BRING BACK CAPITAL PUNISHMENT TO AUSTRALIA: IN LOVING MEMORY OF JANINE BALDING (DIED: 8 SEPTEMBER 1988)

            On this date, 8 September 1988, 20-year-old Janine Balding was raped and murdered by a gang of five youths in New South Wales, Australia. We, the VFFDP, will post information from Wikipedia and post a quote from the victim’s family members, who wanted justice and not revenge.

 

Janine Balding (SOURCE: http://www.mako.org.au/ausnews572.html)

The murder of Janine Balding was the killing of a woman in New South Wales, Australia by multiple perpetrators. 20-year-old Janine Balding was raped and murdered by a gang of five youths on 8 September 1988. Balding's murder is often compared to the 1986 murder of Sydney nurse Anita Cobby.

Early life

Janine Balding was born on 6 October 1967 and lived in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales before moving to Sydney and gaining employment as a bank teller at a branch of the State Bank on George Street. She was due to marry boyfriend Steven Moran in March 1989. The couple had purchased a house in Berkeley Vale and were letting that house to help finance their wedding arrangements.

Janine Balding

Abduction and murder

Balding was abducted from Sutherland railway station by a group of homeless youths, consisting of four males, and one female. She was repeatedly raped by three of the male offenders, bludgeoned, then hog-tied and drowned in a dam at Minchinbury.

Accused

• Matthew James Elliott, aged 16 at the time of the murder
• Bronson Matthew Blessington, aged 14 at the time of the murder
• Stephen Wayne 'Shorty' Jamieson, aged 22 at the time of the murder
• Wayne Lindsay Wilmot, aged 15 at the time of the murder
• Carol Ann Arrow, aged 15 at the time of the murder

In sentencing the defendants, Justice [Newman] said:

To sentence people so young to a long term of imprisonment is of course a heavy task. However, the facts surrounding the commission of these crimes are so barbaric that I believe I have no alternative other than to impose upon [these] young prisoners, even despite their age, a life sentence. So grave is the nature of this case that I recommend that none of the prisoners in the matter should ever be released.

In 2007, Elliott and another defendant (presumably Blessington, but identified only as "B" due to his age) were granted an additional appeal based on a missing staple in their files. Essentially, it was argued, because the Crown indictment was not stapled to the court file, it was not "fixed" to the court file as required by law and the judgement was therefore not technically finalised. The High Court of Australia subsequently rejected this ground of appeal.

Summary of sentences

Defendant	From	Convictions	Notes
Stephen 'Shorty' Jamieson		Murder	Sentenced to life imprisonment plus 25 years
Matthew Elliott		Murder	Sentenced to life imprisonment plus 25 years
Bronson Blessington		Murder	Sentenced to life imprisonment plus 25 years
Wayne Wilmot		Accessory to murder	Sentenced to nine years four months imprisonment (later extended by six months for escaping lawful custody; served 7½ years before being paroled; currently incarcerated for multiple parole violations)
Carol Arrow		Accessory to murder	Sentenced to 3-year good behaviour bond plus the nineteen months of time served in prison

Janine Balding Memorial Plaque (SOURCE: http://monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/people/crime/display/23111-janine-balding)

Further development

In 2003, the NSW Innocence Project (a joint project by the NSW Police, the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Privacy Commissioner) used the latest DNA techniques to review the DNA evidence of the crime. This was done because Stephen 'Shorty' Jamieson denied taking part in the murder, and one of the murderers had claimed that it was 'Shorty' Wells (rather than 'Shorty' Jamieson) who had committed the murder.

The DNA results demonstrated that Stephen Jamieson's DNA was not found in a rectal swab of the victim, and neither was the DNA of 'Shorty' Wells. Police Minister John Watkins announced that the NSW Innocence Project would be suspended. Subsequently, accomplice Carol Arrow stated that 'Shorty' Jamieson was one of the murderers.

Bev Balding with photo of her daughter Janine Balding in Wagga Wagga.

(SOURCE: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/gallery-e6frewxi-1111120226176?page=23)

PRO-DEATH PENALTY QUOTE:

“They should be put to death. I have no wish for revenge. People say that bringing back the death penalty is stooping to the level of the criminals. It’s not. Stooping to their level would be to terrorize them as they did Janine.”

-       Bev Balding, the mother of Janine Balding.