He killed her, but he didn’t murder her.
In the eyes of law, Gerard Baden-Clay did not murder his wife Allison.
But he did kill her.
Confused?
The Queensland Court of Appeal has overturned Baden-Clay’s conviction of murder, and in its place the court has delivered a verdict of manslaughter.
Gerard Baden-Clay’s conviction overturned:
But what does that mean?
It means Baden-Clay’s sentence — life imprisonment with a 15-year non-parole period — has been set aside, and his lawyers will make submissions as to what his sentence for manslaughter should be in January 2016.
COMING UP: Gerard Baden-Clay’s murder conviction downgraded to manslaughter. @TessaHardy9 LIVE #9MorningNews pic.twitter.com/FocygBvZTN
— Nine News Brisbane (@9NewsBrisbane) December 8, 2015
What is the difference between manslaughter and murder?
Manslaughter is a lesser charge than murder — and you do not need to have had the intent to kill to be convicted of this crime. In Baden-Clay’s case, his legal team argued that there wasn’t enough evidence for a jury to reasonably find he had intended to kill, and that there was enough evidence to support an alternative theory of an unintentional killing, followed by a panicked cover up.
Top Comments
I'm not super fussed on semantics... so what that they're calling killing his wife something different, if they're acknowledging he did it? Meaning to kill her or not, it sounds like he meant to hurt her. and then lied about it. I don't think the law is disputing that. The headline could still be "Baden-Clay is guilty of ending the life of his wife". I just hope his sentence isn't reduced, and that he gets into further trouble for perjury.
I hope there is a high court appeal and he ends up with an even longer sentence. What a joke!