In breaking news, the High Court of Australia is allowing Cardinal George Pell’s appeal and has quashed his convictions.
It has been reported that Chief Justice Susan Kiefel was at the bench for less than 60 seconds to deliver the verdict.
The judgement has since been released:
“The High Court granted special leave to appeal against a decision of the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Victoria and unanimously allowed the appeal. The High Court found that the jury, acting rationally on the whole of the evidence, ought to have entertained a doubt as to the applicant’s guilt with respect to each of the offences for which he was convicted, and ordered that the convictions be quashed and that verdicts of acquittal be entered in their place.”
The court’s ruling means that he will be released from Barwon prison today.
It was a unanimous decision by the full bench of the justices of the Australian High Court and as soon as it is practically possible, Cardinal George Pell will be allowed to walk free.
A process which has taken years to get to this point took less than 60 seconds.
The Court referred to precedent in past cases (Chidiac v The Queen (1991) 171 CLR 432 at 444 and M v The Queen (1994) 181 CLR 487 at 494) which cited there was “a significant possibility that an innocent person has been convicted because the evidence did not establish guilt to the requisite standard of proof”.
Cardinal George Pell was not in the court registry in Brisbane this morning.
Disgraced George Pell is at Barwon Prison and will be informed of the judgment by his legal team.
Judgment has been delivered in Pell v The Queen https://t.co/TzjVX0RLXh
— High Court of Australia (@HighCourtofAus) April 7, 2020
A Victoria police statement following the court’s decisions reads:
“We respect the decision of the High Court in this matter and continue to provide support to those complainants involved. Victoria Police remains committed to investigating sexual assault offences and providing justice for victims no matter how many years have passed. We would also like to acknowledge the tireless work on this case by Taskforce Sano investigators over many years.”
Cardinal George Pell has released a statement on the decision:
BREAKING: George Pell responds to High Court decision. This is his first public statement since being jailed. #pell #auslaw @theheraldsun pic.twitter.com/uJO0nHbB0s
— Shannon Deery (@s_deery) April 7, 2020
Image: Getty / Robert Cianflone / Staff
