and-times biography poignantly depicts the mechanisms by which African Americans, especially male children and adults, become disproportionately the fodder for that system. A long history of racism, it might be said, funnelled George Floyd to prison. <h2>The grandson of sharecroppers</h2> Floyd’s two parents were both born to <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sharecropper" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sharecroppers</a> in North Carolina. The cycle of poverty in which they were trapped was not of their own making. Black Americans have been prevented from building wealth from the moment slavery ended. Floyd’s great-great-grandfather, for example, who was born into slavery in 1857, amassed land worth $US30,000 in 1920, but his white neighbours stole it from him by a mixture of fraud underpinned by the threat of violence. That tale is absolutely typical for a majority of Black families in the US South. The knock-on effects have been intensified by government policies that meant for generations, Black Americans had <a href="https://theconversation.com/to-see-the-legacy-of-slavery-look-at-present-day-school-systems-43896" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fewer opportunities for education</a>; <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/25/opinion/sunday/race-wage-gap.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">earned</a> <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/06/04/economic-divide-black-households/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">less</a> even for the same work; and were <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/11/17/1049052531/racial-covenants-housing-discrimination" target="_blank" rel="noopener">prevented</a> <a href="https://aas.princeton.edu/news/2020-pulitzer-prize-finalist-history-race-profit-how-banks-and-real-estate-industry-undermined" target="_blank" rel="noopener">from buying property</a> that would <a href="https://www.vox.com/identities/2019/12/4/20953282/racism-housing-discrimination-keeanga-yamahtta-taylor" target="_blank" rel="noopener">build wealth over generations</a>. Desperate for a better life for her three children, Floyd’s mother uprooted them to Houston, Texas, when Floyd was four. There, they lived in public housing in the segregated <a href="https://www.gpb.org/news/2020/07/20/george-floyds-third-ward-reflections-on-the-neighborhood-made-him" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Third Ward</a>. Government policies that requisitioned homes from Black residents elsewhere in Houston had forced them into this section of the city. In the Cuney Homes development, known as “the Bricks,” even today the median income is <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/george-floyd-neighborhood-stimulus/2021/04/09/59f57e7c-9623-11eb-962b-78c1d8228819_story.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">US$15,538</a>, well under half the <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEPAINUSA672N" target="_blank" rel="noopener">national average</a>. Floyd attended the local Jack Yates Senior High School, opened in 1926 when education was segregated by race and never the equal of other Houston schools catering to white children. As Floyd grew to 193 centimetres tall, he learned to offset the alarm that his size and colour induced in people. He became self-deprecating and deliberately easy-going, charming people across generations everywhere he went. Excelling at football, he secured entry to college. But Floyd’s dreams of playing pro football were stymied by his academic achievements. Never good at tests, Floyd fell behind by middle school and struggled to graduate high school. There were just not the resources in the schools to make up for living in poverty in an overcrowded flat with the responsibilities of caring for relatives. After four years at two colleges, Floyd dropped out and returned to Houston. Not long after, he was arrested for the first time for selling drugs. Samuels and Olorunnipa do an extremely good job of showing that at every node along the passage toward being turned into fodder for the prison-industrial complex, Floyd’s chance of escape was significantly less than that of a white man of the same age. Reading how Floyd’s options narrowed, it was impossible not to share his frustration and despair. <h2>Forensic exposé of injustice</h2> Quotas for arrests meant police sought the “low-hanging fruit” of petty drug dealing done on the streets. Misconduct charges for these police officers are common: the cop who arrested Floyd in 1997 for selling drugs was sacked in 2002 after being charged with theft and hampering arrest. The officer who arrested Floyd in 2004 was “later accused of falsifying charges in hundreds of drug cases, including the one involving Floyd.” Chauvin himself had faced <a href="http://complaints.cuapb.org/police_archive/officer/2377/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">29 charges</a> of misconduct and internal investigations prior to murdering Floyd. (Only 18 appear on the city’s police internal affairs records.) But because <a href="https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/state-policing-reforms-george-floyds-murder" target="_blank" rel="noopener">records of “decertification” are patchy</a>, such “wandering” officers can often get themselves <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/wandering-cops-moving-from-department-to-department-is-a-roadblock-to-police-accountability" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rehired</a>. The officers can stay unaccountable by targeting impoverished men who, unable to afford lawyers, are more likely to accept plea deals. Floyd was never tried by jury; he rather accepted eight plea deals. He knew that even if he got to court, the decision was unlikely to be positive because the state of Texas does not provide public defenders. Rather, the court pays for a private lawyer to defend those who can’t afford their own representation. Judges in Harris County, where Houston is located, more often than not will appoint lawyers who had donated to their election campaigns. In 2007, police arrested Floyd for a violent assault on evidence provided by a dubious photo ID process. (It has since been improved.) Facing up to 40 years of prison, a reluctant Floyd accepted a plea deal