Post by MXB on May 30, 2007 23:50:45 GMT -5
Backpacker murderer Ivan Milat has lost a second bid for an inquiry into his conviction, with a Sydney judge ruling that there is "no doubt or question" of his guilt.
Milat, one of Australia's worst serial killers, was sentenced to life in jail in 1996 for the murders of seven backpackers whose bodies were found in makeshift graves in the NSW Southern Highlands.
The 61-year-old sought an inquiry into his conviction for the murders and one count of obtaining for advantage and had asked for his case to be referred to the Court of Criminal Appeal.
But chief judge at common law Peter McClellan today rejected the application, saying he had no questions as to Milat's guilt.
"I have no unease and no sense of disquiet in allowing the convictions to stand," he told the Supreme Court.
Milat's victims - Deborah Everist and James Gibson, of Melbourne, German backpackers Simone Schmidl, Anja Habschied and Gabor Neugebauer, and Britons Joanne Walters and Caroline Clarke - went missing between 1989 and 1992.
Their bodies were found concealed in makeshift graves in the Belanglo State Forest, between September 1992 and November 1993.
It is the second time Milat has unsuccessfully applied for an inquiry into his conviction since he lost a High Court appeal in 2004.
In his latest application, the former road worker sought the inquiry based on seven complaints, including that the trial judge directed the jury to act on evidence that had not been established.
He also claimed that, when summing up to the jury, the judge had introduced evidence that was not established as that of British tourist Paul Onions.
Mr Onions, the key witness during the trial, was kidnapped by Milat in 1990 but managed to escape.
Justice McClellan today accepted the crown's submission that each ground in Milat's application had been dealt with previously.
"The material provided by the applicant does not raise a doubt or question about his guilt," he said.
"There is nothing in the material submitted by the applicant ... that would support the referral of this matter to the Court ofCriminal Appeal."
Today's decision concludes a long list of Milat's attempts to challenge his conviction.
Days after he was found guilty of the murders on July 27, 1996, Milat lodged an appeal against his conviction.
That was unanimously dismissed but the Court of Appeal in 1998 and Milat then sought leave to appeal his conviction in the High Court.
That was rejected in May 2004.
Last year, the Supreme Court rejected his application seeking an inquiry into his conviction.
Earlier this year, Milat caused a media stir after it was revealed he had privileged items, including a television and sandwich maker in his cell at Goulburn's Supermax Jail.
Milat, one of Australia's worst serial killers, was sentenced to life in jail in 1996 for the murders of seven backpackers whose bodies were found in makeshift graves in the NSW Southern Highlands.
The 61-year-old sought an inquiry into his conviction for the murders and one count of obtaining for advantage and had asked for his case to be referred to the Court of Criminal Appeal.
But chief judge at common law Peter McClellan today rejected the application, saying he had no questions as to Milat's guilt.
"I have no unease and no sense of disquiet in allowing the convictions to stand," he told the Supreme Court.
Milat's victims - Deborah Everist and James Gibson, of Melbourne, German backpackers Simone Schmidl, Anja Habschied and Gabor Neugebauer, and Britons Joanne Walters and Caroline Clarke - went missing between 1989 and 1992.
Their bodies were found concealed in makeshift graves in the Belanglo State Forest, between September 1992 and November 1993.
It is the second time Milat has unsuccessfully applied for an inquiry into his conviction since he lost a High Court appeal in 2004.
In his latest application, the former road worker sought the inquiry based on seven complaints, including that the trial judge directed the jury to act on evidence that had not been established.
He also claimed that, when summing up to the jury, the judge had introduced evidence that was not established as that of British tourist Paul Onions.
Mr Onions, the key witness during the trial, was kidnapped by Milat in 1990 but managed to escape.
Justice McClellan today accepted the crown's submission that each ground in Milat's application had been dealt with previously.
"The material provided by the applicant does not raise a doubt or question about his guilt," he said.
"There is nothing in the material submitted by the applicant ... that would support the referral of this matter to the Court ofCriminal Appeal."
Today's decision concludes a long list of Milat's attempts to challenge his conviction.
Days after he was found guilty of the murders on July 27, 1996, Milat lodged an appeal against his conviction.
That was unanimously dismissed but the Court of Appeal in 1998 and Milat then sought leave to appeal his conviction in the High Court.
That was rejected in May 2004.
Last year, the Supreme Court rejected his application seeking an inquiry into his conviction.
Earlier this year, Milat caused a media stir after it was revealed he had privileged items, including a television and sandwich maker in his cell at Goulburn's Supermax Jail.