On the 10th November 2010, Ann introduced a
Bill to establish a criminal cases review commission
(CCRC). Modelled on the successful Criminal
Cases Review Commission established in the United Kingdom
in 1997, and since replicated in Scotland and Norway, the
South Australian CCRC would be an independent body with
powers to actively investigate claims of wrongful
conviction and refer substantiated cases to the Full Court
for appeal.
The Criminal Cases Review Commission will
replace the current petition process by which a person
claiming to be wrongfully convicted lodges a petition
with the Attorney-General for consideration. While the
Attorney-General should only consider the petition in
accordance with established legal principles,
particularly those relating to a fair trial, as has been
demonstrated here in South Australia, the petition is
often politicised.
The establishment of a Criminal Case
Review Commission has broad support in the legal
profession, by elements of the judiciary, including the
former Justice of the High Court, Michael Kirby AC CMG,
and by those who have suffered a miscarriage of justice,
such as Lindy Chamberlain.
Ms Chamberlain recently wrote to Ann in
support of a Criminal Case Review Commission, saying:
It is wonderful to see that South
Australia is taking the lead and making the attempt to
begin bringing the justice systems of our great country
into the 21st century at last… A commission where all
the facts can be reviewed is desperately needed in this
country, a place of last resort; properly protected
against abuse by the guilty, but available when the
system has failed the innocent.
To see a copy of the Criminal Cases
Review Commission Bill 2010, click
here. To read a
copy of Ann's speech when introducing the Bill,
click
here.
On the same day, Today Tonight Adelaide
covered the calls for the establishment of a CCRC, which
can be viewed below:
