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Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteDarryl Beamish received $425,000 from the Western Australian Government in 2011 after his wrongful conviction for the wilful murder of Jillian Brewer was set aside. The payment was ex gratia—not a court-ordered award of damages—and the Government said it was not intended to fully compensate him for his losses.
Why did Darryl Beamish receive $425,000?
The Western Australian Government awarded Beamish the payment in recognition of his wrongful conviction and imprisonment. He spent 15 years in prison. In 2005, the Court of Criminal Appeal unanimously set aside his conviction; the Government described the decision as recognizing a “substantial miscarriage of justice.” Government of Western Australia statement
The Government linked the appeal outcome to an earlier refusal to grant a retrial after Eric Edgar Cooke confessed to the same crime. Its statement said the appeal court considered whether a reasonable jury might have acquitted Beamish if it had access to Cooke’s later confessions.
Was the payment compensation?
It was an ex gratia payment, rather than damages ordered by a court. Attorney General Christian Porter described such payments as “an Act of Grace, made under the prerogative of the Crown.” He also said they “are not intended to fully compensate individuals for loss or detriment suffered.”
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The Government said the payment was intended to “express the State’s sincere regret for what occurred and provide him with a measure of comfort and financial security in his retirement.” That stated purpose distinguishes the payment from a finding that $425,000 measured or repaid all the harm Beamish experienced.
How did the Government set the amount?
The Government said it considered the circumstances of Beamish’s case, including:
- the length of his imprisonment;
- the absence of a conclusive finding of significant misconduct by police or prosecutors in the original conviction;
- Beamish’s prior offending; and
- the appeal court’s comments about the strength of the original case and the possibility that a reasonable jury might have acquitted him with access to Cooke’s later confessions.
These were the Government’s stated considerations for its payment decision, not a court’s calculation of damages. The records do not establish a standardized formula for determining wrongful-conviction payments.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Do official records agree on the amount?
Yes. The Government announcement, a Western Australian parliamentary record and the Department of Justice annual report all list $425,000 for Beamish. The annual report includes the payment among 2011–12 payments for wrongful conviction and imprisonment.
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Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →A contemporaneous ABC report also gives $425,000, although one passage in its article body says $420,000. The official government, parliamentary and annual-report records agree on $425,000, so that is the amount to use.
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