A woman who was jailed for 30 years in hard labour has been freed from her sentence through a Supreme Court appeal.
The decision today came as a huge relief for the 42-year-old naturalised Australian citizen from Central Province, who could not control her emotions inside the courtroom.
Taita Prichard was convicted and sentenced by the Waigani National Court over the wilful murder of her former partner in July 23, 2011, at Napanapa outside Port Moresby.
She was found guilty on Nov 11, 2015, for planning and using her cousin, 35-year-old James Paru, to wilfully murder British man John Hulse in 2011.
Both were sentenced to serve 30 years in prison on Feb 12 this year until she filed an appeal to the Supreme Court, which came in her favour today.
Justice Derek Hartshorn, in delivering the three-man Supreme Court bench's decision, said the state had to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Prichard conspired with Paru and procured him to kill Hulse.
Prichard was convicted only on the evidence of her telephone conversations.
Details of text messages from Prichard's mobile phone were obtained by prosecution that was used in the trial.
While Prichard chose to remain silent when questioned upon her arrest back in 2011, Paru, who is also now serving time at Bomana, admitted to the role he played in the murder.
Prichard’s lawyers, during the Supreme Court appeal hearing in August, said the National Court should have collaborated Paru’s story with hers, prior to convicting her on Sept 11, 2015.
The Supreme Court also agreed with this and upheld her appeal, setting aside her conviction and sentencing today.
Prichard was acquitted of all the murder allegations which she was convicted for on Nov 11, 2015, and is now a free woman.
She refused to make any comments to the press after court today in relation to the ruling.