for five. Claustrophobia made Floyd’s time in prison difficult, and yet he discovered that none of the mental health, drug addiction, or education programs included in legislation such as the notorious <a href="https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/1994-crime-bill-and-beyond-how-federal-funding-shapes-criminal-justice" target="_blank" rel="noopener">1994 Crime Bill</a>, which sloshed billions of dollars into prison building, were available. As the authors point out, it was only after the <a href="https://www.communitycatalyst.org/blog/how-structural-racism-fuels-the-response-to-the-opioid-crisis#.YtX8puxBxqs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">opioid crisis</a> hit white communities that such funds were expended. In short, whereas policymakers declared crack cocaine a crime problem, they saw opiate addictions, more commonly associated with white people, as an epidemic or public health emergency. The man responsible for prosecuting the case against Derek Chauvin, Jerry Blackwell, knew well the racism inherent at every level of what we uncritically call “the criminal justice system.” Blackwell anticipated the defence would claim that Floyd’s drug use or some physical anomaly was the reason he had died. He therefore required an independent medical examiner review the coronial findings into Floyd’s death. That person, and the examiner who worked for the Floyd family in the civil case against the city of Minneapolis (which the city settled before trial for a <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/03/13/976785212/minneapolis-agrees-to-pay-27-million-to-family-of-george-floyd" target="_blank" rel="noopener">record $US27 million</a>), both questioned whether the autopsy had been conducted correctly. Specifically, they doubted whether the incisions made on Floyd’s body were sufficient to ascertain the cause of death. And, indeed, the defence claimed that Floyd’s drug use and a supposedly enlarged heart had contributed to his death. This was not unique; as the authors report, in 2021 researchers found evidence that medical examiners “had misclassified or covered up nearly 17,000 deaths that involved police between 1980 and 2018”. All this detail might make the book sound dull, but the research is woven lightly through the account of Floyd’s life so as to maintain momentum. We learn too about Floyd’s family, friends, girlfriends, and his young daughter Gianna. The authors bring to life Floyd’s ability to take people as he found them, underpinned by a deep Christian faith in God. <h2>Activism</h2> The final third of the book, which focuses on events after Floyd’s death, is also gripping. Even as we know the outcome, the twists and turns in the criminal case against Chauvin make for heart-in-the-mouth reading. Chauvin was <a href="https://theconversation.com/relief-at-derek-chauvin-conviction-a-sign-of-long-history-of-police-brutality-159212" target="_blank" rel="noopener">convicted of murder and manslaughter</a> and is serving a 22-and-a-half year sentence. And in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jul/07/derek-chauvin-sentenced-violating-george-floyd-civil-rights" target="_blank" rel="noopener">early July</a> a federal judge sentenced Chauvin to 21 years in prison for violating George Floyd’s civil rights – the sentence will be served concurrently.) Even more striking is the depiction of the bravery of protestors in Minneapolis and of Floyd’s family members, especially his brother, Philonise Floyd, as they seized an opportunity they never wanted – as spokespeople for justice. Joined by the civil rights veterans, the Reverends Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, Philonise campaigned hard for federal legislation to reform policing. Republican opposition to the hardest-hitting sections of the <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1280" target="_blank" rel="noopener">George Floyd Justice in Policing Act</a>, introduced to Congress in February 2021 by Rep. Karen Bass, meant the bill foundered – and has still not been passed. Unlike all the earlier sections of the book, the activism around police and legislative reform is not given quite the context it deserves. Although Samuels and Olorunnipa interviewed 400 people for their book, activists who have long campaigned against police brutality and for the <a href="https://www.versobooks.com/books/2426-the-end-of-policing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dismantling</a> of the entire criminal justice system in favour of a society built on <a href="https://www.teenvogue.com/story/what-is-prison-abolition-movement" target="_blank" rel="noopener">equal distribution of resources</a>, such as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVjMNMG6Mxo" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Angela Davis</a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/17/magazine/prison-abolition-ruth-wilson-gilmore.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ruthie Wilson Gilmore</a>, do not appear. Nor is there much comment on the <a href="https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/state-policing-reforms-george-floyds-murder" target="_blank" rel="noopener">efficacy of prior efforts</a> to reform the criminal justice system via legislation. Banning choke-holds, for instance, will not end police murders when Black lives are still not regarded as mattering as much as those of white people. This criticism aside, His Name is George Floyd is a monumental achievement – a work of activism in itself. Bringing Floyd vividly to life, it makes an impassioned and persuasive plea for the dignity and preciousness of life. The book’s cover deliberately evokes the <a href="https://www.torranceartmuseum.com/staffpicks/2021/1/7/i-am-a-man-written-by-hope-ezcurra" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posters held aloft during the 1968 workers’ strike in Memphis, Tennessee</a> (when Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed), that proclaimed “I Am a Man.” George Floyd was a man, too, who deserved a better life. This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/george-floyd-deserved-a-better-life-a-new-book-charts-his-trajectory-from-poverty-to-the-us-prison-industrial-complex-and-the-impact-of-his-death-182947" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. Images: Penguin

