Latest news with #Rhanee Rego
BBC News
8 hours ago
- BBC News
Woman dem jail wrongfully for 20 years get $1.3m compensation
Kathleen Folbigg, wey dem bin brand as "Australia worst mother" get offer of A$2m (£975,580, $1.3m) in compensation for 20 years of wrongful imprisonment, afta dem consider am di victim of one of di greatest miscarriages of justice. For 2003, court bin convict Ms Folbigg ova di deaths of her four babies, but dem free am for 2023 afta judicial review of her case reveal say her babies die of genetic condition. Legal experts don estimate say di 58-year-old fit expect one of di highest compensation payouts for Australian history, likely upwards of $10m. However, on Thursday, Ms Folbigg lawyer tok say govment only offer $2m, e describe am as "profoundly unfair and unjust". "Di sum wey dem offer na moral affront – woefully inadequate and ethically indefensible," Rhanee Rego tok for one statement. "Di system don fail Kathleen Folbigg once again." Inside one statement, New South Wales Attorney General Michael Daley tok say di decision na based on "thorough and extensive" consideration of Ms Folbigg application for compensation. "At Ms Folbigg request, di Attorney General and govment agree not to publicly discuss di details of di decision." Ms Folbigg four children - Caleb, Patrick, Sarah, and Laura - die suddenly between 1989 and 1999, between di age 19 days and 18 months. For 2003, dem sentence her to 40 years in jail for di murders of Sarah, Patrick and Laura, and di manslaughter of Caleb, later dem downgrade am to 30 years on appeal. Ms Folbigg bin always maintain her innocence, and for 2023 one landmark inquiry into her case find out say her babies fit don die from natural causes becos of incredibly rare gene mutations. Ms Rego tok say di payment wey dem offer to Ms Folbigg no fairly take into account di suffering she don endure. "Wen dem release Lindy Chamberlain for 1994, she receive $1.7 million for three years in prison," she tok, referencing anoda mother wey dem falsely convict of murder afta one animal carry her daughter from campsite. "Kathleen Folbigg spend two decades in prison, for her wrongful imprisonment, dem offer her $2 million." After her release, forensic criminologist Xanthe Mallett tell Australian Broadcasting Corporation say she "no go dey surprised" if compensation dem go award go be upwards of A$10m. Meanwhile, Professor Gary Edmond, from di University of NSW, tell Guardian Australia say Ms Folbigg compensation payout " fit be" di largest in di country history. Oda local media report say she fit receive damages of up to A$20m.
RNZ News
9 hours ago
- Politics
- RNZ News
NSW attorney-general approves $2 million compensation payment to Kathleen Folbigg after release from prison
By Nakita Jager, ABC Kathleen Folbigg (right) with her lawyer Rhanee Rego in 2023, when her convictions were quashed. Photo: ABC News / Keana Naughton Kathleen Folbigg's solicitor says a $2 million payout from the NSW government is "profoundly unfair and unjust" after spending 20 years in prison. Attorney-General Michael Daley granted a compensation payment to Folbigg, who was exonerated of killing her four children after spending two decades in jail for their deaths. Folbigg was convicted in 2003 of killing her four children between 1989 and 1999. Following a seven-week trial, a jury found Folbigg guilty of the murders of Patrick, Sarah and Laura, and the manslaughter of Caleb. In 2023 Folbigg's convictions were quashed and in 2024 she applied for a compensation payment. The state government said it had agreed to a request from Folbigg to not publicly discuss the details of the compensation decision. "The decision follows thorough and extensive consideration of the materials and issues raised in Ms Folbigg's application and provided by her legal representatives," Daley said. Folbigg's solicitor Rhanee Rego said in a statement her client continues to feel the lasting effects of this ongoing trauma. "Kathleen Folbigg spent two decades in prison, yet for her wrongful imprisonment she has been offered $2 million," the statement read. "When Lindy Chamberlain was exonerated in 1994, she received $1.7 million for three years in prison." Rego said the payment "does not reflect the extent of the pain and suffering Kathleen has endured". "This should be about the system recognising the significance of what it did to her. "An inquiry is needed to understand how the government decided on this figure." Greens MLC Sue Higginson says Folbigg's payment is not enough. Photo: ABC News / Victoria Pengilley NSW Greens MLC Sue Higginson dubbed the compensation amount an insult from Premier Chris Minns, describing the offer as "go away" money. "I'm astounded at the lack of reason, financial accounting, reflection and empathy this offer represents," she said. "Two million dollars barely covers what Kathleen could have earned on a full-time salary over 20 years. "Kathleen has not only lost 20 years of wages, she has lost her four children, her home and her employability. "She has racked up legal costs fighting her wrongful conviction, she has lost her superannuation, and she has been the victim of one of the worst injustices in this state's history - wrongful imprisonment." Rego said the system had failed her client once again. "Kathleen Folbigg's fight should be over. After being failed at her conviction and abused in prison, she is now being treated with contempt by the very system that should be making amends," she said. "This is profoundly unfair and unjust." - ABC
BBC News
11 hours ago
- BBC News
Kathleen Folbigg: Payout for woman wrongfully imprisoned for 20 years 'woefully inadequate'
For 20 years of wrongful imprisonment over the deaths of her four babies, Kathleen Folbigg has been offered A$2m (£975,580, $1.3m) in branded "Australia's worst mother" but now considered the victim of one of its greatest miscarriages of justice, Ms Folbigg was freed in 2023 after a judicial review of her case found there was reasonable doubt she had killed her children. Legal experts had estimated that the 58-year-old could expect one of the highest compensation payouts in Australian history - likely upwards of $ on Thursday Ms Folbigg's lawyer said she had been offered $2m by the New South Wales government, a figure they called "profoundly unfair and unjust". "The sum offered is a moral affront – woefully inadequate and ethically indefensible," her lawyer Rhanee Rego said in a statement."The system has failed Kathleen Folbigg once again."She said the payment did not fairly take into account the suffering Ms Folbigg had endured."When Lindy Chamberlain was exonerated in 1994, she received $1.7 million for three years in prison. Kathleen Folbigg spent two decades in prison, yet for her wrongful imprisonment she has been offered $2 million."In a statement, NSW Attorney General Michael Daley said the decision was based on "thorough and extensive" consideration of Ms Folbigg's application for compensation."At Ms Folbigg's request, the Attorney General and Government have agreed to not publicly discuss the details of the decision."After her release, forensic criminologist Xanthe Mallett told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation she "wouldn't be surprised" if compensation awarded was upwards of A$ local media reported that she could receive damages of up to A$20m.
