Ned Kelly
16-05-2008, 06:29
Retrial jury shoots down Ned Kelly’s guilty verdict
By Conor Ryan
TOSS some shrimp on the barbie and celebrate — Tipperary’s most famous criminal export has been declared an innocent man.
The spirit of the infamous outlaw Ned Kelly can rest easy after he was found to be the victim of an anti-Irish judiciary in Australia.
The clearing of his name came on Wednesday after the facts of Kelly’s case were put before a jury in a mock retrial at Melbourne University, 128 years after the “Bushranger” was hanged in Melbourne Jail for allegedly murdering three policemen.
The retrial was handled by leading criminal barristers and supreme court judge Mr Justice Lex Lasry. And the not guilty verdict revealed if Kelly had gone before the jury today he would have walked out of court a free man.
The retrial has ignited fresh debate on Australia’s anti-terrorism laws and their potential for similar miscarriages of justice against alleged Islamic extremists.
Barrister Rob Stary, who was on the defence team for the actor playing Kelly, also represents men facing terrorism charges in Melbourne.
He said the overturned verdict proved Kelly was the victim of an anti-Irish witchhunt, similar to when Britain wrongfully convicted the Guildford Four and the Birmingham Six.
He said this potential for injustice hung over the “war on terror”.
Mr Justice Lasry said he was relieved to not have to hand down a death penalty — even to a man long dead.
By Conor Ryan
TOSS some shrimp on the barbie and celebrate — Tipperary’s most famous criminal export has been declared an innocent man.
The spirit of the infamous outlaw Ned Kelly can rest easy after he was found to be the victim of an anti-Irish judiciary in Australia.
The clearing of his name came on Wednesday after the facts of Kelly’s case were put before a jury in a mock retrial at Melbourne University, 128 years after the “Bushranger” was hanged in Melbourne Jail for allegedly murdering three policemen.
The retrial was handled by leading criminal barristers and supreme court judge Mr Justice Lex Lasry. And the not guilty verdict revealed if Kelly had gone before the jury today he would have walked out of court a free man.
The retrial has ignited fresh debate on Australia’s anti-terrorism laws and their potential for similar miscarriages of justice against alleged Islamic extremists.
Barrister Rob Stary, who was on the defence team for the actor playing Kelly, also represents men facing terrorism charges in Melbourne.
He said the overturned verdict proved Kelly was the victim of an anti-Irish witchhunt, similar to when Britain wrongfully convicted the Guildford Four and the Birmingham Six.
He said this potential for injustice hung over the “war on terror”.
Mr Justice Lasry said he was relieved to not have to hand down a death penalty — even to a man long dead.