On inertia, injustice and the need for reform: introduction to a special issue on implications of the Folbigg case for the Australian criminal legal system

Abstract

The wrongful conviction of Kathleen Folbigg, who spent over 20 years in custody, is unarguably one of Australia's worst, acknowledged, miscarriages of justice. This special issue considers the implications of the Folbigg ‘case’, including opportunities missed to correct the flawed convictions, the continuing role of gendered ideologies that supported and maintained her convictions, and institutional failures in the judicial and executive branches of government. In addition to outlining some of the common themes and concerns of the authors who have contributed to this special issue, this introduction provides necessarily brief overview of the timeline and procedural history of the case. The timeline draws attention to comparable cases from other jurisdictions where mothers were wrongfully convicted of harming their children, but where errors were identified and corrected far more quickly. The introduction concludes by reiterating the need for reforms to provide independent review mechanisms to identify and correct errors in the Australian criminal legal system.