Rubin CARTER              
"Ambassador"

Rubin Carter was born in Clifton, New Jersey.
To escape a troubled youth, including run-ins with the law, Carter enlisted in the U.S. Army. It was there that Carter was introduced to boxing, a sport at which he quickly excelled. Two years in a row he won the European Light Welterwight Championship.

A distinctive fighter with an awesome left hook, shaved head and baleful stare, Carter scored many early round knockouts, and earned the name "Hurricane".
As Carter was preparing to fight for the middleweight championship a second time, his career came to a shuddering halt. He and teenager, John Artis, were arrested in 1966 for the murder of three whites in a New Jersey bar. Although steadfastly maintaining their innocence, Carter and Artis were convicted and sentenced to triple-life terms, narrowly escaping the electric chair.

In 1974, upon the publication of Carter's autobiography, "The 16th Round: From Number 1 Contender to Number 45472," and the recantations of the state's two key witnesses, the Carter-Artis case attracted international attention. Carter became a civil rights cause celebrity and was immortalized in the Bob Dylan Song "Hurricane". In 1976, the New Jersey Supreme Court threw out the convictions because the state witnesses had committed perjury and vital evidence had been withheld from the defense. A new trial ensued, but the injustice was repeated. Reconvicted and reincarcerated, Carter languished in prison until 1985 when he finally had the opportunity to present his claims to a federal court. The U.S. District Court ruled that Carter's conviction had been based on "racism rather than reason and concealment rather than disclosure and that his imprisonment had been a travesty". On November 8, 1985, he was freed after serving more than 19 years for a crime he did not commit.

Carter now makes his home in Toronto, Ontario. An articulate and charismatic speaker, he lectures frequently at universities, high schools and libraries.

In 2000, Carter's story had been made into a Hollywood movie, "Hurricane" starring Denzel Washington.

Robert is considered to be one of the leading Queens Counsel barristers in Australia.
 
He is a former chairman of the Criminal Bar Association, former President of Victorian Council for Civil Liberties, former part-time Law Reform Commissioner for Victoria and former member of Bar Council.

John BUTTON

After forty years, John Button was finally exonerated of the 1963 manslaughter of his then girlfriend, Rosemary Anderson.

Button has spoken of the trauma of the extensive interrogating by the police as well as the beating and how he was coerced in to signing a confession. However he had always maintained his innocence.
Originally charged with murder, with a death sentence if convicted, John was instead convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 10 years in prison. He spent five years behind bars after being released on parole; however the stigma of being branded a killer loomed over his head for almost 40 years.

In 2002, Button was exonerated by the WASCA deciding that the confession of serial killer Edgar Cooke combined with the fresh evidence of a motor vehicle expert that concluded that it was not possible for Button's car to have struck the victim demonstrated that there was a miscarriage of justice.

  

Peter FOSS QC

Peter was admitted as a legal practitioner in 1969. His positions and achievements include:

• Member of the Western      Australian Legislative Council (1989-2005)
• Minister for Health (1992-1995)
• Attorney-General of Western Australia (1995-2001)
• Peter was appointed to the office of Queens Council in 1996.

 

Doctor Arthur VENO

is Adjuct Professor of Criminology at Monash University.

He was the Director of Police and Justice Studies at Monash for many years and has received numerous national and state awards for his work in violence prevention with both bikies and police.

From 2001-2005 he worked on a grant requiring him to ride with The South Australian Gypsy Jokers during their campaign to stop the introduction of the current anti-bikie legislation in South Australia and assisted the Secretariat of the Joint Parliamentary Committee reviewing the Australian Crime Commission's Serious and Organised Crimes Act in 2008.

He was awarded the Australian Psychological Society's Distinguished Career award for his work with bikies and police in 2007. He has never been a member of any club.

 

Professor Paul WILSON

Currently Chair of Criminology and forensic psychologist at Bond University Professor Paul Wilson has been an academic administrator, criminologist and media commentator and columnist.
 
He was Foundation Dean of Arts at the Queensland Institute of Technology and Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences for eight years at Bond University, Australia's first private University.
 
Professor Wilson has been a Fulbright Scholar and held the prestigious Library Fellowship at Rutgers University's School of Criminal Justice.
 
In 2003 he was awarded the Order of Australia Medal for “services to education”. In 2008 he was appointed as a listed expert witness in forensic psychology and criminology for the International Criminal Court in the Hague.

 

Gerry CONLON 

Gerry Conlon was tortured/beaten by British Police for 7 days and then falsely charged and imprisoned for over 17 years. Gerry’s story was made into a movie starring Daniel Day Lewis “In The Name Of The Father”. He actively lobbies the British government to protect the rights of the wrongfully imprisoned.

Paddy HILL 

Paddy Hill was tortured/beaten by British Police for 7 days and then falsely charged and imprisoned for over 15 years. Paddy has since formed MOJO – Miscarriage Of Justice Organisation. MOJO seeks to raise funds to defend victims of the British legal system.