Principles of Justice

There is a number of principles in Australia’s legal system called the principles of justice. These principles are designed to make the legal system fair and reduce the chances of injustice and corruption. These principles include the right to an appeal, the presumption of innocence, the right to a fair hearing and the need for high quality evidence. The Gene Gibson trial demonstrates how these principles of justice were not upheld.  Gene Gibson pleaded guilty to Josh Warneke’s murder in Broome, Western Australia in 2010.  He was convicted of the crime in 2014. Gene Gibson didn’t understand the legal system, admitting to a crime he didn’t commit. An important principle is the need for high quality evidence, and this was lacking in this trial.  A further example of a principle of justice is the right to appeal.   This is a highly important principle as it helps wrongly convicted people to have a second chance to prove their innocence. This was initially lacking in the Gene Gibson trial when he had to wait another 4 years for an appeal. Through an investigation into the Gene Gibson case, it will be shown that not all these principles of justice were used during the case, resulting in the conviction of an innocent man.  The right to appeal however resulted in his eventual release.

The Gene Gibson trial had limited and unreliable evidence, meaning the principle of high-quality evidence was not upheld in the case.  The evidence included two witnesses that were later deemed unreliable.  These same witnesses later revoked their statements. The main evidence leading to Gene Gibson’s conviction was because he pleaded guilty.  He was cognitively impaired, illiterate (his first language is the traditional desert language of Pintupi) and barely understood how the legal system worked.  Gene Gibson also did not know what pleading guilty actually meant.  These difficulties also made it even harder for him to understand the court system. He made a confession to a police officer after seeing pictures of the bashed body of Josh Warneke, mainly because he didn’t know what a confession actually was.  He was advised to plead guilty following the witness statements. Gene Gibson didn’t have a translator so he couldn’t defend himself.  These examples show that there was a lack of reliable evidence, demonstrating that the principle of high-quality evidence was compromised

Another principle initially lacking in the Gene Gibson case was the right to appeal however this was later implemented with the support of the Aboriginal Legal Service. The right to appeal gives the accused a second chance at proving their innocence. This principle was not used in the Gene Gibson case until years after his imprisonment.  The police investigation was found to be flawed, and that Gene Gibson was advised by his lawyer to plead guilty because of the incriminating witness statements which turned out to be false.  It wasn’t until years later that Gene Gibson was able to testify at the Court of Appeal.  With the help of an interpreter, he could say that he did not murder Mr Warneke and that the police had not listened to him.  Gene Gibson was imprisoned for over 4 years before the Court of Appeal found him not guilty.  He was finally released from Casuarina Prison in 2017 after the conviction was quashed in a unanimous decision. The right to appeal was initiated four years after his conviction and this principle of justice ensured Gene Gibson was eventually found innocent.