Books

“May justice be done”: Ben Roberts-Smith’s trial comes to an end

The defamation trial launched by Ben Roberts-Smith against Nine newspapers has come to an end after four years, with Justice Anthony Besanko left with the final task of condemning or clearing the war veteran’s name. Mr Roberts-Smith’s lawyers are hoping that finding in their client’s favour will see his name cleared and result in the largest defamation payout in history, while a finding in favour of his journalist opponents could validate their claims he committed “the most heinous acts of criminality” while serving in the SAS. The lengthy case drew to a close on Wednesday after over 100 days of evidence, more than $25 million in legal fees and two weeks of closing speeches. Arthur Moses SC, Mr Roberts-Smith’s barrister, used his closing statement to push the fact that Nine had the burden of proof to prove their claims the Victoria Cross recipient had murdered unarmed prisoners, “(Nine) published allegations and stories as fact that condemned Mr Roberts-Smith as being guilty of the most heinous acts of criminality that could be made against a member of the Australian Defence Force, and indeed any citizen,” Mr Moses said. “It depends upon recollection of events that occurred during missions more than 10 years ago… Recollections which are contradicted either by their own witnesses, our witnesses and Defence Force documents.” “They have urged upon the court a case which is one of mere suspicion, surmise and guesswork to condemn a man, who served his nation with great distinction, as a war criminal.” Mr Moses called on Justice Besanko to reject Nine’s case “in all forms”. Meanwhile, Nicholas Owens SC, representing Nine, closed his case by returning to the claims and counterclaims, including the question of Mr Roberts-Smith’s motive in killing six detained Afghans when he had transported hundreds of others safely back to Australia bases, which Mr Roberts-Smith said Nine had left unanswered. When he opened his case in June 2021, Mr Owens said that even “the most brutal, vile member of the Taliban imaginable” can’t be killed once detained and “to do so is murder”. On Wednesday, he returned to this point and said Mr Roberts-Smith killed the detainees simply because they were “enemy combatants”. “We say that was a powerful motive that operated in relation to all of these incidents… it was a motive to kill Taliban insurgents regardless of the lawfulness of doing so,” Mr Owens told the court. Justice Besanko thanked lawyers on both sides, as well as the legal team for the Commonwealth government who had been on-hand every single day in court to keep highly classified material out of the public sphere. With the trial conducting itself in a combination of open and closed court, with sensitive information and testimonies being held in closed court, the full scope of evidence Justice Besanko must consider isn’t well-known. It is also unknown just how long it will take Justice Besanko to reach a verdict, given the sheer volume of evidence and documents, but it is expected to take many months. Nick McKenzie, one of the journalists Mr Roberts-Smith launched his case against, took to social media following the trial’s conclusion to summarise the claims made against Mr Roberts-Smith and call for justice to be done. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Roberts-Smith trial is now over, save for judgment. 4 years ago RS launched it. Such stress for all involved: SAS eye witnesses who accuse RS of murders/cliffkicking of innocent Afghan father, Afghans who witnessed the same, brave woman who spoke up about DV. May justice be done. — Nick McKenzie (@Ageinvestigates) <a href="https://twitter.com/Ageinvestigates/status/1552124223669149696?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 27, 2022</a></blockquote> “Roberts-Smith trial is now over, save for judgement,” the Age journalist wrote. “4 years ago RS (Roberts-Smith) launched it. Such stress for all involved: SAS eye witnesses who accuse RS of murders/kicking of innocent Afghan father, Afghans who witnessed the same, brave woman who spoke up about (domestic violence). “May justice be done.” Image: Getty Images

