New inquiry into Australian mother convicted of 4 homicides

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — An Australian state attorney general on Wednesday declined to pardon a mother convicted almost 20 years ago of smothering her four children to death and instead ordered a new inquiry into whether there could be a medical explanation for the tragedies.

The inquiry will be the second in three years into scientific evidence that all four of Kathleen Folbigg’s children may have died of natural causes.

A growing number of scientists say Folbigg, now 54, could be the victim of a tragic miscarriage of justice.

The schism between legal and scientific opinion has grown with advancements in genetic research since 2003, when Folbigg was convicted on three charges of murder and one of manslaughter.

A petition to the New South Wales state governor in March last year calling for Folbigg to be pardoned “based on significant positive evidence of natural causes of death” was signed by 90 scientists, medical practitioners and related professionals, including two Nobel laureates.

Attorney General Mark Speakman, who advises the governor on such petitions, said on Wednesday the case requires a transparent response rather than a pardon.

“I can well understand why members of the public may shake their heads and roll their eyes in disbelief about the number of chances that Ms. Folbigg has had to clear her name, and (ask) why does the justice system allow someone who has been convicted of ... multiple homicides get another go,” Speakman said.

“Certainly there is enough of a question or doubt that this new scientific evidence raises that justifies some form of intervention,” Speakman added.

Folbigg was sentenced to 30 years in prison and will become eligible for parole in 2028. None of her children survived to a second birthday.

Her first child, Caleb, was born in...