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BackBreaking: Queensland's first retrial for murder ordered under double jeopardy laws
Breaking: Queensland's first retrial for murder ordered under double jeopardy laws
BREAKING
ABC Top Stories55 minutes agoLaw1 min readAustralia

Breaking: Queensland's first retrial for murder ordered under double jeopardy laws

queenslanddouble jeopardyretrial

Quick Look

  • Queensland's Court of Appeal has granted a retrial for a man previously acquitted of murder, marking the first use of the state's double jeopardy legislation to order a retrial in its history.
  • The decision follows an application by the Director of Public Prosecutions based on alleged fresh and compelling evidence, including two confessions, despite defense arguments about reliability and inconsistency.

AI-generated summary

Why It Matters

Queensland's double jeopardy legislation allows for a retrial after acquittal if fresh and compelling evidence emerges. The law has been used only once before, in 2018, but that application was dismissed by the Court of Appeal.

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The first person in Queensland's history will face a retrial for murder under the state's double jeopardy laws.

In March, the Director of Public Prosecutions made an application in the Court of Appeal (COA), asking for an order to retry a previously acquitted man.

The man, who cannot legally be identified, was arrested in 2023 and charged for a second time in relation to the alleged murder of another man in Logan in 2009.

Prosecutors submitted there was fresh and compelling evidence which included two alleged confessions.

However, his lawyers argued the alleged confessions were not reliable, and there was a material inconsistency.

They submitted it would not be in the interests of justice to order a retrial.

On Tuesday, the COA granted the application.

The man's previous acquittal was quashed and a retrial was ordered.

It is only the second time in Queensland the double jeopardy legislation has been exercised.

The first was in 2018 in an unrelated matter that was ultimately dismissed by the COA.

What to Watch

AI outlook — possibilities, not facts

  • The retrial will proceed based on the Court of Appeal's decision

    Very likely · Within months

Open Questions

  • What is the nature of the alleged confessions?
  • Why were the confessions deemed unreliable by the defense?
  • What is the material inconsistency referenced by the defense?
  • Who is the victim in the 2009 Logan murder case?

Related Topics

queensland
PeopleDirector of Public Prosecutions
OrganizationsQueensland Director of Public ProsecutionsCourt of Appeal (COA)
PlacesQueenslandLogan
Topicsdouble jeopardyretrialmurderlogancourt of appealdirector of public prosecutions
This article was originally published by ABC Top Stories.

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