Legal

"Deeply saddened" Prince William demands "swift justice" for tragic death

Prince William has sent out a heartfelt message following the tragic death of a senior wildlife ranger in Africa that he met recently – while also pleading for “swift justice” in retaliation for the murder. "I'm deeply saddened to learn of the killing of Anton Mzimba who I spoke to in November," the Duke of Cambridge wrote in a tweet. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> I’m deeply saddened to learn of the killing of Anton Mzimba who I spoke to in November. Committed and brave, rangers like Anton are central to the conservation of Africa’s fantastic wildlife. Those responsible must swiftly be brought to justice. My thoughts are with his family. W — The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) <a href="https://twitter.com/KensingtonRoyal/status/1552313081367257089?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 27, 2022</a></blockquote> The head ranger at Timbavati had been the subject of ongoing death threats for quite a while, the non-profit organisation “Helping Rhinos” revealed when confirming news of his passing. "Anton Mzimba, was shot and killed outside of his home last night," the organisation tweeted on Wednesday July 26. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Head of Ranger at Timbavati, Anton Mzimba, was shot and killed outside of his home last night. This follows recent death threats and highlights the daily threat facing Rangers. Our deepest condolences to Anton’s loved ones and co-workers at this difficult time <a href="https://t.co/fRayloiFjB">pic.twitter.com/fRayloiFjB</a> — Helping Rhinos 🦏 (@HelpingRhinos) <a href="https://twitter.com/HelpingRhinos/status/1552240245088964608?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 27, 2022</a></blockquote> "This follows recent death threats and highlights the daily threat facing rangers. Our deepest condolences to Anton's loved ones and co-workers at this difficult time." Prince William spoke with Mzimba in a conference call in November 2021 during a visit to Microsoft headquarters, to learn more about how technology was being used to disrupt the illegal wildlife trade. The Duke of Cambridge, through the Royal Foundation, founded United for Wildlife in 2014 and is passionate about stopping the trade. "Like so many others, I am deeply saddened by the numbers of elephant, rhino and pangolin who have been illegally slaughtered for their tusks, horns and scales," the Duke, who is also patron of the Royal African Society, said ahead of a visit to Africa, a few years ago in 2018. "But the illegal wildlife trade also has a devastating human impact. Too many brave rangers are tragically killed each year by poachers. Communities see their tourist livelihoods threatened. This is why I am committed to doing what I can to help end this terrible, global crime." Image: Getty

News

“There are different paths to justice”: Former choirboy’s father takes George Pell to court

Content warning: This article includes mentions of child sexual abuse (CSA). The father of a former choirboy allegedly abused by George Pell has launched a civil case against the cardinal and the Catholic Church. After being convicted of abusing two choirboys during his time as archbishop of Melbourne in the 1990s, Cardinal Pell was acquitted by the High Court in 2020, having served 13 months in prison before gaining his freedom. The father of one of the victims, who died of a drug overdose in 2014, was told about the alleged abuse by police a year after his son’s death, according to the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-14/george-pell-father-former-choirboy-civil-action-cardinal-church/101236968" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ABC</a>. He has now launched legal action against Cardinal Pell and the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne in the Supreme Court of Victoria for “damages for nervous shock” that were related to finding out about the allegations, according to the statement of claim lodged in court. The father, who cannot legally be named and has been given the pseudonym RWQ, and his solicitors from Shine Lawyers claim Cardinal Pell and the Archdiocese were negligent. They allege the cardinal is liable for RWQ’s mental injury because it would have been reasonably foreseeable that he would suffer from nervous shock after learning of the alleged abuse, and that the Archdiocese breached a duty of care to him. RWQ is claiming general damages, and special damages, and seeking compensation for “past loss of earning capacity and past and future medical and like expenses”, though the sum he is seeking will only be revealed if the matter goes to trial. Lisa Flynn, the Chief Legal Officer for Shine Lawyers, said the separate criminal case and High Court proceedings involving the cardinal won’t affect the civil case. “The High Court made some decisions in relation to the criminal prosecution against [George] Pell, our case is a civil case against George Pell and the Catholic Archdiocese,” she explained. “There are different paths to justice.” If you are in need of support you can contact Lifeline on 0800 54 33 54, or Safe to Talk on 0800 044 334 for support relating to sexual abuse. Image: Getty Images

