John Bryson (2) (1935–2022)

Injustice in Australia

On 17th August, 1980 Lindy Chamberlain’s baby was taken from a tent in a popular camping spot near Uluru in Australia’s Northern Territory, and killed. For well over seven years Australia was divided. Did a dingo kill the baby or was Mrs Chamberlain, an until then unknown Australian housewife, make up the story.

She was found guilty and spent three years in prison. She was found guilty because she stood up for herself in court, didn’t behave like a “normal” mother and was of a “strange”religion” - a Seventh Day Adventist! That is, sheer ignorance condemned her. Had she been tried in Sydney or Melbourne it was unlikely she would have been convicted.

But those from all states who believed in her guilt were adamant, and the topic was one of many a dinner party.

The forensics were doubtful. Indigenous Australians reported that dingos were known to take young babies, but they were not believed. Eye-witnesses placed her well-away from the tent when the baby was taken.

Lindy was eventually found not guilty, and on February 1986 was released from prison.

John Bryson ‘s book does an excellent job of detailing the death of the child’s, Azaria, and the events that followed.

Meanwhile many in Australia still think Chamberland is guilty.

A notorious woman who should have been able to live her chosen quiet life as a suburban church-going mum.… (plus d'informations)

Un libro estremamente attuale in luce di alcuni dei casi nostrani più famosi, che dovrebbe farci ricordare di non essere troppo rapidi nel decidere della colpevolezza delle persone solo in base a ciò che ricordiamo in televisione.

Azaria Chamberlain ha 2 mesi e mezzo quando sparisce nel durante una gita ad Ayers Rock nel 1980. Sua madre, Lindy, ha visto un dingo fuggire dalla tenda dove dormiva, ma nei giorni e nelle settimane successive, il pubblico e i media decidono che è colpevole e così la ritraggono su giornali e televisione, finché il suo processo si trasforma in una gogna pubblica.

In seguito a questo e ad alcuni clamorosi errori nell'analisi delle prove, Lindy viene dichiarata colpevole fino a quando, anni dopo, viene ritrovato il vestitino insanguinato della figlia in mezzo al deserto...

John Bryson è accurato nel ripercorrere le indagini, gli errori grossolani, i motivi per cui una donna può essere incarcerata per l'omicidio della figlia.… (plus d'informations)

I was reminded of this book after reading Notgettingenough's review of [b:Who Killed Leanne Holland?|8038640|Who Killed Leanne Holland?|Graeme Crowley|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1271223737s/8038640.jpg|12661203]. I read it years ago, but the basic story still sticks in my mind. A nine-week old child disappeared and the parents claimed it had been taken by a dingo. The mother and father were charged with murder despite negative views of the police inquiry. The parents were Seventh-Day Adventists which led to a series of ridiculous charges regarding false assumptions about their religious beliefs, you know, the usual crap about eating babies, etc., etc.

Very well written and the kind of book that gets you really mad.… (plus d'informations)

This is a classic in not only telling the story of the Chamberlains, particularly Lindy, the mother whose baby was taken by a dingo 20 years ago, but also about how people can be caught up in a maelstrom of media scrutiny.
I remember the events so well, and, like the rest of Australia, watched them unfold year by year.

The Northern territory government and the media have a lot to answer for. The NT remains a backwater of injustice to this day - most often directed towards Aborigines, but also, as demonstrated here, with invective directed towards another group outside the conventional mainstream.

The media reported in the most outrageously biased and one-sided fashion, and actually whipped up the populous into a frenzy of finger-pointing, gossiping hatred toward Mrs Chamberlain.

I am not at all religious, but to my mind Seventh Day Adventism doesn't even sit far outside the mainstream Christian tradition, yet we were encouraged to believe it was some sort of devil-worshipping Jim Jones type sect.

Eventually the government was forced to recognise the veracity of the Chamberlain's story. ironically, another person died on The Rock for the essential clue to be discovered - a tourist fell off and his body was found near the baby's matinee jacket. It is almost beyond belief the lengths the authorities went to to balme the parents, when most of the people closest to the event on that night verified or supported the Chamberlain's case. Yet those voices were drowned out for years.

Bryson did a wonderful job of bringing this story to public atttention,and some of the most important parts were effectively translated to the screen in the Meryl Streep movie (Cry In The Dark).… (plus d'informations)