News.com.au
14-07-2025
- Politics
- News.com.au
NSW Premier accused of ‘victim-blaming' Kathleen Folbigg over meeting rejection
NSW Premier Chris Minns has been slammed for using 'disparaging language' in his refusal to meet with Kathleen Folbigg, who is seeking compensation for her wrongful conviction. Ms Folbigg spent 20 years behind bars over the deaths of her four children before being exonerated in 2023 after new medical evidence came to light, leading to her being pardoned by the NSW Attorney-General. On Monday, Mr Minns was grilled about whether he would meet with Ms Folbigg following reports that she had made multiple requests to meet with the Premier about her compensation claim. Last week, Ms Folbigg told that her legal team hasn't heard from the government for a year, forcing her to stay with a friend and unable to secure a rental property. 'There's a lot of difficult calls for me to make as Premier. This isn't one of them,' Mr Minns told reporters at a press conference on Monday. 'I think that, given that there's a process that's been undertaken, we should let that take place before I insert myself in the middle of those negotiations.' Mr Minns said that Ms Folbigg had lodged a claim for an ex gratia payment instead of suing the state directly, making it a more 'complex issue'. Ms Folbigg's lawyer Rhanee Rego has previously said her team would be seeking the biggest compensation payment to date in Australia. 'It's unusual circumstances. I'm not going to insert myself in [the Attorney-General's] deliberations,' Mr Minns said. 'Like every citizen in the state, she's entitled to take her matter to the courts and sue the NSW government, but this is a complex issue given she won't do that.' His comments have been criticised by the NSW Greens, with justice spokesperson Sue Higginson saying she was 'shocked' by his statements. 'I'm shocked at the disparaging language Labor Premier Chris Minns is using when talking in public to Kathleen Folbigg and I am concerned about his lack of understanding of our justice system,' she said in a statement. 'The Premier Chris Minns has essentially engaged in victim-blaming, and he should be more mindful when talking through the powerful media to a woman who has lost four children to a rare genetic disease and who was wrongfully imprisoned for decades by the state he represents.' Ms Higginson said Mr Minns needed to 'undertake trauma-informed communication' before making further comments on the matter and urged him to make an apology. 'Saying, as Premier, that you make hard decisions but 'this isn't one of them' – it's incredibly callous and cruel, particularly in the circumstances while Ms Folbigg is simply exercising her rights to access justice and has in fact spared the State protracted legal proceedings,' Mr Higginson said. 'Ms Folbigg has chosen not to sue the NSW Government after being wrongfully convicted. Chris Minns is repaying her grace and her choice with ghosting, accusations and dismissals. 'Misogynistic and dismissive tone is not what people expect from the Premier and it is retraumatizing for a woman who has been the victim of a historic miscarriage of justice.' Folbigg case It's been more than two years since Ms Folbigg was released from prison after falsely being found guilty of murdering her three youngest children, Patrick, Sarah and Laura, and the manslaughter of her oldest child, Caleb, between 1989 and 1999 in the Hunter Region. Ms Folbigg was jailed in 2003. Twenty years later, a 2023 inquiry into the deaths raised reasonable doubt that the Folbigg children could have died due to natural causes or a rare genetic mutation. The report found Ms Folbigg shared the same genetic mutation as her daughters. Chief Justice Andrew Bell, alongside two other appeal judges, reviewed the inquiry report by retired Chief Justice Tom Bathurst and said in the court judgment that the new medical evidence raised 'reasonable doubt' as to Ms Folbigg's guilt. In his report, Mr Bathurst determined there was an 'identifiable cause' of three of the children's deaths and no direct evidence that Ms Folbigg killed her children.
