The Wire

Roseanne Catt is the longest serving female prisoner in New South Wales. But since her imprisonment in 1991 she has maintained her innocence. At her trial, the Supreme Court judge told the jury that they had to decide if Roseanne Catt was an evil woman –or the victim of a monstrous conspiracy. They chose the former, and convicted her on a range of offences including assaulting, poisoning and conspiring to kill her former husband Barry Catt. Tomorrow, The NSW Criminal Court of Appeal is expected to overturn that decision and vindicate Roseanne Catt after a five-year process, rife with allegations of corruption, threats and violence by the prosecution, lead by former Detective Peter Thomas. Thomas, who had known Barry Catt for many years, admitted that he had “intensely disliked” Roseanne. In 2001, a raft of fresh evidence was uncovered – Many witnesses admitted they had been intimidated and physically abused by Barry Catt and Peter Thomas. Investigative Journalist and Associate Professor at the University of Technology, Sydney, Wendy Bacon, has been covering the case for the Sydney Morning Herald over five years, her investigations contributed to the reopening of the case.