Smith Appeal

Golf Links

Murder

Smith Appeal Verdict

rE Full High Court of Australia, by a majority decision, on January 21, allowed an appeal by Frederick Phillip Smith, a New Guinea half-caste, against his con viction and death sentence on two counts of murder.

The Court directed that the con victions and sentence be quashed and that a judgment of acquittal be entered.

On July 27, Smith was found guilty by the Chief Justice of Papua and New Guinea (Sir Beaumont Phillips), of having wilfully murd ered Adela Woo and Leo Wattemena at Rabaul golf course in May.

Three days later the Chief Justice directed that the death sentence be recorded.

Smith appealed on the grounds of misreception of self-incriminatory statements made by him to the police; and insufficiency of proof of guilt.

He claimed that the statements were not made freely and voluntarily

and that he was home at the time of the killings.

Mr. Justice Williams, Mr. Justice Webb and Mr. Justice Taylor, of the High Court, agreed that the appeal should be allowed.

Mr. Justice Williams said that even if the confessions by Smith were admissible, they did not prove beyond reasonable doubt that Smith committed the crimes.

"It is impossible to my mind for a court to be satisfied in the light of the circumstances that the con fessions were voluntary in the sense that they were quite spontaneous,” he said.

“In any case it was not proved satisfactorily that the confessions were made freely and voluntarily, and therefore I don’t think they should have been received.”

Mr. Justice Webb said that a doubt arose because of certain features and peculiarities in the case.

Mr. Justice Taylor, in a long judgment, concurred with Mr.

Justice Williams and Mr. Justice Webb.

Mr. Justice McTiernan said that in his opinion there were strong grounds for holding that the con fessions made by Smith were true.

“The proof that the prisoner murdered the two rested entirely upon admissions and confessions

which the prisoner made to the police,” he said.

“On May 21, when he was questioned, Smith said, ‘I followed Leo and the girl out to the green and when I saw them lying on the ground I went mad and hit them.' “These are clear confessions of guilt. They fit exactly the circum stantial evidence of the manner in which the murders were committed.”

FOOTNOTE: The composition of the Full Court (four judges in this case), raises an interesting point.

Had the court divided equally, the

decision of Chief Justice Phillips would have stood, unless, of course there was a further appeal to the Privy Council. With a Full Court of three, five or seven judges there is never any chance of it being equally divided.