Kathleen Folbigg Pardoned, Free To Leave Prison After Serving 20 Years

After serving 20 years behind bars, Kathleen Folbigg has officially been pardoned and will be released from prison.

Ms Folbigg, 55, was found guilty in 2003 of killing her four children between 1989 and 1999 and served a maximum 30-year prison sentence.

An inquiry led by former New South Wales chief justice Tom Bathurst KC found “on the whole of the body of evidence before this inquiry there is a reasonable doubt as to Ms Ms Folbigg’s guilt”.

With mounting pressure on NSW attorney general Michael Daley following the inquiry’s findings, Mr Daley considered the preliminary findings he was given my Mr Bathurst on Friday “weigh heavily in favour in the way of a free pardon and in the interests of justice”.

He added Ms Folbigg should be released “as soon as possible”, with the ABC understanding she had been released from a Grafton correctional centre this morning.

“I would like to also say that we also took the opportunity, as you would expect, to make sure that Ms Folbigg was released without delay, so I spoke to the minister for corrections last night,” Mr Daley said.

Despite being pardoned, Mr Daley said Ms Folbigg’s convictions had not be quashed, emphasising the pardon itself would only mean she would not have to serve the remainder of her sentence.

“The only body that can do that (quash the conviction) is the Court of Criminal Appeal,” he said.

“That is a discussion for another day.”

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