Legal

The International Court of Justice has ordered Russia to stop the war

The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the top court of the United Nations, has <a href="https://www.icj-cij.org/public/files/case-related/182/182-20220316-ORD-01-00-EN.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ordered Russia to “immediately suspend” its military operations in Ukraine</a>. What does the decision mean, and what happens next? We already knew Russia’s invasion was illegal in international law. But the ICJ decision now makes it virtually impossible for anyone, including Russia, to deny that illegality. It is also impressive because Ukraine used a creative strategy to get the ICJ to hear the case, based on the <a href="https://www.un.org/en/genocideprevention/documents/atrocity-crimes/Doc.1_Convention%20on%20the%20Prevention%20and%20Punishment%20of%20the%20Crime%20of%20Genocide.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Genocide Convention of 1948</a>. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> READ HERE: a summary of the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ICJ?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ICJ</a> Order indicating provisional measures in the case concerning Allegations of Genocide under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Ukraine?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Ukraine</a> v. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Russia?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Russia</a>) <a href="https://t.co/joZ3kWkfiQ">https://t.co/joZ3kWkfiQ</a> <a href="https://t.co/D6YsHmVHOH">pic.twitter.com/D6YsHmVHOH</a> — CIJ_ICJ (@CIJ_ICJ) <a href="https://twitter.com/CIJ_ICJ/status/1504137139625279492?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 16, 2022</a></blockquote> Russia’s legal arguments about the war Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, gave <a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/full-text-putin-s-declaration-of-war-on-ukraine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">several justifications for invading Ukraine</a>. Some had little to do with the law, such as his complaints about NATO. But two were legal arguments. First, he claimed Russia was acting in “self-defence”. Self-defence is <a href="https://www.un.org/en/about-us/un-charter/chapter-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">an established reason to use military force</a> in international law. But Putin suggested Russia was defending the two breakaway parts of eastern Ukraine it recognises as sovereign states: Donetsk and Luhansk. Legally, these are <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-russias-recognition-of-breakaway-parts-of-ukraine-breached-international-law-and-set-the-stage-for-invasion-177623" target="_blank" rel="noopener">still parts of Ukraine’s own territory, not independent states</a>, which makes nonsense of this argument. Second, Putin claimed Ukraine was committing genocide against ethnic Russians (where “genocide” means certain acts committed with “<a href="https://treaties.un.org/doc/publication/unts/volume%2078/volume-78-i-1021-english.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">intent to destroy</a>” an ethnic group or another defined group). This is just as factually and legally flimsy as the self-defence argument. If both arguments are weak, why did Ukraine focus on genocide in the case before the ICJ? To understand, we have to look at the court’s jurisdiction: that is, its power to decide some legal issues but not others. The jurisdiction of the ICJ The ICJ hears disputes solely between sovereign states (in contrast to the separate International Criminal Court, which tries individuals for committing things like war crimes). The ICJ does not automatically have jurisdiction over every state and every issue. There is no global government that could give it that power. Like many other aspects of international law, <a href="https://www.icj-cij.org/en/basis-of-jurisdiction" target="_blank" rel="noopener">its jurisdiction relies on states giving consent</a> – agreement – either directly or indirectly. Some states have given consent by making general declarations. Other states have consented to particular treaties that give the ICJ the power to decide disputes related specifically to those treaties. Since Russia has not made a general declaration, Ukraine could not ask the ICJ to rule on its self-defence argument. But Russia is a party to a relevant treaty, the <a href="https://treaties.un.org/doc/publication/unts/volume%2078/volume-78-i-1021-english.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Genocide Convention</a>. Ukraine’s creative strategy was to try to bring the case within the ICJ’s jurisdiction by arguing that Russia was making a false allegation of genocide to justify its illegal invasion. The order made by the ICJ Russia did not turn up to the courtroom in The Hague for the initial hearing in early March (though it did write the ICJ a letter outlining its view). That is a change in its behaviour. After Russia invaded Georgia in 2008, Georgia similarly brought a case to the ICJ and tried to use <a href="https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/UNTS/Volume%20660/volume-660-I-9464-English.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a different treaty</a> to bring it within the court’s jurisdiction. Russia participated in the case and actually had <a href="https://www.icj-cij.org/en/case/140" target="_blank" rel="noopener">significant success</a>. Its failure to turn up this time signals its disengagement from international institutions. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> International Court of Justice is ruling on Ukraine's appeal for an order for Russia to halt its invasion. Russian officials and lawyers have not turned up for the session. <a href="https://t.co/oucPjgQ5Hp">pic.twitter.com/oucPjgQ5Hp</a> — Julian Borger (@julianborger) <a href="https://twitter.com/julianborger/status/1504111254205521926?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 16, 2022</a></blockquote> Of the 15 judges, almost all agreed to <a href="https://www.icj-cij.org/public/files/case-related/182/182-20220316-ORD-01-00-EN.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">order Russia to “immediately suspend” its military operations</a>. There were two dissenters: the judges of Russian and Chinese nationality. This was what is called a “provisional measures” order – an emergency ruling made before the court hears the whole case. Provisional measures are binding. That is important. It means even if Russia maintains incorrectly that the invasion is legal, it is now breaching international law anyway by failing to comply with the ICJ’s order. However, a binding ruling is not the same as an enforceable one. Just as there is no global government to give the ICJ more power, there are no global police to enforce its decisions. For example, in 1999, the ICJ <a href="https://www.icj-cij.org/en/case/104" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ordered the United States to delay executing a German man on death row</a>. Although the court confirmed such a provisional measure was binding, it could not actually stop the execution. But ICJ decisions can play a more subtle role. They shape the narrative for law-abiding states and within the United Nations. This ruling might help to embolden other states, including some that until now have been sitting on the fence, to contribute to actions like suffocating Russia’s economy with sanctions and arming Ukraine. What happens next? All the ICJ has done so far is to order provisional measures. It has not even found conclusively that it has jurisdiction in the case. It might be a long time before it decides the case as a whole. But it has hinted it is receptive to Ukraine’s arguments. It has noted that it “<a href="https://www.icj-cij.org/public/files/case-related/182/182-20220316-ORD-01-00-EN.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">is not in possession of evidence</a>” to support Russia’s allegation that Ukraine has committed genocide. Another strength of Ukraine’s case is that there is, in any event, no rule in international law automatically giving one state a right to invade another state to stop a genocide. One reason is that a cynical aggressor could manipulate or abuse such a rule. That is basically what this case is all about.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/179466/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/rowan-nicholson-945547" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rowan Nicholson</a>, Lecturer in Law, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/flinders-university-972" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Flinders University</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-international-court-of-justice-has-ordered-russia-to-stop-the-war-what-does-this-ruling-mean-179466" target="_blank" rel="noopener">original article</a>. Image: Getty Images

