Erin Patterson loses appeal, harsher sentence imposed
Victoria's highest court has dismissed Erin Patterson's appeal against her murder convictions and resentenced the killer to life in prison without parole.
Patterson was last year found guilty of murdering three relatives and trying to kill another by serving them beef Wellington laced with death cap mushrooms.
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Patterson → lose → mushrooms
Following the court proceedings as they happen in our blog.
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they → follow → blog
New: Filters
Choose what information you see below by using filters
Leave to appeal granted, but dismissed
Leave to appeal is granted against ground one and two only, but the appeal is dismissed.
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appeal → choose → ground
What does it mean appeal is granted but the appeal is dismissed?
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appeal → mean → What
- Brett
Why is it that an appeal can be granted and also dismissed?
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appeal → grant → ?
It is a little confusing, but you must first convince the Court of Appeal that your argument has merit before they'll decide to actually deeply consider the legal ramifications of your complaint.
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they → convince → complaint
Erin Patterson's lawyers brought seven different reasons they believed there was a miscarriage of justice.
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they → bring → justice
The Court of Appeal judges said they would only grant leave to appeal for the first two, and dismissed the other five (things like the lead prosecutor being unfair with her questioning) outright.
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prosecutor → say → questioning
They then considered the first two grounds, which were:
- The mistake that occurred with the jury staying in the same hotel as a police witness
- The use of Patterson's mobile phone data as evidence
The judges considered these two grounds, but decided there were no issues and dismissed them as they were not convinced.
Erin Patterson's future
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they → consider → future
So what happens to her now?
- Ekam
Hi Ekam,
What today's decision means is that Erin Patterson will no longer be eligible for parole in 33 years.
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Patterson → happen → years
Instead, she will spend the rest of her life behind bars.
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she → spend → bars
In terms of her future, she is left with very few legal avenues.
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she → leave → avenues
Other than the rare case of new evidence exonerating Patterson, her only option would be to appeal against this decision in the High Court of Australia.
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option → exonerate → Australia
But legal experts say there is an extremely high legal bar for Patterson to clear in order for her to be able to appeal to the High Court.
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her → say → Court
Non-parole period set aside
Justice McLeish says the non-parole period will be set aside, and that the prosecution's appeal for a harsher sentence is successful.
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appeal → set → sentence
He says Patterson's conduct deserves to be "denounced in the strongest terms", and it is inappropriate for parole to be an option.
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parole → say → terms
Justice McLeish says offending was severe
Justice McLeish says Erin Patterson's conduct was characterised by "an elaborate series of deceptions".
He raises the false cancer claim, the destruction of evidence, the planning of the lunch and the "cruel breach of trust" of her relatives.
Key Event
Leave to appeal granted, appeal dismissed
The court rejects the other grounds.
Leave to appeal is granted against ground one and two only, but the appeal is dismissed.
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appeal → say → ground
Second ground unsuccessful
Justice McLeish says the second ground — the evidence of mobile phone data — is also unsuccessful.
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ground → say → data
He says the evidence was admissible.
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evidence → say → ?
Recounting the appeal
Justice McLeish is recapping what occurred during the appeals process, and the seven grounds on which Patterson is appealing.
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Patterson → recount → which
He says the first ground is unsuccessful be there is no possibility the jury would not have made a correct decision even after being accommodated in the same hotel as a police witness.
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jury → say → witness
Decision now being handed down
Justice Stephen McLeish, Justice Lesley Taylor and Justice Peter Kidd are now delivering their decision on Erin Patterson's appeal.
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McLeish → hand → appeal
The scene inside the courtroom
Erin Patterson has chosen not to come to court in person today, and will watch proceedings from the Dame Phyllis Frost women's prison.
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Patterson → choose → prison
She is being beamed into the courtroom and can be seen sitting in a white room, staring out a large window to her right.
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She → beam → right
Lawyers, journalists and members of the public are filling the seats of courtroom 1 of the Supreme Court, which has just opened.
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which → fill → Court
Why is the prosecution appealing?
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prosecution → appeal → ?
Victoria's Director of Public Prosecutions appealed on the basis that the sentence handed down to Patterson was "manifestly inadequate".
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sentence → appeal → Patterson
Patterson was sentenced to life in prison with a 33-year non-parole period over the murders of relatives Don and Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson.
She was also convicted of the attempted murder of Heather's husband Ian Wilkinson, who survived the lunch but spent weeks recovering in hospital.
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who → sentence → hospital
Patterson was spared the harshest penalty under the law — a life sentence with no parole — meaning with time already served she could be freed in 2056.
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she → spar → 2056
The judge who handed down the sentence, Justice Beale, said he had given Patterson the chance for parole due to her harsher-than-usual prison conditions, which included being housed in a small cell in solitary confinement.
However, prosecutors argued this was an "error" by the judge because Corrections Victoria staff reviewed Patterson's conditions on a monthly basis.
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staff → hand → basis
They also argued Patterson remained remorseless over her actions and that her crimes fell into the "worst category".
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crimes → argue → category
You can read more about the prosecution's appeal here:
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You → read → appeal
Even though it's a massive day for Patterson as she tries to have her convictions overturned, she is not expected to be in court today.
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she → try → court
It's understood she will watch the court proceedings online from the Dame Phillis Frost Centre where she is serving time.
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she → understand → time
Patterson's life behind bars
During both her sentencing and her appeal, Erin Patterson's lawyers told the court about her living conditions in prison, which they said were extremely challenging.
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they → tell → prison
Her defence team said Patterson was forced to spend between 22 and 24 hours alone in a maximum security wing away from other prisoners due to her notoriety.
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Patterson → say → notoriety
They argued this constituted solitary confinement, as defined by the United Nations.
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this → argue → Nations
The court heard Patterson had little access to fresh air, had food delivered through a trap door, and only had permission to communicate with one other prisoner, who was a convicted terrorist.
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who → hear → prisoner
Her lawyers said her confinement meant her prison term was all the more punishing, and meant her jail sentence was adequate.
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sentence → say → ?
Prosecutors disagreed, arguing Patterson's notoriety would eventually fade over time, and that she still had access to services such as a library and a chaplain.
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she → disagree → library
…and 20 more, not listed.
The Aporia
