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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Murder (Conspiracy to commit murder) |
Sentence: |
12 years 3 months |
Years Imprisoned: |
10 |
Year Crime: |
1988 |
Year Convicted: |
1991 |
Year Cleared: |
2005 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Australia |
County or Region of Crime: |
New South Wales |
City of Crime: |
Taree |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated |
Summary of Case: |
"Roseanne Catt was wrongly convicted on September 11, 1991 of eight charges related to soliciting the murder of her husband in Taree, New South Wales, Australia. She was sentenced in December 1991 to 12 years 3 months imprisonment. Catt was released in August 2001 after serving almost 10 years of her sentence. In August 2005, the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal quashed six of her eight convictions, acquitted her of one count, and granted her a retrial on the remaining counts. On September 22, 2005 the New South Wales Director of Public Prosecutions (Attorney General) announced Catt would not be retried, and the charges were dismissed. In April 2006, Catt filed a petition for ex gratia compensation for her wrongful convictions and imprisonment. (After her release, she married and became Roseanne Beckett.). In February 2007 the prosecution's star witness, signed an affidavit that she was pressured by police threats into perjuring herself to support the case against Catt. On May 5, 2012 the New South Wales Court of Appeals ruled that Catt-Beckett had to prove she was innocent to sue the New South Wales government for malicious prosecution. (Beckett v The State of New South Wales [2012] NSWCA 114). Catt appealed, and on May 8, 2013 the High Court of Australia issued the precedent setting ruling that a plaintiff is not required to prove his or her innocence in an action for damages for malicious prosecution in any case in which the prosecution has terminated favourably to the plaintiff. (Roseanne Beckett v. The State of New South Wales [2013] HCA 17). On August 24, 2015 Justice Ian Harrison awarded Beckett AUS$2,310,350 plus interest, plus her legal expenses. (Beckett v State of New South Wales [2015] NSWSC 1017). In his judgment of more than 900 paragraphs, Justice Harrison slammed the conduct of now deceased New South Wales police officer Detective Peter Thomas, who he said came to see Ms Beckett “as his nemesis." On November 10, 2015 Justice Harrison ruled that Beckett should be paid AUS$1,781,367 in interest, for a total award of AUS$4,091,717. Justice Harrison also ruled that in addition New South Wales must pay Beckett's legal expenses. Beckett’s 9-1/2 year effort to be compensated ended on November 23, 2015 when NSW Attorney General Gabrielle Upton announced that Justice Harrison’s rulings would not be appealed." |
Conviction Caused By: |
Perjury by the prosecution's star witness induced by police threats to her. |
Innocence Proved By: |
Convictions quashed in August 2005 by' the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal. |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
"AUS$4,091,717 (AUS$2,310,350 in damages, plus $1,781,367 in interest) (8-23-2015 damage award, and 11-10-2015 interest award, New South Wales, AUS)" |
Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
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Age When Released: |
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Sex: |
Female |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
White |
Information Source 1: |
"No retrial for Roseanne Catt, by Jenny Dennis, The Illawarra Mercury, October 6, 2005" |
Information Location 1: |
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Information Source 2: |
"Police made me lie against Catt, Crown witness tells, Sydney Morning Herald, February 12, 2007" |
Information Location 2: |
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/police-made-me-lie-against-catt-crown-witness-tells/2007/02/11/1171128816470.html |
Information Source 3: |
"Beckett v The State of New South Wales [2013] HCA 17 (May 8, 2013) (Reversing appeals court ruling that Beckett had to prove she was innocent to sue for malicious prosecution.)" |
Information Location 3: |
http://netk.net.au/Justice4Roseanne/BeckettFullJudgment.pdf |
Information Source 4: |
"A gross miscarriage of justice, By Bernie Matthews, onlineopinion.com.au, May 7, 2007" |
Information Location 4: |
http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=5810&page=0 |
Information Source 5: |
"Roseanne Beckett awarded $2.3 million for wrongful conviction over soliciting murder of husband, By Amy Dale and AAP, The Daily Telegraph, August 24, 2015" |
Information Location 5: |
http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=5810&page=0http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/roseanne-beckett-awarded-23-million-for-wrongful-conviction-over-soliciting-murder-of-husband/story-fni0cx12-1227496121412 |
Book About Case: |
"Ten Years, By Roseanne Catt" |
Book Information: |
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Book About Case (2): |
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Book Information (2): |
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Movie About Case: |
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Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org