Legal

"Justice for Chloe": Unbearable choice for grandfather accused of cruise ship fatal fall

A grandfather accused in the fatal fall of his granddaughter Chloe from an 11th storey window of a cruise ship pleaded guilty on Thursday to negligent homicide. Salvatore "Sam" Anello said that he wanted to help end "this nightmare" for his family. His 18-month-old granddaughter Chloe slipped from his grip and fell 46 metres from an open window on a Royal Caribbean Cruises' Freedom of the Seas ship in July 2019 as the ship docked in Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico prosecutor Laura Hernandez said Anello would be sentenced on December 10th. “We have found justice for Chloe,” she said. A representative for Anello’s attorney, Michael Winkleman, said in a statement to America’s NBC TODAY that Anello will not serve any jail time and will serve his probation in Indiana. “This decision was an incredibly difficult one for Sam and the family, but because the plea agreement includes no jail time and no admission of facts, it was decided the plea deal is in the best interests of the family so that they can close this horrible chapter and turn their focus to mourning Chloe and fighting for cruise passenger safety by raising awareness about the need for all common carriers to adhere to window fall prevention laws designed to protect children from falling from windows,” Winkleman said in a statement. Winkleman also added that the family would continue its civil suit against Royal Caribbean with the goal of discovering why the window was allowed to be open. Anello, 51, said that he did not know that the window in the children's play area was open. “I wasn’t drinking and I wasn’t dangling her out of a window,” he said in a previous statement. He said he is colourblind and might not have realized the tinted window was open. “We will continue the fight for justice for Chloe and to hold Royal Caribbean accountable for its brazen failure to follow the standards designed precisely to prevent children from falling out of windows,” Winkleman said in his statement.

