The NSW Court of Criminal Appeal has quashed Singleton mother Kathleen Folbigg's convictions over the deaths of her four children.
It comes after she was granted an unconditional pardon back in June, after having served almost 20 years in gaol.
She had been convicted of three counts of murder and one of manslaughter.
But, Justice Andrew Bell said new scientific evidence had brought to light reasonable doubt about her guilt, and it is appropriate she be acquitted.
Speaking outside the court, the 56-year-old said it's been a long time coming.
"For almost a quarter of a century, I faced disbelief and hostility.
I hoped and prayed that one day I would be able to stand here with my name cleared."
Justice Bell also noted how a Special Commission of Enquiry into Ms. Folbigg's case, heard it would be unreliable to rely on her diary entries as admissions of guilt.
She said there were legal avenues to prove her innocence back in 1999, and she never should have been put behind bars.
"Those books contained my private feelings which I wrote to myself. No one expects those types of things to be read by strangers, let alone opinionated on.
They took my words out of context and used them against me; they accused me of something I never wrote about, never did, and never would do.
I hope no one else will ever have to suffer what I have suffered," she said.
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| Image: Newcastle Herald |
