Justice for Peter Ellis

The Supreme Court has quashed the convictions of Peter Ellis, bringing this 30 year saga to a close three years after he died. At lest his reputation has been restored to him.

I am so very pleased that finally the judicial system reached the obvious verdict that there was (at a minimum) reasonable doubt about his guilt, or more specifically whether any abuse ever occurred.

His original convictions were twice upheld in the Court of Appeal and his three appeals to the Governor-General were unsuccessful.

The Wikipedia article on him covers the case well, and especially how the Police initially found no abuse, but it was only after parents wound each other up, that social workers went it whose techniques were sub-standard.

It is worth noting that the finding of miscarriage of justice does not mean you can conclude there was no abuse (as some parents and their children still believe). It means the finding of guilt was unsafe. Having said that, I personally think on the balance of probabilities it did not occur. It seems implausible that the offences he was convicted of could have occurred in a small centre with no other staff member noticing.