Legal

Cruise ship heartache: Little Chloe’s next step for justice

The parents of a child who plunged to her death after suffering a 46-metre fall from a cruise ship window are suing for millions as they release the chilling picture of where she died. The toddler, Chloe Wiegand was in the hands of her grandad near to a window when she slipped. However, her heart-stricken family insist the blame lies with the “negligent” cruise line, which they are reportedly launching legal action against. The heartbreaking photograph taken of the tent covering the part of the deck that Alan and Kimberly Schultz’s baby girl died, was taken by a criminal investigator and is now being used in a negligence suit. They are reportedly accusing Royal Caribbean of breaching safety protocols and standards. The snap shows the view which Chloe’s grandad Salvatore “Sam” Anello had been balancing Chloe when he slipped and fell while the ship was docked in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It also shows a partial space between the wooden railing that Mr Anello held his granddaughter and a large, glass window that could be completely opened. Mr Anello is facing up to six years behind bars after he was charged with criminal neglect – however Chloe’s parents are adamant the blame lies in the hands of the cruise ship. Mr and Mrs Schultz are sticking by their daughter’s grandfather, insisting nothing is worse than “what has already happened”. The family have reportedly filed a suit against Royal Caribbean to figure out why the 11th storey window was allegedly left open. It is reported the family will receive “unlimited” damages for “pain and mental suffering” if their claim is successful, as Chloe died on American soil and not in the high seas. The grieving family’s lawyer say it will be impossible to “put a figure” on their grief however, saying “four simple words – caution these windows open – and we wouldn’t be talking about his. “A sticker, a decal with the Royal Caribbean logo, anything, and Chloe is still with us.” The family will claim in court that little Chloe was being “closely supervised” by her granddad at the time of her death. They will further maintain Mr Anello was “unaware” one of the large panes of glass surrounding the ship’s 11th floor had been slid open when he carried his granddaughter over to the railings. The case alleges the window was the only one open “among dozens” and there was no clear indication that it had been opened. The lawsuit also claims there was a 46 cm gap between the wooden railing and the open window, which made it even more difficult for a horrified Mr Anello to reach over and grasp for his toddler as she plunged to her death. They also allege that Mr Anello being colourblind made hard for him to differentiate between the glass and the open window. Chloe’s family have insisted the toddler liked to bang on glass, just as she did when at her brother’s hockey games – which is why her grandad had sat her on the wooden railing. In November, it was reported there is video evidence that supports the grieving family’s claim that Mr Anello was unaware the window was open – a potential bombshell for both the case against her distraught grandad and the family’s Royal Caribbean suit. Royal Caribbean has refused to comment further but described Chloe’s death as a “tragic incident”.

News

Justice for Kevin: Man who tore kookaburra's head off could face prosecution

A man who tore the head off a kookaburra in a Perth pub in front of families with young children may still face prosecution. The man, allegedly in his 40s, was at the Parkerville Tavern, when the beloved but chip stealing resident kookaburra known as Kevin stole some chips off his plate. The man allegedly grabbed the kookaburra, pulled the bird's head off and threw it under the table. Kevin was beloved by locals who attended the pub. An RSPCA spokeswoman told AAP that the organisation had not given up on pursuing the man but said that the Animal Welfare Act was unclear. Agriculture and Food Minister Alannah MacTiernan has promised to search legal avenues surrounding native wildlife protection. “It is pretty disgusting I think everyone is rightly appalled. We are now checking with the department whether or not this can be characterised as an act of animal cruelty,” she said on Monday to <a rel="noopener" href="https://10daily.com.au/shows/10-news-first/a191028drqhz/shock-and-disbelief-as-man-who-allegedly-ripped-head-of-kookaburra-may-not-be-prosecuted-20191028" target="_blank">10daily</a>. “I think everyone in this community would say there should be some penalty for behaving in this way. And that’s what we are very determined that we will sort this out.” Environment Minister Stephen Dawson has said that a review of the Animal Welfare Act is underway. “If the allegations are true, this is a despicable act. The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) and WA Police are conducting a joint investigation into the incident,” he said. “The State Government currently has a review of the Animal Welfare Act underway, with an independent panel due to provide advice to the Agriculture Minister next year. “Cases like this will be examined as part of the review.”

