(Please boost for reach, and try to CW your answers)
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i was a New Zealand-born Australian woman when i was wrongly convicted in one of Australia's most publicised and notorious trials.
i was accused of killing my nine-week-old daughter, Azaria, while camping at Uluru (known then as Ayers Rock)
i maintained that i saw a dingo leave the tent where Azaria was sleeping.
The prosecution case was circumstantial and depended upon forensic evidence that was eventually found to be deeply flawed
what year did baby Azaria disappear?
what was my name at the time?the press and media whipped up a storm worthy of a dozen troll farms, and public opinion was horribly divided on the issue of my likely guilt or innocence. It remains a shameful part of Australia’s history (though perhaps an indicator of “who we truly are” as a natiin)
It stands as a clear example of public and legal bias against woman accused of violent crime.
These events destroyed my marriage, and robbed my other children of something incalculable.
I was convicted in 1982
released from prison in 1986
pardoned in 1987
my conviction quashed in 1988
in 1992 the government paid me $1.3 million in compensation
a fourth inquest
in what year?found (as did the first inquest) that Azaria died "as a result of being attacked and taken by a dingo"
this was the year baby Azaria’s death certificate was finally corrected.
