New South Wales Attorney General Michael Daley intervened to order Kathleen Folbigg be freed, based on the preliminary findings of an inquiry that found “reasonable doubt” as to her guilt for all four deaths. Daley told a press conference Monday that he had spoken to the governor and recommended an unconditional pardon which had been granted. “This has been a terrible ordeal for everyone concerned and I hope that our actions today can put some closure on this 20 year old matter,” Daley said.
Instead, the jury relied on the prosecution’s suggestion that the chances of four babies from one family dying from natural causes before the age of two were so infinitesimally low as to be compared to pigs flying. They also noted the contents of her diary, which contained passages that in isolation were interpreted as confessions of guilt. As recently as 2019, an inquiry into her convictions found that there was no reasonable doubt that she had committed the crimes.