Melbourne, August 7 (AP) - The decision of an Australian state government to award 2 million Australian dollars (USD 1.3 million) as compensation to a woman who spent two decades in prison after being wrongfully convicted of killing her four children has been criticized by her lawyer as “profoundly unjust.” New South Wales Attorney-General Michael Daley announced on Thursday that Kathleen Folbigg’s legal team had been informed of the compensation amount for the 58-year-old, more than two years after her release from prison.
Daley chose not to disclose the figure publicly, though Folbigg's supporters confirmed the amount.
“The decision follows thorough and extensive consideration of the materials and issues raised in Ms. Folbigg's compensation application and provided by her legal representatives,” Daley stated, opting not to comment further.
Folbigg’s lawyer, Rhanee Rego, condemned the sum as a “profoundly unjust figure” and “hugely insulting.” “Her reaction is really that it feels, well—we all feel that it's profoundly unjust,” Rego told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
“When you compare this to other cases and consider what she has endured—losing her four children, spending two decades in jail, and being vilified as Australia’s worst female serial killer—it is incredibly unjust,” Rego continued.
Despite Folbigg having no legal recourse to appeal Daley’s decision, Rego expressed support for a lawmaker’s demand for an inquiry into how the compensation figure was determined.
Rego did not specify what an appropriate compensation amount would be but insisted it should be “substantially higher.” “I was very much hopeful that it would be substantially more because this is one of our worst wrongful conviction cases in Australia,” Rego stated.
In December 2023, the New South Wales Court of Appeal overturned all convictions against Folbigg, 20 years after she was found guilty of killing her four children by a jury.
Folbigg had already received a pardon at the direction of the state government and was released from prison based on new scientific evidence indicating that her children may have died from natural causes, as she had consistently claimed.
The pardon was viewed as the quickest method to secure Folbigg's release from prison after an inquiry into new evidence recommended the appeals court reconsider her convictions.
The inquiry that led to Folbigg’s pardon and acquittal was initiated by a petition signed in 2021 by 90 scientists, medical practitioners, and related professionals, who argued that significant new evidence indicated the children likely died of natural causes.
Caleb, Folbigg’s first child, was born in 1989 and died 19 days later, which a jury determined to be the lesser crime of manslaughter. Her second child, Patrick, died at 8 months old in 1991. Two years later, Sarah died at 10 months. In 1999, Folbigg’s fourth child, Laura, died at 19 months.
Prosecutors alleged that Folbigg smothered them, leading to her 2003 conviction and 30-year prison sentence on three counts of murder and one of manslaughter.
Tracy Chapman, a childhood friend of Folbigg, called the compensation amount “disgraceful.” Folbigg is currently unemployed, living alone with her dog Snowy in rental accommodation in Newcastle. Chapman described Folbigg as being “pretty much rocking in a corner” upon receiving the news, and unable to speak to the media.
“Kath requires ongoing mental health support for the rest of her life,” Chapman revealed. “She has to cope with the trauma of losing her four children, which was never properly addressed during her wrongful conviction, and the additional trauma of living in a world that has drastically changed,” Chapman explained.
Chapman shared that Folbigg expressed feeling “deeply sad and perceiving a lack of empathy” regarding the compensation. “When I spoke to her she just said, ‘Trace, the sad thing here is I'm not surprised,’” Chapman recounted, referring to herself by a shortened version of Tracy.
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