Court of Appeal to rule on Erin Patterson's appeals on Friday
Victoria's Court of Appeal will hand down its decision on two appeals in the triple-murder case of Erin Patterson at 10am on Friday 30 October. Erin Patterson's case has drawn wide attention in Australia, and the ruling will settle whether her convictions and sentence stand as they are.
Patterson, 52, was sentenced to life imprisonment with a non-parole period of 33 years for the murders of Don Patterson, Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson. A non-parole period is the minimum time a prisoner must serve before becoming eligible for release on parole. She was also convicted of the attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson, who survived after eating beef Wellington laced with death cap mushrooms.
Patterson has appealed against her convictions. The Director of Public Prosecutions, Brendan Kissane KC, has appealed against her sentence, which he argues is manifestly inadequate, meaning too lenient. Kissane said the sentence was still too lenient, even though Patterson would be in her 80s when first eligible for parole. Prosecutors argued she should have received either no possibility of release or a non-parole period so long that she was likely to die in prison.
Patterson's lawyers advanced seven grounds of appeal. They argued that jurors staying in the same hotel as police and prosecutors during deliberations was a catastrophic failure of justice. Her lawyer Richard Edney argued that the failure to properly separate the jury was a fundamental irregularity that denied her a fair trial. The lawyers also argued that trial judge Christopher Beale erred in ruling inadmissible photos and videos related to mushrooms found on a memory card in her home.
Justices Lesley Taylor, Stephen McLeish and Peter Kidd heard arguments from both sides in August. The Court of Appeal livestreamed the hearings on 19 and 20 August. Patterson is not expected to attend the decision in person.
The court has several options. It can refuse permission to appeal, which lawyers call leave. It can grant leave but dismiss the appeal, grant leave and order a retrial, or grant leave and enter an acquittal, which is a formal finding of not guilty.
