Australian Kathleen Folbigg finally breathe in absolute peace an ordeal that lasted more than twenty years. This Australian woman, who was imprisoned for the murder of her four children in 2003, learned her sentence today from the Criminal Court of Appeal, which she presides over, after New South Wales Attorney General Michael Delay ordered her amnesty and release on June 5. Supreme Court chief justice Andrew Bell acquitted him of all charges. New South Wales Government now has the ability to pay ex gratia as compensation.
Following the acquittal, Kathleen Folbigg expressed her hope that “no one else should suffer as I did.”” he said, and in his statements to Australia’s ABC television, he expressed his gratitude “for science and genetics giving me answers about how my children died.”
yours A paradigmatic and pioneering example of the role science can play in clarifying the facts that justice examines. In the ‘Folbigg case’, scientific evidence provided by genetic work led by Spanish geneticist Carola García de Vinuesa allowed Judge Tom Bathurst to confirm that there was “a reasonable possibility that the girls’ deaths were caused by a genetic mutation”. It was this work that ultimately led to Kathleen Folbigg’s release.
Who’s that He always maintained his innocenceHe was sentenced to 30 years in prison for killing his 4 childrenIt lasted between 19 days and 18 months, between 1989 and 1999, and was demonized by the Australian public for years.
Examination of his case became possible later Scientific research has discovered a genetic mutation (CALM2-G114R variant) as the cause of serious arrhythmias He ended the lives of his two daughters. The report, approved by respected experts from around the world, concluded that there was probably no crime as thought until then, but rather natural deaths and therefore Kathleen Folbigg may be innocent.
The first judicial review, carried out in 2018, was unsuccessful, but His lawyers and friends were hoping that the outcome of the second examination would be positive.Five years later, following scientific explanations and support from the Australian Academy of Science.
Similar situation in Greece
Kathleen Folbigg’s story is clear This sets a precedent for other cases around the world where justice can impose unfair sentences without relying on scientific evidence. In Greece, Roula Pispirigou’s relatives and lawyers are now calling for judges to take scientific criteria into account. while judging This 35 year old woman Accused of murdering three daughters in three years.
Last January, the trial of Pispirigou, who was detained for security reasons, began. “Intentional murder” charge at the death of his eldest daughter. And in the coming days, the defendant will face a court in Athens for hearings on the death of his second and third daughters, amid strong turmoil in Greek society.
Greek justice has so far condemned Roula Pispirigou. prime suspect in the death of eldest daughter GeorginaOn January 29, 2022, at a hospital in Athens for the alleged supply of ketamine, a fast-acting anesthetic. He is also being investigated for the alleged strangulation deaths of his two other daughters, Malena, three, in 2019 and Iris, who died in 2021 when she was six months old.
But a scientific report read in an Athens court on November 8 and prepared by toxicologist Robert Flanagan, pediatrician Peter Fleming, and geneticists Todor Arsov and Carola García de Vinuesa, among others, sheds light on clarifying the facts.
British toxicologist Robert Flanagan assures in this document: “It is unusual for a hospitalized person to die from poisoning unless it is a side effect of medical treatment.. “Ketamine is a substance frequently used in surgical procedures, and its use in the hospital itself is the most likely hypothesis.” The document emphasizes that it is not yet possible to “access the records of the ketamine supplies in the hospital” and concludes that “the absence of ketamine in the mother’s possession or at home is also relevant to the issue.”
The report also condemns the analysis as follows: postmortemtoxicology was done only on heart blood, not venous blood, and the hospital claimed to have provided rocuronium, another drug that did not appear in the medical notes.
Defense forensic pathologist Rania Dimakopoulou and defense lawyer Alexis Kougias regret that Roula Pispirigou has been accused of supplying ketamine doctors had previously done this in the hospital, and according to medical literature, children could tolerate ketamine overdoses of up to a hundred times the standard dose.
The report states that the girl will die. He had a heart attack months ago, leaving him paralyzed and requiring a pacemaker. He also suffered from epilepsy that did not respond to treatments, was fed through a tube (gastrostomy), and lost a quarter of his weight. The examination performed after his death revealed that he had serious liver and heart disease.
And according to British pediatrician Peter Fleming’s contribution to the research, According to the autopsies, there was a pathology in both the liver and heart of the three girls.. This led scientists to think that the three suffered from a rare genetic disease.
The youngest had a serious congenital heart defect when he died. The forensic pathologist said: could not find the right ventricle, sinus node, or atrioventricular node.and said that this was the cause of his death.
Second daughter died nine days after starting triple chemotherapy for leukemia. The forensic pathologist determined that he suffered from liver failure (suspected chemotherapy toxicity) due to liver pathology identified on the death certificate. postmortem.
Roula Pispirigou’s defense lawyer, Alexis Kougias, condemns the Greek justice system’s denial of access to genetic information through in-depth genomic research and review. postmortem Regardless of pathological anatomy and toxicology, the tests recommended by the scientists who signed the report read before the Athens court.
family thinks Justice should be based on scientific studies meticulously clarifying the facts. As in the case of Kathleen Folbigg, those who believe in the innocence of the defendant place all their faith in science.