Proud Gadigal man Terry Irving was wrongfully convicted of armed robbery in 1993, spending nearly five years in prison. His conviction was largely based on the identification of his vehicle as the getaway car and the testimony of three bank tellers. Despite significant discrepancies in witness descriptions and the absence of physical evidence linking him to the crime, his conviction stood until 1997, when it was quashed by the High Court. One of the presiding justices expressed ‘the gravest misgiving about the circumstances of [the] case,’ noting that the way the trial had been handled was ‘disturbing.’ Irving continues to seek compensation and an official apology from the Queensland government.

On March 19, 1993, a man carrying a yellow bag entered the Hartley Street ANZ branch in Cairns. Moments later, he brandished a sawn-off shotgun, demanded cash, and fled with over $6,000. Witnesses described him as tall, in his early 20s, with dark skin and long hair tied back. They saw him enter a nearby unit block before a grey Toyota drove away. That same day, 37-year-old Irving was at the Oceanic Hotel, just a few kilometres away. When an acquaintance asked to borrow a car, Irving, kind-hearted to a fault, agreed to lend him his silver Isuzu Bellett. The car was returned a few hours later, and plans were made to meet that night, but the man never returned, and Irving never saw him again.

Later that day, Irving heard a news report about the robbery, with a suspect described as a man in his 20s, six feet tall, and of Filipino appearance. A second broadcast identified the getaway car as a grey Toyota, with the same registration as Irving’s car. Despite this, the suspect’s description did not resemble Irving nor the acquaintance, so he dismissed it. Two months later, detectives arrived at his workplace, questioning him about the robbery. After a brief interview, Irving was taken into custody. His lawyers believe police concealed a recording of his conversation, further jeopardising his defence. On May 17, 1993, Irving was arrested and charged as an accessory to armed robbery for lending his car to someone to commit an offence. Police opposed bail, falsely claiming he had a criminal record.

During his trial, Irving was paraded through the Cairns District Court foyer in handcuffs, facing the jurors who would later determine his fate. The trial lasted just six hours, with the jury returning a guilty verdict within an hour. Irving was subsequently sentenced to seven and a half years in prison. The trial had failed to expose critical flaws in the evidence, including doubts expressed by witnesses who were said to have identified Irving in a photo line-up. One witness said, ‘I wouldn’t say “yes, that was him,” not at all,’ yet this was not adequately examined in court.

In 1994, Michael O’Keeffe, a solicitor working with legal aid, took on Irving’s case pro bono, convinced of his innocence. In 1997, the High Court quashed Irving’s conviction and ordered a new trial. The following year, the Queensland Director of Public Prosecutions dropped the charges, acknowledging that the evidence against him had ‘no merit.’

Irving’s wrongful conviction highlights the devastating impact of a flawed justice system, with unreliable witness testimony and procedural failures leading to his imprisonment. The denial of legal aid, which left him unable to mount an effective defence, was a key factor in the High Court’s decision to overturn his conviction. Irving’s ongoing pursuit of redress has been met with bureaucratic resistance, as the Queensland government has yet to offer compensation or a formal apology. Irving remains steadfast in his fight for compensation and an apology, embodying the struggle for recognition and reparation that many wrongfully convicted individuals endure.