| Australian man pardoned 86 years after execution - |
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olympic
 Posted:
Wed May 28, 2008 1:47 am |
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Australian man pardoned 86 years after execution
CANBERRA (Reuters) - A man hanged in 1922 for the murder and rape of a young girl in the southern Australian city of Melbourne was posthumously pardoned for the crime on Tuesday after new tests found crucial evidence against him was flawed.
Authorities in the Victorian state pardoned Colin Campbell Ross, who was hanged for raping and murdering a 12-year old girl and dumping her body in an alley in 1921.
"This really is a tragic case where a miscarriage of justice has resulted in a man being hanged," Victoria's Attorney-General Rob Hulls said on Tuesday. "This pardon is a recognition that there are serious doubts about Mr Ross's conviction for murder."
Australia is a strong opponent of the death penalty, with the last hanging taking place in Melbourne in 1967 when petty criminal Ronald Ryan was executed for his involvement in a prison escape, during which a prison guard was shot dead.
Hulls said the case was a warning to anyone who believed Australia should re-introduce the death penalty, which was formally abolished in Victoria in 1975.
The Ross case has been controversial since he was executed 115 days after his arrest, with witnesses saying he was at work at the time of the crime and with Ross going to the gallows protesting his innocence.
The prosecutors relied on hairs found on a blanket at Ross's home, which experts at the time said came from the murdered girl Alma Tirtschke, and from a jailhouse confession, reported by a fellow inmate who had convictions for perjury.
But a researcher found the hairs used as evidence against Ross in an archive in 1995, and new tests proved they did not come from the murdered girl.
Hulls asked for the case to be reviewed two years ago, resulting in a panel of judges finding the case against Ross was flawed.
Ross's niece Betty Everett, who acted as the family spokesman, said she was relieved to know her uncle was not a killer. "A shadow has been lifted from my heart," Everett told Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio.
Tirtschke's niece Bettye Arthur told Melbourne's Age newspaper that the case was a tragedy for everyone involved.
"It is a tragedy for everyone involved that the actual perpetrator was not caught, and an innocent man lost his life," she said.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24835638/
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Joined: 18 Dec 2006
Posts: 1651
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| CherokeeKid
Posted:
Wed May 28, 2008 2:41 am |
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Re: Australian man pardoned 86 years after execution
| olympic wrote: | | snip...The Ross case has been controversial since he was executed 115 days after his arrest, with witnesses saying he was at work at the time of the crime and with Ross going to the gallows protesting his innocence. |
It's unbelievable that he got executed anyway. 
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Joined: 11 May 2006
Posts: 6275
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| woebedamned
Posted:
Wed May 28, 2008 8:47 pm |
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oooops
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Damn it All!!!!
Joined: 15 Aug 2006
Posts: 6287
Location: pathetic joke of an American, bitter, gun clinging, God loving, racist cracker
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| danascully
Posted:
Thu May 29, 2008 3:18 pm |
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| woebedamned wrote: | | oooops |
A big oooops!
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Smoke Stack
Joined: 31 Mar 2006
Posts: 3083
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| Hannie
Posted:
Thu May 29, 2008 6:00 pm |
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There are probably a whole lot of oopses considering executed people....That's one of the reasons I'm against the DP....
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li'l Shango's Mommy
Joined: 23 Mar 2006
Posts: 22081
Location: The Hague, The Netherlands
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| gwen
Posted:
Thu May 29, 2008 6:41 pm |
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| Hannie wrote: | | There are probably a whole lot of oopses considering executed people....That's one of the reasons I'm against the DP.... |
I agree. Another reason is that after they are sentenced to the DP, they appeal and the cases are tied up forever in court which to me takes up the court time that could be better used no to mention the expense...
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AKA Gagal_05
Joined: 24 Feb 2007
Posts: 14448
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| Obscuregawdess
Posted:
Thu May 29, 2008 9:20 pm |
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I agree with everyone here, pretty much. What a shame. I'd hate to think I could be put on trial, sent to prison, and then murdered for something I didn't do.  Hearing this makes me an undefined mixture between anger and despair.
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"Bratty Mama Leci"
Joined: 02 Aug 2006
Posts: 11966
Location: Kentucky
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| Isanah
Posted:
Mon Sep 22, 2008 1:04 pm |
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I'm speechless!
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Joined: 23 Mar 2006
Posts: 7561
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