Islamic College Targeted by Hate Criminals
In the latest of several recent anti-Islamic crimes, a four-wheel drive has been firebombed and racist graffiti sprayed at the Australian Islamic College in WA, while hundreds prayed at a nearby Mosque. The attack has led to calls for greater...
New Trial Ordered for Adnan Syed
Adnan Syed turned 20 the year he was convicted of murdering his former high school girlfriend, Hae Min Lee. Now, after serving 16 years of a life sentence, a Baltimore Judge has overturned his conviction and ordered a new trial....
Sydney Grandmother Faces Execution
Mrs Nguyen Thi Huong looked anguished as the court in Ho Chi Minh City read its verdict recently. The 73-year-old Vietnamese-Australian woman has been sentenced to death for heroin trafficking. It sounds implausible … incongruous, but Vietnamese community leaders in...
Crime and Corruption in the Prison System
A guard in Western Australia’s Casuarina Prison faces a string of criminal charges for allegedly smuggling drugs and other contraband into the prison. 32-year-old Scott Craig Berridge is alleged to have smuggled drugs, mobile phones and alcohol to inmates at...
Police Not Charged Despite Damning Video Footage
In spite of damning video footage that clearly shows Ray Currier being punched by police in the chest and head, then shoved and held down while being beaten on a footpath in Surfer Paradise, the Queensland Crime and Corruption Commission...
Jurors Prosecuted for Googling Defendants
Juries don’t always follow the rules. In fact, jury nullification – where a jury goes against the evidence and acquits a defendant – has been a contentious issue among legal scholars for centuries. There are certain laws of evidence which apply...
‘N-Bomb’ Linked to Deaths of Young Australians
On June 8, the body of Rye Hunt was found washed up on a beach in Marcia, just outside Rio. Tasmanian-born and bred, Rye was backpacking overseas with a mate. They’d been travelling for seven weeks and were amiable travelling...
It Was Him! Problems with Identification Evidence
Identification evidence can be powerful inside the courtroom, but many studies have found that eyewitnesses often have a genuine, yet mistaken, belief that they have identified the person responsible for a crime – their “recollection” being affected external factors. In...
Guilty Obeid Faces Prison
Former NSW politician Eddie Obeid famously declared there was a “one per cent” chance of criminal charges being brought against him after adverse findings by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC). Now, Mr Obeid faces a lengthy prison sentence after...
Social Justice Advocate: An Exclusive Interview with Renee Eaves
Renee Eaves was four months pregnant when Constable Barry John Donnelly entered her home and arrested her on driving offences. The night that followed was hell: police at the Roma Street Watchhouse denied her medication or a bucket to vomit in,...
