Lost in translation: the wrongful conviction of Kathleen Folbigg based on fresh medical evidence and expert interpretation of her diaries

Fiona Hum, Andrew Hemming

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

Abstract

This article argues that Kathleen Folbigg was wrongly convicted of suffocating her four children and should be immediately released from prison where she has been incarcerated since 2003. The basis for this contention is the fresh and compelling evidence that Ms Folbigg has the CALM2 mutation which she passed on to two of her four children and precipitated lethal cardiac arrests. The current medical and scientific expert opinion is that all four children died from natural causes. In addition, recent expert opinion from psychologists and linguists on Ms Folbigg's diaries, which the Crown argued amounted to virtual admissions of guilt, concluded that there was no evidence Ms Folbigg harmed her children and her purpose in writing the entries was to try and make sense of the deaths of her children.
Original languageEnglish
Article number0305
Pages (from-to)180-195
Number of pages15
JournalAustralian Law Journal
Volume97
Issue number3
Publication statusPublished - Mar 2023

Keywords

  • Folbigg

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