Family & Pets

Bill Cosby’s wife Camille breaks silence: “This is mob justice, not real justice”

Bill Cosby’s wife Camille has broken her silence, calling for a probe into the “corrupt” office of the prosecutor who finally convicted her husband. The disgraced comedian’s wife of 54 years released a blistering statement, writing: “I am publicly asking for a criminal investigation of that district attorney and his cohorts. This is a homogeneous group of exploitative and corrupt people, whose primary purpose is to advance themselves professionally and economically at the expense of Mr Cosby’s life. If they can do this to Mr Cosby, they can do so to anyone.” Her comments come a week after <a href="http://www.oversixty.com.au/finance/legal/2018/05/juror-reveals-the-words-that-sealed-bill-cosbys-fate/">Cosby was convicted</a> of three charges of aggravated indecent assault following a three-week retrial in Philadelphia. The charges against Cosby were filed a decade after Andrea Constand, a former university basketball administrator, accused Cosby of drugging and sexually assaulting her in January 2005. Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele, who prosecuted the case, campaigned on a promise that he would try Cosby after his predecessor did not want to do so. “In the case of Bill Cosby, unproven accusations evolved into lynch mobs, who publicly and privately coerced cancellations of Bill Cosby’s scheduled performances; syndications of The Cosby Show; rescissions of honorary degrees and a vindictive attempt to close an exhibition of our collection of African-American art in the Smithsonian Museum of African Art,” Camille wrote. The 74-year-old’s statement also slammed the media, which she blamed for “frenzied, relentless demonisation of [Cosby] and unquestioning acceptance of accusers’ allegations.” She wrote in a Facebook post: "Bill Cosby was labelled as guilty because the media and accusers said so... period. And the media ensured the dissemination of that propaganda by establishing barricades preventing the dissemination of the truth in violation of the protections of the First Amendment. Are the media now the people’s judges and juries?" "This is mob justice, not real justice," she added. "This tragedy must be undone not just for Bill Cosby, but for the country." No sentencing date has been set for Cosby, who remains under electronic monitoring in his Pennsylvania home. He faces up to 10 years in jail on each count.

Legal

Rolf Harris launches bid to clear his name

Disgraced children’s entertainer Rolf Harris has launched an audacious bid to clear his name today, appearing before the Royal Courts of Justice in central London with fresh evidence he believes will have his <a href="http://www.oversixty.com.au/finance/legal/2017/05/rolf-harris-trial-dramatically-concludes/" target="_blank">12 indecent assault convictions thrown out</a>. The 87-year-old’s legal team has told a London appeals court that key evidence, not seen by the jury in his 2014 sexual abuse trial, could have exonerated Harris. Four of initial convictions will be appealed, and if the judges sitting in the Court of Appeal Criminal Division rule in his favour, Harris will argue the remaining eight convictions are unsafe and should also be thrown out by the court. The defence is arguing Harris should not have been convicted of indecently touching a seven-year-old girl at a community centre in Leigh Park council estate in rural England, as there was no evidence that he had ever been there. Harris’ legal team also contends one of the key prosecution witnesses was a “Walter Mitty-type” character who, amongst other things, lied about serving in the Korean War. Stephen Vullo, QC, for Harris says this means the conviction was unsafe. "It's credible, it's reliable, it goes to the central issue in the case and it wasn't raised at the trial," he said. Prosecutor Jonathan Rees, QC, argues this should not be accepted as new evidence. “The fresh evidence should not be received by the court and if any or all if it is, it still does not render the convictions unsafe,’’ he said. The court will hear more legal arguments on Wednesday, before retiring to consider its decision. What are your thoughts? Hero image credit: Twitter / Global's Newsroom

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"Justice for Chloe": Unbearable choice for grandfather accused of cruise ship fatal fall

Cruise ship heartache: Little Chloe’s next step for justice

Justice for Kevin: Man who tore kookaburra's head off could face prosecution

Bill Cosby’s wife Camille breaks silence: “This is mob justice, not real justice”

Rolf Harris launches bid to clear his name