A 56-year-old Australian woman who was jailed for 20 years after the deaths of her four children could receive the country's highest compensation after she was formally acquitted by the Court of Appeal on Thursday.
• Also read: Australia: Mother convicted and pardoned for killing her children
“I have suffered abuse in all its forms. I hoped and prayed that one day I could stand here with a clean name. I hope no one else ever has to go through what I went through,” Kathleen Folbigg, 56, responded at a press conference, according to The Guardian.
On Thursday, shortly after the 50-year-old was officially acquitted, her legal team confirmed they would seek compensation from the New South Wales government for the 20 years the woman languished in the lowest cell of the prison.
Kathleen Folbigg was jailed in 2003 after being found guilty of murdering her four children, aged between 19 days and 18 months, who in turn died between 1989 and 1999.
Although the grieving mother had always denied being the cause of death, she was only pardoned and released in June this year after a new investigation found the children suffered from a rare disease that could explain their deaths.
“I am grateful that modern science and genetics have given me answers to the cause of my children’s deaths. But even in 1999 we had legal answers to prove my innocence. “They were ignored and pushed aside,” the woman insisted, according to video images obtained by Agence France-Presse on Thursday.
But experts say she could well receive the highest compensation the country has ever seen based on her experiences.
“What could compete with that? As we speak, people are suing other people for millions of dollars for defamation of reputation. This woman has been in prison for decades. “It’s immeasurable,” Professor Gary Edmond of the University of New South Wales’ law school told The Guardian.
Currently, the record compensation is A$7.02 million for David Eastman, who, according to British media, spent almost 19 years behind bars before being acquitted of charges of shooting a federal police deputy commissioner.
However, the requested amount has not been determined.