Justice

Lindy Chamberlain & Catherine Folbigg

What happens when Justice gets it wrong?

Lindy Chamberlain was convicted of murdering her baby, Azaria.
Catherine Folbigg was convicted of killing her four children.

Both women went to prison.

Both maintained their innocence.

And in both cases, the story eventually changed.

For Lindy, a tiny piece of clothing and the evidence surrounding it helped expose the failures of the case against her. Her convictions were finally quashed.

For Catherine, new genetic and medical evidence challenged the assumptions on which her convictions rested. After twenty years in prison, she was pardoned, released, and her convictions were quashed. (National Museum of Australia)

Two women.
Two devastating miscarriages of justice.
Two verdicts that could not survive the arrival of new evidence.

Perhaps this is the Justice we need to remember:

Justice is not being certain.
Justice is being willing to change your mind.

The scales must be able to move.

Because sometimes the bravest act of Justice is simply to say:

We were wrong.